Statewide figures show a sharp summer increase in federal immigration arrests: Oregon recorded 186 in June and 174 in July, its highest monthly totals since late 2025, according to OPB. The state averaged about 54 arrests per month from February through May, based on the figures OPB reported.
A separate, narrower count tracks arrests at retail locations. The Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition verified 52 arrests outside Oregon big-box stores and supermarkets since the start of 2026, including 27 since Aug. 1. Nearly one-third of the immigration arrests reported to the coalition in August took place at those sites, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The coalition’s figures cover retail-site arrests, not all arrests statewide, and are a different measure from the statewide monthly totals.
Where enforcement can take place
Federal guidance that had limited civil immigration enforcement near designated protected areas was rescinded by the Trump administration in January 2025. Those areas included schools, healthcare facilities and places of worship; the earlier policy was established in 2011 and expanded in 2021, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
The distinction between public and non-public parts of a business also matters. In an explanation to CBS News, an attorney said agents can enter publicly accessible areas, including parking lots and sales floors, without an owner’s permission. For spaces not open to the public, such as back offices, the report says agents need permission or a judge-signed warrant; an administrative immigration warrant alone does not authorize entry.
Retailers and local limits
The coalition’s reported sites include Walmart, Home Depot, WinCo, Fred Meyer, Costco, Safeway and Ross. Its tally lists 17 arrests at Walmart locations, seven at Home Depot and six at WinCo this year, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. The coalition said it could not identify a specific reason for the increase and urged retailers to keep federal agents off their property while encouraging community members to learn their rights, the outlet reported.
Home Depot told The Oregonian/OregonLive it receives no advance notice of enforcement actions, does not coordinate with ICE or Border Patrol, and is not involved in the operations. The company also said it cannot legally prevent federal agents from entering its stores or parking lots, according to the outlet’s reporting.
Oregon law limits state and local police participation in civil immigration enforcement, according to the Woodburn Independent.
Oregon’s sanctuary hotline
The Oregon Department of Justice’s 2024-2025 annual report says the Sanctuary Promise Hotline received 128 reports from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025: 34 formal complaints of potential sanctuary law violations and 94 requests for information, support or referrals. The complaint total is not a count of confirmed violations. The Oregon Department of Justice said it lacks statutory authority to compel state and local agencies to respond to its inquiries about potential violations.
Detention and access to legal help
Oregon has no federal immigration detention facility, and people detained in the state are routinely taken to the GEO Group-operated Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, according to Lookout Eugene-Springfield. Hoodline reported that the end of Webex appearances for out-of-state attorneys this month disrupted remote access to immigration proceedings there.
