NEED TO KNOW
- Residents of Hillsboro, Ore., spoke at a city council meeting this week about increased immigration enforcement
- In emotional testimony, Manny, 16, said he is worried that ICE will detain his parents while they’re at work
- “I just want to tell you guys that I’m scared ,” he said
Concerned residents of an Oregon city spoke out at a council meeting earlier this week about ICE activity in their community, including a 16-year-old boy who broke down worrying that authorities may take away his immigrant parents.
“I just want to tell you guys that I’m scared for my parents to walk out their house because I might not be able to say goodbye to them if they go to work,” the boy, who was identified as Manny, told the Hillsboro City Council at a meeting held on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
“I might not ever be able to say bye or see them again if you guys don’t side with us,” he said. “And I’m scared because of it, because they fought so hard to come here and choose a life for their kids.”
The meeting consisted of three hours of public testimony from Hillsboro residents about their fears and frustrations over ICE’s controversial enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, NBC affiliate KGW and the Hillsboro News Times reported.
Trump was reelected in part on a sweeping pledge to focus on illegal immigration, including vowing to conduct “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”
But the implementation of that enforcement has sparked near-constant controversy, amid reports of U.S. citizens being swept up, families divided and more.
The White House insists its policies are about law enforcement.
“We don’t want to have to be in the position where people are being arrested and detained. But if they’re in this country illegally and they don’t leave now, that’s what we’re forced to do,” Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary with the Department of Homeland Security, told NPR in April.
Critics have decried what they call callousness and cruelty based on ethnicity.
This week, Washington County, where Hillsboro is located, declared a state of emergency due to the growing immigration enforcement, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The declaration enables the county to set aside $200,000 in contingency funds to help impacted residents.
At the city council meeting on Tuesday, Manny, in his emotional testimony, urged council members to oppose the federal enforcement.
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“I hope you guys do side with us because we are fighting for our rights,” he said, “and we are getting treated like animals because people judge us by the color of our skin and the way that we talk.”
“I’m scared that all of us are going to have to fend for ourselves,” he also said. “I’m scared that one day at school that I’m going to be held by [officers] I don’t know — people that are covered, people that I can’t identify because they wear masks and they don’t properly ID themselves.”
“I’m tired of telling my mom and dad every day after school, ‘Have you seen the new video of ICE pulling someone over because of the color of their skin?’ … I really hope you guys do something about it, because I do want something to change,” Manny said. “As a 16-year-old, I shouldn’t be scared. I should be focusing on school.”
Manny’s remarks drew cheers from the audience, and two city council members stood up in applause. Clips of him speaking soon went viral on social media.
PEOPLE contacted Hillsboro officials and DHS on Thursday, Nov. 6, for comment about Tuesday’s city council meeting in Hillsboro but did not immediately hear back.
“The City of Hillsboro is listening to our community members and staff as they share fears and concerns about federal immigration enforcement (ICE) activities in our community,” officials said in an earlier statement, on Tuesday.
“We cannot prevent federal immigration enforcement,” their statement continued, “but we want to share resources with information on your rights, how to be prepared for interactions with ICE, and where you can find help & support if you or your family are affected by immigration enforcement.”
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