Parents and teachers in Oregon have formed neighborhood "ICE watch" networks that monitor and report ICE activity, often concentrating on areas near schools. Volunteers use text chains, whistles and social media—including Portland-based accounts such as @pdxicewatch—to alert communities and maintain a database of suspected ICE vehicles. Organizers say the groups grew in response to stepped-up immigration enforcement, while city leaders have condemned certain ICE tactics, including alleged use of chemical munitions.
Neighbors On Alert: Oregon Parents And Teachers Run 'ICE Watch' Networks Near Schools
Parents and teachers across Oregon have organized neighborhood "ICE watch" networks that monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity—frequently focusing on areas around schools. Organizers say the grassroots effort is designed to warn community members when federal agents are nearby and to show visible support for immigrant families.
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) reported in October that volunteers in these groups station themselves at strategic points throughout neighborhoods—often near school entrances, alleyways and dead-end streets—to look out for ICE officers. When agents are spotted, participants activate text chains, use whistles and share alerts through social media to notify parents, students and neighbors.
Online Coordination and a Public Database
Several Portland-focused Instagram accounts have emerged as coordination hubs for the groups. One prominent account, @pdxicewatch, which has roughly 23,000 followers, posts reported locations of ICE activity, operates a tip line and helps maintain a publicly accessible database cataloging vehicles believed to be used by ICE officers (including models, sightings and license-plate numbers).
Guides and Concerns
Informational posts shared by the networks include tactical advice for community response. One slide circulated in November urged volunteers to "focus on areas that seem quiet around the school; ICE likes to kidnap people in alleyways and dead-end streets." Another slide highlighted possible communication gaps within schools: "Sometimes staff will reach out, but the admin in the front office will not. There can be a disconnect between brown and black teachers/social workers and an all-white admin staff."
Responses From ICE And City Leaders
ICE told OPB it conducts some enforcement actions near schools to "safeguard schools and places of worship by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting them as safe havens," adding that the Department of Homeland Security now permits such actions with supervisory approval and describes them as "rare and discretionary."
"We’re making ourselves present and visible so that our families see we stand with our community, and we stand as a message that our students deserve to learn in confidence and not in fear," teacher Andy Bunting told OPB in October.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and other city officials publicly condemned what they described as aggressive ICE tactics, including allegations that officers deployed chemical pepper balls during an arrest in North Portland. City leaders said in a statement that such actions "directly contradict Portland's values" and undermine public trust.
Earlier this year, protests outside Portland’s ICE facility intensified, becoming nearly nightly events as activists rallied against deportations and the federal government's increased immigration enforcement. Similar neighborhood alert groups have also appeared in other states, including California.
Context
Organizers and city officials frame the networks as both a protective measure and a form of civic resistance to stepped-up federal immigration enforcement. ICE and local leaders offer competing narratives about the necessity and appropriateness of operations near schools, leaving communities to weigh concerns about safety, civil liberties and the best way to protect students and immigrant families.
