Editors Update: 11-7-25– 8 PM– City Manager Robbie Hammond reached out to me to advise me that the City has just modified Section 25 of the rules delivered to City Staff last week. No doubt there were some difficult discussions had around this one. That rule stated that city employees could not/were restricted from recording immigration officers on City Property. As of tonight, they have reversed that rule with a strong cautionary warning for those who choose to do so.
Hammond wrote to the staff: “The City does not agree with the federal government’s aggressive position on recording. However, we must be careful not to put you in a position that could result in this type of personal liability. That said, we also recognize that employees may want to document any experience they have with ICE while in their official capacity as a City employee. We have updated our guidance to reflect this revised language and include things you need to be mindful of if you choose to record ICE interactions while at work.”
Here is the news Section 25:
The Real Story –
Hillsboro ICE Rules Spark Staff Fear: Internal Memo Revealed. Two days ago, the City of Hillsboro management quietly released a set of internal documents to its employees — guidance on how to handle the presence of ICE inside or around City buildings. To many workers, these documents landed like a cold wind through the halls of City Hall. Some employees contacted the Herald immediately, admitting they were shaken, frightened, and even “ashamed” of what they were suddenly being told they must or must not do.
These are not simply instructions about protocol. They fundamentally redefine how a public employee may behave when federal agents enter a City space, approach a resident, or detain someone in front of them.
After reviewing the documents and consulting with legal and historical experts, the Herald can summarize the core concern this way:
Workers feel the City has put them in a position where they must stand silently, unable to help, unable to warn, unable to record, and unable to act — even when a masked and armed agent enters their workplace.
And that is a heavy, dangerous burden. We stand with these employees and the City. Both are in a horrible position- but the time for standing up is now. This memo reveals a lack of legal courage on the part of the city attorney and those he advises directly.
The Most Controversial Directives
Multiple themes run through the City’s new ICE guidance. These are the ones troubling employees most:
1. Staff may not warn residents if ICE is nearby.
The memo states plainly:
“No, the City will not actively notify community members of ICE activity.”
Staff are prohibited from answering even simple questions like “Is ICE around here right now?”
2. Staff may not film or record ICE — even with their personal phone.
Employees are told not to film ICE operations and warned that DHS has expanded its definition of “threats” to include recording.
This means if ICE oversteps or abuses someone, there will be no internal documentation unless the public captures it.
This comes on the heels of Mayor Beacj Pace’s video advising citizens to Film when they see immigration enforcement.
“If you believe you are observing an illegal action, record it,” said the Mayor in a video she produced with Chief Jim Coleman of the Hillsboro Police Department. Beach did stress filiming safely and from a distance.
We now have two classes of people in terms of their ability to benefit from that sage advice—those who work for the City and cannot, and residents who can.
3. Staff may not interfere — even to protect someone from harm.
Employees must not direct a person to another exit, must not hide them, must not slow down ICE, and must not even attempt to clarify someone’s legal status.
4. Staff must not block masked or armed individuals claiming to be federal agents.
City employees are instructed to call 911 and follow “run, hide, fight,” but not to challenge identification.
Workers fear someone could easily exploit this.
5. Staff must report ICE encounters into a City “Potential Liability” portal.
This feels like a red flag for many workers — suggesting legal exposure for the City and possibly themselves.
6. HPD admits it cannot protect residents from ICE actions.
In a striking section, HPD clarifies that its officers cannot intervene in ICE operations — and cannot shield residents from federal arrest.
City Employees React: “This Feels Like History We’ve Read About”
City staff who contacted the Herald described the same emotion: fear.
One employee said:
“This is the kind of thing we learned about in college — civil servants told to stay silent.”
Another said:
“It feels like we’re being made into passive witnesses to things we believe are wrong.”
Several specifically referenced early authoritarian systems in world history — not as a direct comparison, but as structural echoes that made them deeply uneasy.
And indeed, historians the Herald consulted noted unmistakable parallels in behavioral patterns, not intent:
Bans on documenting enforcement
Prohibitions on warning targeted individuals
Forced passivity of civil servants
Fear of ambiguous legal consequences
Wide discretion given to federal agents
No tools given to local workers to protect community members
This is the same kind of bureaucratic pressure civil servants experienced in the early 1930s in Germany and in other countries during periods of democratic backsliding. Again — not the same morality, not the same goals, not the same scale — but the same unsettling mechanics.
And that is what is frightening employees.
Why This Moment Matters
Most Hillsboro residents will never see this document, except for our publication here. But City staff — librarians, parks workers, customer service representatives, community center employees, clerks, and even DACA workers — now carry the burden.
They are ordered not to film.
They are ordered not to warn.
They are ordered not to help.
They are ordered not to interfere.
They are warned that their own freedom may be at risk if they act on conscience.
What they are not given is a plan for how the City itself will protect them if ICE, or someone claiming to be ICE, violates the rights or safety of the public inside a City facility.
