Oregon High School Senior And U.S. Citizen Detained By ICE

The detention of a teenager and U.S. citizen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in McMinnville, Oregon, this past week has exposed a disturbing uptick in aggressive enforcement tactics, including the wrongful seizure of children and the agency’s persistent pattern of lying to justify its use of force and lack of accountability retroactively.

17-year-old Christian Jimenez, a U.S. citizen and a high school senior, was reportedly driving his father’s car during his lunch break in school when ICE officers stopped his car. 

The teenager reportedly told the officers he was a U.S. citizen, but an officer proceeded to break the car’s driver’s side window and detain him. In a video shared by Cesar Jimenez, the boy can be heard telling an officer that he is a citizen, to which the officer replies, “Get out of the car” and “I don’t care.”

The incident is the latest in a wave of targeted arrests across the country that advocates argue demonstrates a profound disregard for constitutional rights, not just for immigrants but for American citizens as well.  

School officials said that they were unaware of the ICE arrest before it happened, and there was an increased visibility of teachers and support staff during arrival and dismissal on Friday. District administrators reportedly planned to meet at the end of the school day to determine the best response to students’ social and emotional needs.

“Knowledge of an emotional event such as this one can have impacts for all students,” Ferrua said. “Our strong team of school counselors are available for any student who may need support in processing these events.”

The senior was confirmed by both his family and local school officials to be a U.S. citizen, ringing an immediate alarm within the local community, which gathered in large protests, including a 300-student walkout, over the increasing militarization of immigration enforcement and the targeting of children near school grounds.  

While the facts show that ICE agents detained a minor U.S. citizen near his school, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement regarding the incident, alleging the arrest was the result of the teenager engaging in combative behavior, and “violently attacked” them using his vehicle or had attempted to use his truck to “block border patrol vehicles.”  

Responding to a post by Sen. Jeff Merkley who was expressing anger about the high school student’s detention, the agency took to X posting the timeline of events that they claim led to Christian Jimenez’s arrest. 

“Senator, you’re missing the facts. This 17-year-old used his vehicle to violently ATTACK ICE and Border Patrol agents,” the agency wrote. Border Patrol called for urgent assistance from ICE officers. When ICE officers arrived, the Ford F-150 fled the area. USBP and ICE officers approached the Tahoe, ordered the occupants out, and arrested the driver, identified as Isaias Eduardo Soto Elias, a 20-year-old U.S. Citizen, for impeding federal law enforcement officers. Shortly after, another team located the Ford F-150 and arrested the driver, identified as a 17-year-old U.S. citizen, also for impeding federal law enforcement officers.“

This description, which paints the high school senior as a violent assailant and attempts to legitimize the aggressive enforcement, has been firmly refuted by the family and immigrant-justice groups, who state that the teen was one of four U.S. citizens detained by ICE agents last week, including two women for filming ICE officers in the area.

“Four U.S. citizens were held for hours without access to an attorney, leaving their family members terrified and desperate to find out what happened to them,” Oregon for All Network Director Jess Montoya said in a statement. “All of us should be concerned about ICE operating outside of the laws of our country, disappearing even U.S. citizens without concern or fear of consequences. ICE’s intimidation of Oregonians is unacceptable. It is long past the time for the Trump Administration to follow the law and hold its employees accountable.”

SEE ALSO:

Donald Trump Is Lying About ‘War-Ravaged’ Portland

Trump Paints Portland As A ‘War Zone’ To Justify Federal Overreach