Immigration advocates in Lane County reported a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity Wednesday.
Elliot Harwell, a spokesperson for Trans Alliance of Lane County, said at least 11 people had been detained across the county as of 4 p.m. KLCC couldn't immediately independently confirm that number.
"ICE has arrived here, and the scenes that we have seen in Chicago are coming here to Eugene and to Springfield and to Cottage Grove," said Harwell. "People need to be prepared to see their community members being taken away and disappeared, and they need to be prepared to fight that to the best of their abilities."
Eugene resident Serena Gilbert said she was driving on Goodpasture Island Road Wednesday morning when she saw three unmarked cars with flashing red-and-blue lights follow a landscaping truck and run it off the road.
She said masked and unmasked officers came out and detained two men who appeared to be Hispanic, loading them into a vehicle.
"It was heartbreaking, because I know that these people have families," said Gilbert. "And all over the United States, people are disappearing and aren’t able to be found by their family members for a long stretch of time.”
Gilbert said the officers didn't identify themselves. Melinda McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Eugene Police Department, said the badges in a screenshot of Gilbert's video recording weren't ones its officers wear.
In Cottage Grove, Abelio Carrillo with the Rural Organizing Project said eight people were still detained following sweeps across four different locations across the city Wednesday morning.
There were also unconfirmed reports of ICE activity near Sheldon High School in Eugene.
However, Kelly McIver, a spokesperson for the 4J School District, told KLCC there was no lockdown or safety response at Sheldon, and they aren’t aware of any immigration enforcement on district property.
ICE responded to KLCC's request for more information about the potential uptick in activity in an email Wednesday afternoon.
"ICE is busy conducting routine law enforcement operations across the nation on a daily basis," wrote Chrissy Cuttita, a Public Affairs Officer for the agency.
