*Disclaimer: some names have been changed to protect students’ identities

We, the 2025-26 Editorial Board of wlhsNOW, believe that schools should be a safe zone for students and that everyone has the right to a solid education as well as the right to feel safe while in school. But what do you do when you find out that officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are parked in front of a primary school? This is the question West Linn-Wilsonville (WLWV) School District administrators had to ask themselves just last week.

The Incident

On Oct. 13 at 11:30 a.m., the district office received a call from the front office of Inza R. Wood Middle School (Wood) about an unmarked vehicle parked on the campus of both Wood and Boones Ferry Primary School (Boones Ferry), which share a campus. The car was parked on the Boones Ferry side of the property in the school driveway, facing Wilsonville Road.

Andrew Kilstrom, the director of communications for the WLWV School District, was directly involved with the handling of this situation. As part of his job, Kilstrom manages the district websites as well as school and district newsletters, works with media such as wlhsNOW, coordinates all legislative outreach, and works on district branding, marketing, and advertising.

“There was ICE surveillance happening in Wilsonville that day, and the [front office] had just received a tip that these might be ICE agents, which, of course, was concerning to staff [and] to students, so we quickly went out there just to check on who was in this car,” Kilstrom said. “We wouldn’t want any visitor who we don’t know idling in a school parking lot, right? We want to know who’s on our campuses for safety reasons at any given time.”

In the vehicle, there were two men who did not initially identify themselves, but were later confirmed to be ICE agents who said they were surveilling the nearby neighborhood, specifically an apartment complex directly across the street.

“They thought they were on a public road, and that was our private school district property,” Kilstrom said. “We asked them to leave the property, at which point they did. That was at about noon. But at that point, it was, of course, all over social media. People were very concerned with the thought that there were ICE agents on a school campus. What does that mean? Obviously, that’s concerning. So we let all our Wilsonville schools know that there had been an ICE vehicle on campus. As far as we know, they had nothing to do with the school, but that’s concerning nonetheless.”

The Response

Following this event, around 12:30 p.m., the district sent out an email to parents of students across all Wilsonville schools to let them know that an unmarked vehicle had been present at Boones Ferry and Wood, and addressed potential concerns parents might have about their handling of the situation. The schools also introduced further precautions as the school day ended.

“We had a whole lot of extra staff out at dismissal, knowing that there would be some heightened concerns, especially [with] young children walking home from school,” Kilstrom said. “We were just really responsive to parents coming to pick up their kids, making sure every student was kind of accounted for during that dismissal period, and then the rest of the week.”

Throughout the week, the schools have received significant media attention, with local news stations interested in the situation.

“We had quite a bit of media attention [and] a lot of local news stations wanting to come to school during the day to find out what’s going on,” Kilstrom said. “Our protocol for that is to keep any media off campus during the school day, just so that we don’t disrupt the school day and learning environment, but [we are] wanting to provide them that information too.”

Additionally, the district got in contact with local law enforcement at the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) to let them know what had happened.

“ICE is a federal agency, so they have jurisdiction over a local agency like [CCSO],” Kilstrom said. “But still, we wanted them to be aware, especially when there’s someone we don’t know on campus, we need their support if we need to remove someone from campus.”

While ICE may have been seen on a school campus, Kilstrom has received reassurance that schools are not a target.

“We did learn from our Wilsonville School Resource Officer (SRO) and [CCSO] that ICE is ramping up their activity outside of Portland proper, so they are moving out towards Wilsonville, towards Woodburn, and you’ve seen reports of that in the news,” Kilstrom said. “We have received reassurance from our local law enforcement, and you’ve actually seen this commented in the news, that ICE is not interested [in] targeting children. We have no reason to believe that’s not true, and yet, we want to make sure our own practices and guidelines are in place in case something like that ever happened again, [so] that we can respond accordingly.”

There are examples of ICE working outside of Portland, into the suburbs, and even further into Oregon. Earlier this month, a Milwaukee man was detained by ICE when officers mistook him for a non-citizen. Additionally, the first arrest by ICE at an Oregon school occurred in July, when a chiropractor was detained outside his child’s preschool in Beaverton.

Throughout 2025, there have also been cases of this around the country, most notably on Jan. 24 in Chicago, where ICE agents were found near Hamline Elementary School before being turned away, and Aug. 8, in California, where a parent was arrested by ICE outside Chula Vista Elementary School. Another student, identified as Jane Doe* for privacy reasons, has had firsthand experiences with ICE.

