After six people were detained by federal immigration officers in Seaside on Oregon’s North Coast in early November, some city officials jumped to respond, looking to craft resolutions decrying what they saw as secretive and aggressive tactics.

Others held back.

A number of resolutions and statements ended up being released, finalized or passed just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, several weeks after the events in Seaside.

After a Seaside City Council meeting on Nov. 24, the city posted a statement on Facebook acknowledging the ICE operation from Nov. 8.

Given the disruption to local families, schools and some businesses, it was a statement some city councilors said they now felt should have gone out much sooner.

Especially because, said City Councilors Heidi Hoffman and Tita Montero, there was every indication ICE may come back again “without warning and without courtesy.”

Several days later, on Dec.1, ICE officers detained two people roughly 11 miles away at the Walmart in Warrenton. As with the operation in Seaside, local law enforcement and dispatch centers were not warned ahead of time.

The recent ICE operations have rattled officials, law enforcement and immigrant communities across Clatsop County.

For officials, there is some anxiety about how exactly to respond.

The issue is charged and some officials say they have concerns about how ICE officers are going about their jobs: wearing masks, using unmarked cars and, in some cases, having no clothing or badges that identify them as federal agents. Local police chiefs and Clatsop County Sheriff Matt Phillips worry about confusion and the potential for dangerous encounters between local and federal officers in the field.

“The problem that I have is the tactics and how things are being done,” said Warrenton Police Chief Mathew Workman. “And I get it. People have problems with our tactics too.”

But he said the federal detainments no longer seem tied to concerns about criminal behavior.

Laws around immigration are complex, but simply being in the United States without documentation is not immediately a crime under federal law. Depending on the circumstances, it may more often be a civil matter. The Trump administration has said it wants to “apprehend and remove the scores of dangerous criminal illegal immigrants.”

Workman said he empathizes with families who are afraid to leave their homes after the recent detainments because, to him, there is a real concern right now about a legitimate detainment versus a mistake.

“It’s the mistakes that scare me,” Workman said.

‘Everything’s done and gone’

In Astoria, the police department recently posted a detailed public service notice about what people should do if a traffic stop doesn’t feel right and there are concerns about whether the officer contacting them is legitimate, or if they are witnessing a suspicious stop. The post also provided information about filing complaints about potential civil rights violations.

In Seaside, Police Chief Dave Ham told city councilors he didn’t feel the need to put out similar information, though he, like other local police chiefs, wished ICE would alert them in advance that they are coming to the area.

Oregon is a sanctuary state. State law dictates that local resources can’t be used for immigration enforcement. State and local governments and their agencies cannot participate in any way in immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant. At the same time, local police can’t interfere with federal immigration enforcement.

In Warrenton, after the detainments on Dec.1, Workman said he still has little information about the operation. There was an early rumor that ICE officers had smashed people’s car windows and dragged them out. This proved to be false.

Workman first heard about what was happening that day from Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly.

“Once we started hearing about it, we went out there, but everything’s done and gone,” he said.

Other federal agencies conduct investigations and operations in and around Warrenton.

“We used to get calls all the time, not just from (ICE), from all federal agencies: ‘Hey, we’re conducting surveillance, this is the vehicle we’re in,’” Workman said. “And we still get that from the other federal agencies.”

Statements, resolutions

Later that night on Dec.1, the Astoria City Council read a resolution directed at the events in Seaside on Nov.8 and condemning the more aggressive and secretive tactics ICE has employed when carrying out immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. The resolution was modeled off of one the city of Cannon Beach, south of Seaside, passed ahead of Thanksgiving.

The Astoria City Council had previously published a statement of support, saying, “Please know that when one part of our community is under duress, we are all under duress. An erosion of civil rights for some is an erosion of civil rights for all. We stand with our Latinx community.”

In Seaside, city councilors were split on what kind of message they wanted to craft. Some felt most comfortable with only pointing people towards information about state law and explaining what local police can and can’t do when federal immigration agents are in town.

Others, like Montero, Hoffman and City Councilor Seamus McVey wanted to include an additional statement, something more forceful and possibly — in their colleagues’ view — more opinionated.

The decision to say anything at all followed a meeting days after the arrests. City councilors heard from several community members then who were upset and outraged by what had occurred.

One woman said she came to Seaside, undocumented, as a child and has been working and paying state and federal taxes here since she was a teenager.

“Sadly, our government has not found a suitable way for me to have a pathway to citizenship,” she said. “I hope you can imagine the fear that runs through this community when we hear ICE agents are here in town, snatching away good, honest and hard-working family and friends.”

She asked: Does the city have plans to protect the community, specifically the Hispanic community in Seaside?

“The City of Seaside recognizes events like this can create uncertainty for many in our community,” the city’s Facebook post ultimately stated. It directed people to a resource page on the city’s website.

“Our goal is to ensure that every resident has access to accurate, reliable information about how immigration enforcement works in Oregon,” the post concluded, “and what to expect from your local police.”

Resolutions like those passed by Cannon Beach and now Astoria are important public statements, even essential, said Jenny Pool Radway, executive director of Consejo Hispano, an Astoria-based nonprofit that works with Latine communities across Clatsop County.

She called the detentions “unlawful abductions.”

Statements by officials “help counter the fear and uncertainty created by ICE activity and affirm that our families belong here,” she said in a statement to KMUN. “But this isn’t just about Latine residents. We may be the first target, but community members know it won’t stop with us.”

“When city leaders speak up, they are protecting the values of dignity and fairness for the entire community,” she said.

In Astoria, City Councilor Andrea Mazzarella, backed by others on that City Council, is pushing for more tangible action beyond the resolution passed Dec. 1. In light of ongoing concerns about a possible ICE detention center in Newport on Oregon’s Central Coast, she has asked that they consider possible land restrictions to prevent a similar situation on the North Coast.

A reality

After the ICE detainments on Nov. 8, a local chapter of the progressive organization Indivisible held a community meeting in Astoria.

The goal was to educate people on their rights and to train them how to safely and effectively be bystanders and witnesses during Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Usually, 30 to 50 people attend these meetings. Organizers thought that might tip into 100 because of recent events.

“But it was way more than we expected,” said Julia Hesse, coordinator for Indivisible North Coast Oregon.

The room at Grace Episcopal Church was packed tight. Organizers counted between 140 to 170 people.

“A lot of people are scared,” Hesse said. “They want to know what they can do. They want to help the Latinx community that’s affected by this.”

She expects future training events will also be well attended now that ICE operations have become a reality in Clatsop County.

Katie Frankowicz is a reporter with the KMUN newsroom. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/03/oregon-coast-north-officials-wrestle-respond-ice-operations/