Cottage Grove woman’s story of ICE actions part of judge’s decision to limit warrantless arrests

Federal officers enforcing civil immigration laws must assess a person’s risk of fleeing before making warrantless arrests in Oregon, a judge ruled Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Testimony during an all-day court hearing included statements from the daughter of a Cottage Grove resident, Juanita Avila, who was pulled over Nov. 5 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers despite having permanent resident status.

Permanent resident status, often referred to as having a “green card,” allows a person to live and work in the United States, though they are not U.S. citizens.

The judge’s decision, part of an ongoing lawsuit, is not final.

U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai granted a preliminary injunction that he said Wednesday was to take effect immediately. However, attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice may appeal the ruling while the lawsuit moves forward.

The Associated Press reported the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, stated last week in a memo that officers should have probable cause that someone is illegally in the United States and also is likely to flee the scene before making arrests without warrants.

Kasubhai, according to the AP, said actions by ICE officers in Oregon had been “violent and brutal.”

Court documents filed by Portland-based Innovation Law Lab alleged Department of Homeland Security officials “have misused and abused the warrantless arrest” in an effort to meet “detention quotas.”

The Associated Press reported several people testified during the court hearing, including a 56-year-old grandfather, Victor Cruz Gamez, pulled over and detained for three weeks despite having a work permit. An attorney for the federal government said he was sorry for what the man experienced and also the effect on his family.

Court documents filed by the Innovation Law Lab on behalf of Cruz Gamez, a plaintiff in the case, stated that he had lived in the United States for more than 25 years, has a pacemaker and was employed.

“There are all objective facts that Mr. Cruz had a low likelihood of escape,” the motion for the preliminary injunction stated.

Court documents also noted a sharp increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests last October. Lane County saw two days of heavy arrest activity in November.

“We have observed warrantless immigration arrests in Lane County, especially since mid-October,” Katrina Kilgren, a Eugene-based immigration attorney, said in an email Wednesday.

Kilgren called the ruling “a huge victory for due process and the rule of law,” referring to the arrest of Avila, who often goes by Juanita but whose legal name is Juana.

“Warrantless arrests like Juana’s have caused a pulsing ripple of horror and outrage throughout our community. For my clients, it has meant changing their work schedules, keeping kids home from school, and generally limiting activities outside of their homes to try to prevent warrantless arrests from happening to them,” Kilgren said.

The Innovation Law Lab, in a statement, said judges made similar preliminary rulings in Washington, D.C. and Colorado.

Avila, in a text message after the judge’s ruling, said she and her daughter were “about to cry,” adding that she had feared authorities wouldn’t listen to her story.

In a court statement, Avila, 47, described in detail what happened Nov. 5 when she was pulled over:

An officer without a visible badge asked where she was born and told her she was under arrest, said Avila, who was born in Guatemala and came to the United States at age 14.

“I asked for the reason I had been pulled over and why I was under arrest. I asked for a document or paperwork. But none of them showed me a warrant or gave a reason for my arrest,” Avila said.

An officer then reached through her open window, “unlocked my door and dragged me out of the car,” Avila said. 

“They pushed me to the ground and I felt their knees on my back, forcing me down. They were shouting at me.”

Video of Avila shouting while being held down has been shared widely on social media, and Avila, spoke of feeling “the most severe form of panic I have ever experienced,” as well as intense pain in her shoulder. 

“I thought they had broken my arm,” Avila said in the statement.

After about 30 minutes, she was released after showing them her permanent resident card, which she had in her pocket, she said in the court filing, which also states that she made a report at the Cottage Grove police station because the ICE officers were masked and driving an “unofficial” vehicle.

“They claimed to be police officers, but they could have been anyone who wanted to do harm,” Avila said. 

In the Jan. 9 statement Avila said she still fears leaving her home, and that her daughter, Emely, and youngest son have also been affected.

“The fear remains for all of us,” Avila said.