Immigration officers detained a student at a high school in Oregon during his lunch break on Friday, according to the student’s family.
Seventeen-year-old Christian Jimenez, a US citizen and senior at McMinnville high school, was driving his father’s vehicle around 12.30pm during lunch when agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopped him, his older brother, Cesar Jimenez, told Oregon Live.
Despite telling the officers he was an American citizen, one of them broke the driver’s side window and detained him. In a video shared to the outlet by Cesar Jimenez, Christian can reportedly be heard asserting his citizenship while an officer responds “get out of the car” and “I don’t care.”
Christian Jimenez was taken to the ICE facility in south Portland and released shortly before 7pm the same day, his brother said. Cesar Jimenez added that authorities are now attempting to charge Christian with “interference or obstruction of investigation”.
McMinnville high school’s superintendent, Kourtney Ferrua, addressed the situation in a message to families, confirming that the student, who had been off campus for lunch, was detained by immigration agents but later identified as a US citizen and reunited with his family.
Ferrua emphasized that the school district does not allow anyone who does not have business in the school to enter during the day. She added that students are only released to adults who are approved to pick them up.
“The experience of an emotional event such as this one can have an impact on all of our students,” Ferrua wrote, adding: “Our goal is to keep our schools running as a safe and predictable routine, which is in the best interests of all of our students.”
An immigrant advocacy organization told Oregon Live that ICE detained four US citizens near Portland this week, including Jimenez and two people recording officers.
Miriam Vargas Corona, the executive director of Unidos Bridging Community, told KGW that six individuals were detained on Friday: four in McMinnville, one in Dundee, and one in Newberg. The group said another arrest took place in Newberg on Thursday.
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