“It’s really scary. I don’t like to think about it. I don’t like how they’re so close to me,” Doe said. “At first it didn’t feel real, because I see it on social media and stuff, but knowing that they’re so close to me is really scary and makes it all super real.”

What can staff do?

Oregon is a sanctuary state, which means that the state has policies that obstruct most forms of cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. In this case, it means that schools are not required to, and in the case of the WLWV School District, would not assist ICE in any type of investigation.

“We would not turn over student records. We would not provide them student information. We would certainly not invite them onto a campus or into a school building,” Kilstrom said. “That being said, they are a federal agency, and they do have the right to come on campus. We would always, especially during the school day, ask that they not, and in this instance we are glad that they vacated the premises. Our protocols would isolate that agent, or whoever that is, as much as possible. We don’t think that would ever happen. We’re hopeful it won’t, but we want to be prepared.”

There is some ambiguity as to how much authority ICE has over schools, which is something that Kilstrom is trying to navigate.

“We are talking with our legal counsel just to learn as much as we can,” Kilstrom said. “I do know that there’s a lot of discussion at the legislative level and at the state level right now, reviewing what that sanctuary law is and means. Can they add any teeth to it? Can they prevent a federal agency? What’s a state right that could overrule that kind of federal group?”

Dr. Jennifer Spencer-Iiams, the deputy superintendent for the WLWV District, was also involved in the management of the situation and was present to tell the agents to leave.

“We’re trying to make sure that we stay focused on our mission,” Spencer-Iiams said. “Our mission is to make sure schools are safe and welcoming environments for all of our students. Law enforcement has their own missions, but our job is to support our schools, to try to keep distractions away from our students, and to make sure that our school campuses are places where students feel safe and secure. We have [been] double-checking all of Oregon’s laws to ensure that we’re interpreting things correctly, and we were doing some meetings with our local law enforcement to make sure we all understand and are interpreting those laws in the same way. So our West Linn Police Department, our Wilsonville Police Department, our local Sheriff’s Office, we’re having those meetings [and] we check back in with our attorneys again just to make sure that we’re following that correct understanding.”

At Wilsonville High School, students are given “red cards,” which are handed out to help inform them about their rights and what to do in a situation where they are faced against ICE.

What can students do?

Despite there being a protocol for teachers and staff at WLWV schools if an incident like the one on Oct. 13 happened again, there is no protocol for students. Spencer-Iiams suggests that reporting the incident would be the first step.

“Students, if they see an unmarked vehicle or [a] suspicious vehicle on campus for any reason, they should report it. We don’t know what that might be about,” Spencer-Iiams said. “The people who turned out to be in this vehicle turned out to be from ICE. We did get that verified, but there could be a lot of reasons we don’t want vehicles on our campuses. If you see something suspicious, report it, so we can make sure that we’re keeping our campuses safe for everyone. I know some high schools are really using this as an opportunity to help students understand their rights and in different ways when they interact with law enforcement. And I think anytime current events can make learning about civics more real, that can be an opportunity as well.”

In the month of September alone, the Department of Homeland Security recorded over 800 arrests. Since the inauguration of United States President Donald Trump in January to September, there have been over 200,000 ICE-related arrests, with almost 60,000 currently in detention. On top of that, over 200,000 people have been deported.

“I think situations like this bring up a lot of emotions, and not necessarily the same emotions in different students,” Spencer-Iiams said. “I’m learning as we get feedback from different members of the community, we’ve gotten different sorts of feedback and so I think [be] sensitive to each other and supportive of your fellow students and to stay open to engage in civil discourse if people have differing opinions. I think that staying informed is something important for students to do.”

Sensitivity towards matters of ICE is identified as a point of notice by more than just staff. Doe identifies this as well, citing their own personal experiences.

“[Don’t] joke about it, actually take it seriously. I know some kids think it’s a joke, but when you have someone so close to you that is in danger, and shouldn’t be around ICE, or could get caught by ICE, it’s scary and it’s something really serious, and something that I think students should take seriously and actually not joke about,” Doe said.

As an Editorial Board, we believe that there are many things students can do to respond to the situation.

First, as journalists, we can spread information about such things through both social media and conventional articles. Second, as students, it is essential that you know your rights, specifically the 4th and 5th Amendments. Third, you can educate yourself by doing your own research about the effects of ICE and the presence of the organization locally. Fourth, actions can be taken to spread awareness, such as walkouts and protests.

