Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 29F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..
Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 29F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Updated: December 31, 2025 @ 5:25 pm
The ICE vehicles identified by a bystander in The Dalles behind U-Haul on Dec. 30.
Contributed photoTHE DALLES — ICE agents took two young adults from near their home in The Dalles, early on Dec. 30, then returned one home to their seven-month-old child shortly afterward.
Five vehicles of ICE agents followed the family for six blocks before pulling them over near their home and arresting both adults, said Omar Perez, volunteer organizer of Latinos Unidos, who provided resources to the family afterward.
They were asked by the agents, “‘which one of you wants to stay?’” recounted Perez.
ICE soon returned one adult to the home, and took the other away.
What happened to the single person taken by ICE, Perez hasn’t found out yet.
Both are in their early 20s, without a criminal record, said Perez.
“This is the only country they have ever known ... they got brought here at a young age,” said Perez, who organizes aid to the families of people detained by ICE.
“Latinos Unidos got in contact with a person that got detained and released, and we gave her all the information and the resources that we have at hand and that can help them,” Perez said.
Latinos Unidos takes donations, especially of food or Fred Meyer and Safeway gift cards, all of which go directly to affected families, Perez said. People can best contact Latinos Unidos The Dalles via Facebook.
ICE agents have been in The Dalles for about a month, often spotted by locals in the Fairfield Inn The Dalles and the Cousins’ Restaurant area, said Perez. Others have spotted ICE vehicles in The Dalles intermittently since Nov. 7, 2025. ICE activity is monitored by local rapid response teams in Hood River and Wasco counties.
The Dalles Police Chief Tom Worthy said his agency is notified when ICE is sending vehicles on a given day to the area. Worthy said they weren’t aware of this ICE activity, do not assist ICE, and the notifications are only so TDPD knows the presence of ICE in the community.
“They have a seven-month-old baby that could have lost both their parents in one day,” Perez said.
He added, “I just hope our town would be more unified. Everyone is human, and I don’t think we should be judged if you’re legal or not legal. We are all human, and we all live in this same town of The Dalles. We could all treat each other with respect. That’s all we ask for our Latino community in these times.”
With some local families afraid to go shopping for fear of ICE, The Dalles’ Indivisible group is also collecting donations for the detained and encouraging community members to shop at local Latinx-owned businesses.
The two groups are also assisting the family who’s father was taken from Home Depot last month.
He was in Tacoma ready for his court date when he was suddenly transported to Texas, Indivisible leader Debi Ferrer said. The family had already gotten attorneys in Tacoma and they had to cancel them and find someone in Texas. The family started a GoFundMe to raise funds to pay attorneys in Texas.
We didn’t contact the families directly or share their names out of respect for their privacy and their legal risks.
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