A routine day in Woodburn turned tense when a couple of locked-out federal immigration agents found themselves ringed by neighbors in a KeyBank parking lot, then followed out of town by a caravan of cars, according to witnesses. Video and on-the-ground accounts show roughly 60 people converging on the lot, blowing whistles, leaning on tow truck drivers not to cooperate and trailing ICE vehicles until they finally left the area.
As reported by KATU, the confrontation unfolded on Jan. 5 when two ICE officers were temporarily locked out of a car behind the KeyBank branch. A volunteer who asked to be identified only by her first name, Leslie, told KATU she watched a crowd of about 60 people form while the agents tried not to escalate the situation as residents shouted that ICE was in Woodburn.
Video obtained by KATU shows protesters pressing two tow truck drivers not to help the agents. Leslie told the station the crowd even pooled cash to convince one driver to walk away. “I think it was about a little over $100, and he took the money and left,” she told reporters. The footage and witness accounts show one agent smashing the car’s rear window to grab a key fob, and after that a small convoy of cars chased ICE vehicles down 99E until the agents left the area, according to KATU.
Why Woodburn Residents Are On Edge
The standoff did not come out of nowhere. It followed weeks of stepped-up immigration enforcement that city leaders say have fueled fear and economic strain in Woodburn. In a statement on the city’s website, officials noted that the City Council declared a local state of emergency in November and authorized up to $30,000 to support families and businesses affected by federal immigration operations. The release also highlights that the community is roughly 63% Latino and about 31% of residents were born outside the United States…