Atziri Cruz , Victor Cruz's daughter, embraces family friend Erin Palmer at the Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro, Ore., on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Family, friends and local officials held a press conference calling for the release of Cruz, who they say was unlawfully detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier that month.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Family, friends, community members and elected officials are clamoring for the release of longtime Hillsboro resident Victor Cruz, who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month even though he was living in the country legally.
The community made their case publicly in a press conference at the Washington County Courthouse on Wednesday, the day after an immigration judge said Cruz’s case was ineligible for a bond hearing, where he could be considered for release on bail.
On Oct. 14, Cruz was pulled over and arrested by ICE in Hillsboro and transferred to the Northwest ICE Detention Center in Tacoma early the next morning. The arrest came at the start of a drastic uptick in immigration enforcement across Washington County. Community members have recently called for the Board of County Commissioners to declare a state of emergency over the increased ICE activity, pointing to Cruz’s arrest as just one example.
A supporter of Victor Cruz holds a photo of the Hillsboro resident. Cruz was detained by ICE in early October during a surge in ICE arrests in the Hillsboro area.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Cruz’s daughter, Atziri Cruz, spoke at the courthouse gathering and alleged ICE arrested her father even after they discovered he was not the Victor Cruz they were looking for.
Cruz’s family and friends had previously stated that ICE told Cruz during his detainment that they were looking for another person with the same name who had a record of driving under the influence. In an Oct. 20 statement to the media, the family and friends said Cruz presented the agents with his ID and valid work permit, but the agents told him “work permits don’t matter anymore.”
ICE did not respond to a request for comment about Cruz’s detention.
Atziri Cruz called ICE’s recent actions in Washington County “sick and twisted.”
“I will fight for my father and for those who do not have a voice right now,” she said, “and if you continue to support ICE and the terrorizing of the immigrant community, you’re on the wrong side of history.”
Julia Braker, an attorney for Cruz, told OPB that in addition to a work permit that is valid through 2029, Cruz also had “deferred action” status, meaning the government already determined he likely qualifies for a pending visa and would not deport him.
Braker said it’s unclear from a legal perspective why ICE detained Cruz despite this status, which allowed him to lawfully live in the United States. She noted that she and fellow immigration attorneys have seen a shift in ICE practice under the Trump administration to target people based on their perceived race, ethnicity, type of work or language they speak.
This shift aligns with a recent ruling from the Supreme Court, which allows immigration agents to stop and detain people based on these same traits.
Cruz is far from the only immigrant living lawfully in the U.S. to be swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Braker and other attorneys who’ve spoken to OPB noted a rise in arrests of people lawfully living in the U.S., including citizens.
Last Monday, ICE also arrested a father at his home in Milwaukie despite his work visa. According to the man’s union representative at the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, he was deported to Mexico on Friday.
Supporters gather for a press conference calling for the release of Hillsboro Resident Victor Cruz.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Beyond alleging Cruz’s detainment is unlawful, his family and members of Oregon’s congressional delegation have also expressed concern about his well-being inside the Tacoma ICE detention center.
Atziri Cruz, his daughter, said the meals her father is getting are insufficient: last week his friends and family said he told them in a phone call that he was only receiving oatmeal and water for meals. They also say he is packed in a room with no privacy that has three toilets and three showers for 80 men.
In an Oct. 24 letter to Cammilla Wamsley, the director of ICE’s Seattle Field Office overseeing operations for Oregon and Washington, Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici wrote that Cruz has a fractured foot and a heart condition that requires a pacemaker.
“During his arrest, Mr. Cruz was fully shackled — wrists, ankles, and waist,” they wrote. “We are concerned about the harsh treatment of Mr. Cruz given his current urgent health concerns and medical history.”
Their letter expressed outrage at ICE’s “pattern of willful negligence and callousness” required to detain people “who do not have criminal records or a valid reason for arrest.” The lawmakers demanded Cruz’s immediate release.
A spokesperson for Bonamici said they had not received a response.
Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace greets Atziri Cruz.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
No jurisdiction for bond?
Earlier this week, immigration judge Tammy Fitting determined she did not have jurisdiction to set bond for Cruz, which could have provided an avenue for his release.
According to a ruling last month from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, these declarations of non-jurisdiction by immigration judges are unlawful. But as the Seattle Times reported earlier this week, they’ve continued anyway.
Fitting did not immediately respond to OPB’s request for comment.
Prior to 2022, judges at the Tacoma immigration court frequently heard bond cases for immigrants like Cruz, but that year decided to take on a different interpretation of a complex immigration law that mandates detention for people “seeking admission to the US.”
Mirella Castaneda attends a press conference calling for the release of Victor Cruz.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
It was a long-standing practice for immigration judges across the country to see people who had lived in the U.S. for years — like Cruz — differently from those who had just entered the U.S.
Until 2022, Tacoma immigration judges heard bond cases for these individuals. Immigration judges in the rest of the country continued to hear such cases until earlier this year, when the Trump administration ordered the new Tacoma interpretation to become national policy for immigration courts.
Despite the ruling from the Western District of Washington, immigration judges have continued to say they do not have jurisdiction over bond for cases like Cruz’s.
Cruz’s attorney could ask the federal district court — which is distinct from the immigration court — to issue a habeas corpus to release Cruz or mandate a bond hearing.
According to Braker, Cruz’s next immigration court hearing is set for Nov. 13, but she hopes he will be released before then through the habeas petition process.
