Police are collaborating with ICE and DHS

Question

In a Fox News article, there is a claim that the Portland area has declared a stage of emergency because of the ICE activity, along with alleged collaboration from the police with the Department of Homeland Security. There will be independent reviews of the Eugene police to ensure that there is no such collaboration. According to residents, the Eugene police were not following Oregon's sanctuary state laws. A lot of these claims within this article seem to be alleged, and only backed up by "residents" or officials merely confirming the existence of investigations. Is there anything that actually substantiates these claims?

Answer 1

Although it may be true that some officers could possibly be ignoring orders, the Portland Police Department have not officially partnered with ICE or Homeland Security. The program I believe you are referring to is the 287(g) Program, which allows police departments to share information with ICE to help deport citizens who have illegally immigrated, and there is no evidence to suggest that the Portland police department has signed on to this partnership. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security accused the Portland government of defying immigration law in May, so it is highly unlikely such a partnership would be taking place currently. As it stands, this statement doesn't seem to have any backing, and I find it highly unlikely for this to be correct.

Accusation from the Department of Homeland Security:

https://www.pressherald.com/2025/05/30/homeland-security-accuses-portland-hancock-and-cumberland-counties-of-defying-immigration-law/#

The 287(g) Program:

https://www.ice.gov/287g#:~:text=The%20287(g)%20program%20is%20a%20partnership%20between,warrants%20on%20removable%20aliens%20in%20your%20jai

Answer 2

Oregon law makes it very clear that as a sanctuary state, police forces are not authorized to participate in immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant, this does mean that with a proper warrant, there is an avenue in which ICE could call for police help and resources (https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/civil-rights/sanctuary-promise/). There seems to be no documentation of Oregon police forces (At least Portland and Eugene police forces as mentioned in the article) violating this law other than speculation. On January 17, 2026, Eugene's mayor, police chief, and an independent police auditor issued a statement doubling down on Eugene City's stance on police force and city resources not being used for immigration enforcement stating, "Since 2017, Eugene’s Protections for Individuals Ordinance has prevented the use of City resources to detect or apprehend individuals whose only violation of the law is that they are present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws." (https://www.eugene-or.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/7331) Multnomah county, where Portland is located, has also made it clear that they comply with sanctuary laws and do not aid in issues purely pertaining to immigration law (https://www.mcso.us/news-information/frequently-asked-questions-about-federal-immigration-and-sheriffs-office). These statements make it clear that at least in Oregon cities, Eugene and Portland most notably, police forces are not collaborating with ICE in compliance with Oregon Sanctuary State laws as well as local ordinances. As the article only discusses these two Oregon cities, I'll keep my focus on that. To say that police are collaborating with ICE is a statement based only on a few instances of speculation and exaggeration. However, it's also not the case to say that police are not involved with ICE in any way, as with a proper warrant and in situation involving other crimes, there is potential for police forces and ICE to be on the same case and for ICE to request police backup. Despite that, to say the two agencies are collaborating, at least in terms of Eugene and Portland, Oregon, is very much an exaggerating and grossly misleading.

Answer 3

The Fox News article " Portland-area county declares state of emergency over ICE activity, as police probed for helping DHS" claims that there are increasing numbers of ICE agents throughout Portland. This being said, they do not write anywhere that the PPD (Portland Police Department)  is in collaboration with ICE or DHS. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office wrote, "Oregon law prevents local agencies from cooperating with ICE detainers". This information concludes that if there are Portland police officers collaborating with ICE, they would be doing so unlawfully. However, according to the National Policing Institutes, Multnomah county sherifs office could withhold the truth. They wrote that "Police departments can support the efforts of DHS without sending a message to the public that local police have become immigration enforcement officers". However, the claim that "Portland police are collaborating with ICE and DHS" is misleading because PPD has not outright spoken that their officers have aided or collaborated with ICE. 

Sources: 

1. https://www.mcso.us/news-information/frequently-asked-questions-about-federal-immigration-and-sheriffs-office
2. https://www.policinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Role-of-Local-Police-Narrative.pdf