Legal advocates have dropped a lawsuit that sought expanded attorney access for people detained at Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices across Oregon, ending a legal fight that began in 2025 over whether detainees were being denied timely contact with lawyers. The dismissal came after a federal judge in September rejected the advocates’ request for a preliminary injunction that would have forced ICE to open its doors to attorneys for 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Portland-based Innovation Law Lab filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, according to Lookout Eugene-Springfield, closing out a case the organization filed on behalf of Clear Clinic, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste and an individual plaintiff identified in court papers as Leon X. Clear Clinic is a Portland-based legal organization, while Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, known as PCUN, is a community advocacy group. Both organizations, along with the Department of Homeland Security, had been locked in litigation since 2025, when the groups accused ICE officers of blocking detainees from accessing lawyers, as Courthouse News Service reported.
A Judge’s September Ruling Sealed the Case’s Fate
The dismissal followed a September 30 ruling in which U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken denied the plaintiffs’ motions for a preliminary injunction and class certification, according to Innovation Law Lab. Aiken found that of the three plaintiffs, only Clear Clinic had standing to pursue its claims and seek the injunction, Courthouse News reported. The judge characterized the relief the plaintiffs sought as a mandatory injunction requiring a higher burden of proof, and she noted that attorneys have been able to access clients, though not to the degree, duration or hours they wanted.
Aiken also cited a lack of testimony from anyone actually detained at an Oregon ICE field office, and she said the evidence failed to support claims that ICE officers pressured individuals to waive important rights. The judge noted that plaintiffs did not claim detainees had been held for more than 12 hours at any Oregon field office, which are designed to hold detainees for no longer than that window. Oregon has three ICE field offices, located in Eugene, Medford and Portland, per the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
What the Lawsuit Had Asked For
The plaintiffs’ preliminary-injunction motion had proposed set operating hours for all Oregon ICE field offices, including weekends and holidays, with 12 hours of continuous attorney access running from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, according to the plaintiffs’ own motion filed with the court. The filing also asked the court to block ICE from transferring anyone detained in Oregon for civil immigration violations until they had notice, time and space to reach a lawyer.
To illustrate the access problems they described, the plaintiffs pointed to an October 30, 2025, enforcement sweep in Woodburn, where pro bono attorneys were allowed to meet with just 11 of the more than 30 farmworkers and community members detained that day, the motion stated. The same filing alleged that attorney access at the Portland ICE office had been limited to weekday hours between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., with what the plaintiffs described as a blanket ban on weekend or holiday visits.
Advocates Vow to Keep Pushing on Due Process
Leni Tupper, executive director of Clear Clinic, said the case exposed severe, systemic barriers that ICE creates to block community members’ access to justice. Tupper said ICE routinely denies detained Oregonians their right to counsel and that the organization will continue fighting for due process, according to the account relayed by Lookout Eugene-Springfield. Clear Clinic pledged to keep fighting for due process for all, per that same report.
The legal fight unfolded against a backdrop that Oregon immigration lawyers have described as increasingly unpredictable. Since President Trump took office in January, immigration lawyers in Oregon say they have experienced inconsistent restrictions on their ability to talk with clients in detention, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported. Innovation Law Lab has separately said ICE enforcement actions have significantly increased in Oregon, including in Eugene, Woodburn and Hillsboro and the surrounding areas, according to the organization’s case summary.
