Oral History Series: ICE in Bend in 2020

Ofrenda at a community vigil for those who have died in ICE custody. Bend, OR 2019

On August 13, 2020, I was employed by the City of Bend, working at the time in the Engineering & Infrastructure Planning Department. I was past my two year mark in Bend, when suddenly, in my newfound virtual spaces, information started to spread that ICE was in town, and they had brought two buses to detain our neighbors and take them from our community. I remember being one of the first people to arrive at the parking lot of the Springhill Suites in the Box Factory, and observing then City-Councilor Barb Campbell, park her green car and set up her camping chair in front of the buses. The night would explode with an overwhelming community presence…and this moment would also bolster the rise of several BIPOC leaders in Central Oregon who continue to work for our neighbors to this day.

This is a short narrative to provide context to this open call for interviewees willing and wanting to share their story about where they were on August 13, how it changed them, and if this moment led to more and/or similar situations in their lives.

If you’d like to meet for an interview for this project, you can fill out the form below or click the button to message me on Signal.