The Protest

One student in particular, Matilda Laurer, junior, took it upon herself to organize such a protest.

As part of a response, on Oct. 21, students from across the WLWV District performed a protest from 12:09 p.m. to 1:34 p.m. against ICE. Started by a student at Riverside High School, the news spread around the high schools before Laurer decided to start organizing the protest for West Linn High School.

“Riverside and Wilsonville [High Schools] are doing similar protests today, and West Linn being the only one not doing one does not set a very good example of our school, especially with what’s been in the news recently,” Laurer said. “We need to speak out against what is going on in America right now, and we need to stand up for the immigrants and families of immigrants in our communities and support them.”

At the start of the protest, as the group of around 150 students were walking to the baseball field, they encountered a group of around 30 students countering the protest. Dane Thomsen, junior, led the counter.

“[At the end] of first period during passing [period], I was like, ‘let’s get a group of these kids going, let’s try to get a group of kids out there to spread awareness,’” Thomsen said. “I was really just trying to spread what we believe, [which] is just to keep our country safe and have a good legal system.”

The protest was organized over three days without the West Linn High School administrators fully knowing. Trevor Menne, principal of West Linn High School, was one of the administrators that helped de-escalate the situation between the two groups.

“We didn’t really have a good idea of how many students. We didn’t have any idea of a counter group coming out to protest, so the priority quickly shifted to just keeping people safe, keeping people separate,” Menne said. “All students have First Amendment free speech rights, but they don’t have the right to interrupt other people’s free speech rights. So both groups were kept separate so that they both could participate in a speech that they were choosing to participate in.”

In part due to the incident at Wood and Boones Ferry that occurred on Oct. 13, this protest was seen as a way to speak out against it.

“Having ICE officers in our community, so close to us in a school right by us, is terrifying,” Laurer said. “They could come to any of our schools, and they’re targeting families and kids now, and I think that we should stand up against that and make it clear that they’re not welcome at any of our schools.”

Despite not having anyone else to help organize it, other students like Eloise Guarisco, senior, saw the opportunity and decided to help out.

“I saw Matilda’s Instagram story, and I was like, ‘hey, how can I share this? How can I repost this?’” Guarisco said. “I didn’t help in organizing it, but sometimes somebody just needs to step up and yell and look silly and look goofy and understand that everybody is supporting this cause, that we all have a common goal. And it’s scary to share that. It’s scary to say ‘this is what I believe in, this is what I want to fight for.’ But that’s what we have to do.”

Others, including Aisha Owens, sophomore, participated in the protest after originally missing the nationwide No Kings Protests on Oct. 18.

“I really admire what [Laurer] started here today, and I was honored to be able to help just because no one is illegal on stolen land, and I think some people just really don’t understand that, and there’s just a lot of empathy that’s lacking right now,” Owens said. “I think this is a great moment. Protesting is a great way to come to unity with everyone and help protect the Constitution.”

Throughout the protest, Menne, numerous other administrators, and the SRO, Officer John Rimington, followed the students around campus to ensure their safety, following them to the nearby bridge, and around other businesses by the high school.

“[We were] trying to stay in communication with them, to help keep them safe when they weren’t on campus and make sure they’re not disrupting,” Menne said. “The group stayed outside, which was good. When they were off campus, they were no longer in jurisdiction there, but Officer Rimington was there to help keep people safe and keep people off the streets and those kinds of things.”

Official Editorial Opinion

The presence of ICE at schools shouldn’t ever be a problem for students, especially those who are still developing as young adults. Schools are a place of learning, not fear. It not only affects the well-being of students, but also of parents. Additionally, ICE has a history of violent detainments, and that is not something children should be witnessing anywhere near their campuses. We understand the presence of ICE on a school campus is threatening and frankly terrifying, and that it has no place in an environment where students aren’t expecting or are not prepared for such an event.

While things like the “red cards” pictured earlier do exist in Wilsonville schools, we believe that there should be an official district protocol implemented for students, similar to the protocol for teachers if ICE were to find its way onto a school campus again. The specifics of this request include the implementation of a lock-in/secure or lockout protocol in such an event, a list of people students should contact immediately, and a list of rights all students have.

The entire purpose of this article is to spread awareness of this increasingly pressing issue. Awareness is the gateway to education on the matter of, in our case, ICE and its proceedings, and we believe that everyone should be aware of their own safety. ICE doesn’t have any place in schools, and it should stay that way.

This story was originally published on wlhsNOW on October 23, 2025.