ICE Arrests Four Guatemalan Farmworkers Near Woodburn Oregon

On August 7, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested four farmworkers—three men and one woman—near Woodburn, Oregon, as they were en route to pick blueberries at a Canby farm. The detained workers are members of the Indigenous Mam Nation from Guatemala, with one identified asylum seeker having fled violence in his home country. Witnesses reported that ICE broke the driver’s side window of the van during the arrest and swarmed the vehicle, while two women and a teenage girl in the van were released. Legal advocates from Innovation Law Lab and Oregon for All condemned ICE’s actions, highlighting the denial of attorney access to the detainees and the violation of their due process rights. The arrests have raised concerns about terrorizing immigrant communities and the potential impact on Oregon’s agricultural labor force, which heavily relies on immigrant workers. Advocacy groups are actively seeking legal recourse, including filing habeas corpus petitions, and demand respect for the rights of Indigenous farmworkers facing additional language barriers.