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Good morning, Northwest.
People detained by federal immigration officers in the Northwest are traveling farther and more frequently under President Trump.
We start today’s newsletter with a report from OPB’s Troy Brynelson on how this practice affects detained people’s access to legal help, family and even their health.
Also this morning, an invasive beetle is threatening Oregon oak trees.
In lighter news, Portland’s Blue Sky Gallery celebrates 50 years of photography.
Here’s your First Look at Monday’s news.
—Bradley W. Parks
Carmen Paniagua holds video chat call with her brother-in-law Jose Paniagua Calderon from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma where he is being held. Jose Paniagua was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 4 during which he says his foot was run over by ICE agents.
Erik Neumann / OPB
Under Trump, Northwest immigration detainees are traveling farther from families, legal help
As detentions ramp up this year under the Trump administration, detained people are undergoing dizzying, cross-country flights more frequently, an OPB analysis of deportation data shows.
The rapid relocations can cause people to miss court dates, impact their ability to connect with lawyers and even affect their health, legal experts and family members said.
Immigration enforcement officials have sent 1,500 people on trips more than 1,000 miles from their initial detention facility.
Planes are leaving the Pacific Northwest, ferrying detained people thousands of miles away. The Trump administration has sent five times more people at least 1,000 miles than in the last year of former President Joe Biden’s term.
For comparison, 337 people detained under Biden last year traveled that distance. In 2023, before the election year, that number was just 90 people. (Troy Brynelson)
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Portland-based Olympia Provisions' uncured holiday kielbasa sausages have been recalled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to possible metal contamination.
Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
3 things to know this morning
- Nearly 2,000 pounds of ready-to-eat holiday kielbasa sausages, manufactured by the Portland-based Olympia Provisions, have been recalled due to possible metal contamination. (OPB staff)
- A boil water notice has been issued for the city of Sheridan due to a main pipe bursting on Friday, and city officials have extended the notice to tomorrow. (Amanda Linares)
- Thousands of glittering holiday lights illuminate Gordon Faber Recreation Complex at Hillsboro’s Lightopia for the last time this year before it’s reimagined next year. (Holly Bartholomew)
Rick Bartow, a small-town Oregon kid who became an iconic American artist
In this week’s episode of “The Evergreen,” OPB “Oregon Art Beat” producer Eric Slade tells us about the life and work of Rick Bartow. (Mia Estrada, Eric Slade and Jenn Chávez)
Thomas Van Hoose operates a band saw to cut a piece of steel for an order while working at Swift Steel in Redmond, Ore. Van Hoose obtained his commercial driver’s license through WorkSource Oregon, a program he learned about while incarcerated. Van Hoose said the CDL has helped with employment opportunities.
Joe Kline / InvestigateWest
Headlines from around the Northwest
- Landslide prompts evacuation notices, trail closures in Welches (OPB staff)
- Oak-killing pest spreads through Willamette Valley, threatening native trees (April Ehrlich)
- Budget cuts threaten Oregon program for helping people get jobs after prison (Danielle Dawson and Wesley Vaughan)
- Eugene holds vigil Sunday for Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day (Nathan Wilk)
- Washington wants to get rid of ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting foam. So it’s shipping the foam to an incinerator in Utah (Courtney Flatt)
- What to know about Washington Gov. Ferguson’s $3B transportation spending plan (Jerry Cornfield and Jake Goldstein-Street)
- Ira ‘Ike’ Schab, one of last remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, dies at 105 in Beaverton (Jennifer Peltz and Jaimie Ding)
- Braeden and Braden power No. 7 Gonzaga to 91-82 win over Oregon (Associated Press)
Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation
“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):
- Portland author’s new book celebrates threatened ponderosa pine trees
The son and granddaughter of photographer Ann Kendellen enjoy an image of themselves on display at Blue Sky's First Thursday event. December 2025.
Jule Gilfillan / OPB
50 years of photographic vision at Portland’s Blue Sky Gallery
It’s pretty unusual for an arts nonprofit to last 50 years.
But here in Oregon, one such organization is celebrating just that.
“It’s really rare to have a gallery last that long,” said Christopher Rauschenberg, one of five co-founders of Portland’s Blue Sky Gallery, also known as the Oregon Center for Photographic Arts.
Blue Sky is the collective brainchild of five 20-something creatives who wanted to provide space for photographers to show work outside the mainstream art world.
In addition to photographing novel subject matter, they regularly conducted experiments such as activating a camera’s timed shutter and tossing it in the air to see what kind of images it captured. (Jule Gilfillan)
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