Our View: Property owners last line of defense for undocumented people

Our undocumented neighbors live with a fear so pervasive that everyday decisions originate from places of panic, and worries of being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Anytime they step outside, immigrants are in danger. Many aren’t going to their jobs or churches or routine immigration appointments as they figure out where to be safe.

Right now, the safest places appear to be on private property, where ICE agents need a valid judicial warrant to enter. By saying “no” at the door, we have a good chance of protecting those who need protecting.

Certainly, ICE’s directives will change after Congress passed President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which sets aside about $170 billion to support the administration’s border and immigration goals. Yet, while immigrants are in our homes, our offices and fields, we must safeguard them. We have the power and constitutional right. 

We believe that property owners remain obligated to be the last line of defense for immigrants in this latest culture war flex. 

The Oregon Farm Bureau demonstrated this kind of leadership and got ahead of any attempts to access – or raid – farms and farmworker housing. On its website, the Farm Bureau’s “primer” spells out what ICE can and can’t do, and the rights and protections for workers on job sites. In these urgent, untethered times, we applaud the Farm Bureau for setting this example. Not only for ag industry professionals, but every business that employs immigrants.  

Although no farm raids have been reported in Lane County, there’s cause for concern.

White House “border czar” Tom Homan said a lot of worksite enforcement operations are “based on criminal information, criminal investigations,” such as forced labor, trafficking and “tax fraud and money laundering.”

We don’t buy this.

Criminals can be individually targeted, but it’s not reasonable to raid entire worksites with people not suspected of illicit activities. 

Agricultural workers are one important group we should focus on. Put aside the question of humanity for a moment, and keep in mind that in Oregon, as many as one-third of agricultural workers lack legal status. Agriculture makes up 13% of the state’s gross product and results in $5.01 billion in production. Our state’s resource-oriented economy is dependent on its farms and forests, and agricultural workers showing up to their jobs. Berries need picking.

Trump’s plan to deport 1 million immigrants – while boasting of boosting the economy – doesn’t add up here when so much of Oregon’s economy is built on the backs of people he wants to get rid of.

And more ICE agents mean more risk for undocumented people. 

Dagoberto Morales, director of the Únete Center for Farmworker Advocacy, has concerns about racial profiling, with drivers being pulled over – for no apparent reason – by individuals wearing masks. 

“The fear is real,” Morales said. “We don’t know if they’re legitimate or white supremacists. They seem like they don’t care who you are. As long as you’re brown, they can arrest.”

Those of us concerned for the safety of undocumented people are limited in ways to help. But workplaces on private property can be sanctuaries for people, regardless of citizenship status. Besides being protected under the Fifth Amendment, creating these safe spaces is the right thing to do.