The Limits of Power | The Crackdown E3 | OPB Thumbnail
Brooke Herbert / OPB
One year ago, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued a permanent injunction that blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland. The ruling capped a month-long trial that had thrust Portland into the national spotlight amid aggressive immigration enforcement in Oregon and across the nation.
OPB’s 3-part documentary series, “The Crackdown,” reveals the broad sweep of immigration enforcement in Oregon, from protests outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland last year to legal questions over the limits of presidential power that are very much still alive.
The documentary also shows the toll immigration enforcement has taken on people like Kenia Jackeline Merlos. The Portland business owner was arrested in Washington in June 2025 and held in immigration detention for four months before she was reunited with her U.S.-born children.
OPB’s public safety reporter Troy Brynelson and legal affairs reporter Conrad Wilson have extensively covered the Portland-area immigration detentions, protests and court cases that have made headlines here and around the world. Brooke Herbert is an OPB cinematographer, editor and producer. Brynelson, Wilson and Herbert join us to discuss their collaboration on “The Crackdown” which aired its final episode last month.
“Think Out Loud®” broadcasts live at noon every day and rebroadcasts at 8 p.m.
If you’d like to comment on any of the topics in this show or suggest a topic of your own, please get in touch with us on Facebook, send an email to thinkoutloud@opb.org, or you can leave a voicemail for us at 503-293-1983.
