A sharp rise in immigration arrests in broad daylight across the Portland metropolitan area is sparking fears among advocates that another federal operation could be underway.

At least nine people were confirmed detained on Tuesday across Gresham, Troutdale and parts of eastern Portland. That’s according to the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, a nonprofit that maintains a hotline where people can report immigration arrests. The group cross-references those calls with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s publicly accessible detainee locator.

Alyssa Walker Keller, the organization’s co-director, told OPB that Tuesday saw a “sharp uptick” in activity.

“It’s been a very busy day,” Walker Keller said on Tuesday. She noted there appears to be a change in tactics by immigration enforcement officers to be more visible, after spending a summer being relatively below the radar. “We saw a lot of concern from community members.”

After the visible arrests Tuesday, immigration enforcement stirred up again Wednesday, with reports of activity in Washington and Marion counties. OPB verified a traffic stop near a high school in Hillsboro and an apprehension outside a downtown Woodburn restaurant, among others. Numbers of confirmed detentions are less clear as of the time of publication, the organization’s representatives said.

Since President Donald Trump’s return to office, the federal government has been extremely aggressive about apprehending and deporting individuals in the United States.

In the Pacific Northwest, the aggressive tactics spiked during last fall’s “Operation Black Rose” but fell significantly by winter and spring. Data collected by the Deportation Data Project, which primarily gets its numbers through records requests to Homeland Security, showed detention numbers began to rise quietly in June and July.

Oregon’s monthly immigration arrests peaked at 484 last November before falling to a low of 30 in March. They climbed again to 186 in June and 174 in July. The Deportation Data Project does not currently have statewide arrest figures for August and September.

This is false. No one is off the table. We will continue to arrest any and all illegal aliens that come into our path. Anyone in our country illegally will be arrested and deported. In an effort to protect American citizens, ICE has initiated a nationwide public safety surge in sanctuary cities where our brave officers will be targeting criminal illegal aliens—many released from jails by sanctuary politicians—including murderers, rapists, child predators, and gang members.

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 27, 2026

The escalation in detentions this week, combined with a recent Homeland Security post promising to target sanctuary jurisdictions like Oregon, has raised concerns that a similar operation could be starting up.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson declined to answer OPB’s questions about whether they have started a new operation in Portland.

The spokesperson said only that immigration agents “will continue to make arrests routinely across the United States. All aliens who violate U.S. immigration law are subject to arrest and detention, regardless of their criminal histories.”

Among public officials, attorneys and advocates, word spread of arrests at Mall 205, a Gresham trailer park, big box retailers like Home Depot and in residential neighborhoods. OPB was not able to independently verify some of the arrests, but was able to corroborate some of the detentions through interviews with witnesses, video footage and confirmation from immigration attorneys.

On Tuesday, Yesenia Morales, an employee at Soy Grill Japanese Food at Mall 205, told OPB that a Hispanic man was arrested by four immigration agents right outside the restaurant around 11 a.m. She said there were two other people, seemingly apprehended, already in the back of one of the agents’ cars.

Immigration officials also broke out a driver’s window in a traffic stop just outside Century High School in Hillsboro shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to video footage reviewed by OPB. It was not immediately clear if anyone was detained in that incident.

Hillsboro School District Chief Communications Officer Beth Graser said the district was aware of enforcement actions happening in neighborhoods surrounding district schools Wednesday, but none occurred on campuses.

Ricki Ruiz, a state lawmaker from Gresham, said he and others he’s spoken with in the community also noted the similarities between the tactics used during Black Rose and what they’ve been seeing this week.

“People are rightfully concerned. At the same time, there’s hope that we can stay united and communicate with our public factual information that can help them and help their loved ones,” Ruiz said, adding that many in the community are more prepared today for an increase in immigration enforcement than they were at this time last year.

Meanwhile, new detainees in the Portland metropolitan area may have fewer opportunities to get legal representation. Immigration attorneys say they’re struggling to speak to new detainees inside the ICE detention facility in Portland, which became the epicenter of persistent protests last year.

Portland-based nonprofit law firm CLEAR Clinic sued Homeland Security last year, asking the courts to guarantee detainees had access to attorneys in Oregon facilities before they are shuttled to a larger, more permanent facility in another state. But U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken on Sept. 30 refused.

Josie Moberg, an immigration attorney at CLEAR Clinic, said detainees are sometimes not allowed phone calls and are even asked to sign deportation documents while in holding facilities like Portland’s.

“They’re being asked to make decisions that impact their substantive rights, so they should be allowed to meet with an attorney at that stage,” Moberg said.

Moberg, who said she was turned away a dozen times from the Portland facility on Tuesday, said the total block is a shift from even the recent past when DHS personnel let attorneys make occasional, truncated visits to detainees.

Leni Tupper, executive director at the nonprofit, said there’s no clear connection between the rise in arrests this week with Aiken’s decision, but said ICE appears nonetheless “emboldened.”

ICE did not respond to OPB’s question about what its current policies are on allowing new detainees to meet with attorneys.

Conrad Wilson contributed to this report.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/07/ice-portland-immigration-enforcement-spike-metro/