That omission speaks louder than any sentence in the document.
A City Frozen in Fear
At the same time, Forest Grove and Washington County declared emergencies — loudly signaling that their residents deserved protection — Hillsboro has issued internal rules of caution and silence.
The metaphor is hard to ignore:
A City Hall encased in frost, rigid under the weight of fear, leaning on laws and lawyers, unable to act with the warmth its residents and workers desperately need.
The Herald will continue to investigate these directives, HPD involvement, and whether these policies comply with Oregon’s Sanctuary Promise Act.
IN the red link below you will find a full copy of the communication document sent to the City Employees
City of HIllsboro Oregon – MEMO to City Employees RE ICE
Política de ICE en Hillsboro: Documentos Internos Revelan que el Personal Tiene Prohibido Grabar o Alertar a los Residentes
Documentos internos revelan nuevas directrices que ordenan a empleados no grabar a ICE, no advertir al público sobre operativos migratorios, y no intervenir — reflejando patrones tempranos de gobiernos autoritarios y dejando al personal asustado, expuesto y moralmente dividido.
dirkknudsen@gmail.com — 15 de noviembre de 2025
City Council, Gobierno del Condado, Historia Destacada, Gobierno
Una Frialdad Cae Sobre el Ayuntamiento de Hillsboro
Una sensación de frío ha invadido el Ayuntamiento de Hillsboro luego de que se enviaran a los empleados estrictas normas y estándares legales relacionados con la presencia de agentes de ICE.
La Historia Real — Las Reglas de ICE Desatan Temor Entre el Personal
Hace dos días, la administración de la Ciudad de Hillsboro publicó discretamente un conjunto de documentos internos para su personal — una guía sobre cómo manejar la presencia de ICE dentro o alrededor de los edificios de la Ciudad.
Para muchos trabajadores, estos documentos llegaron como un viento helado recorriendo los pasillos del Ayuntamiento. Algunos empleados contactaron inmediatamente al Herald, admitiendo que estaban conmocionados, asustados, e incluso “avergonzados” por lo que de repente se les ordenaba hacer — o no hacer.
Estas no son simples instrucciones de procedimiento. Redefinen fundamentalmente cómo puede comportarse un empleado público cuando agentes federales entran en un espacio de la Ciudad, se acercan a un residente o detienen a alguien frente a ellos.
Después de revisar los documentos y consultar con expertos legales e historiadores, el Herald puede resumir la preocupación central de esta forma:
Los Trabajadores Sienten que la Ciudad los Ha Colocado en una Posición Imposible
Deben permanecer en silencio, sin poder ayudar, sin poder advertir, sin poder grabar y sin poder actuar — incluso cuando un agente armado y enmascarado entre a su lugar de trabajo.
Y eso es una carga pesada y peligrosa. Apoyamos a estos empleados y a la Ciudad. Ambos están en una posición terrible — pero el momento de alzar la voz es ahora.
Este memo revela una falta de valentía legal por parte del abogado municipal y quienes reciben sus recomendaciones directas.
Los Mandatos Más Controvertidos
Los nuevos lineamientos de ICE incluyen varios temas repetidos. Estas son las partes que más preocupan al personal:
1. El personal no puede advertir a los residentes si ICE está cerca.
El memo declara claramente:
“No, la Ciudad no notificará activamente a la comunidad sobre actividad de ICE.”
El personal tiene prohibido responder preguntas tan simples como:
“¿ICE está aquí cerca ahora mismo?”
2. El personal no puede grabar a ICE — ni siquiera con su teléfono personal.
Los empleados reciben la orden de no filmar operativos de ICE, y se les advierte que el DHS ha ampliado su definición de “amenazas” para incluir la grabación en video.
Esto significa que si ICE abusa o excede su autoridad, no habrá documentación interna — a menos que el público lo capture.
Esta directriz contradice un reciente video de la alcaldesa Beach Pace:
“Si cree que está observando una acción ilegal, grábela,” dijo la alcaldesa en un video producido con el Jefe Jim Coleman del Departamento de Policía de Hillsboro.
La alcaldesa sí enfatizó hacerlo a distancia y de manera segura.
Ahora tenemos dos clases de personas:
los empleados que no pueden grabar, y los residentes que sí pueden.
3. El personal no puede intervenir — ni siquiera para proteger a alguien del daño.
Los empleados no pueden dirigir a una persona a otra salida, esconderla, retrasar a ICE ni siquiera aclarar el estatus legal de alguien.
4. El personal no puede bloquear a individuos armados o enmascarados que afirmen ser agentes federales.
El personal debe llamar al 911 y seguir la guía de “correr, esconderse, luchar”, pero no puede cuestionar la identificación de la persona.
Muchos trabajadores temen que esto pueda ser aprovechado por personas malintencionadas.
5. Todo encuentro con ICE debe reportarse en un portal de “Responsabilidad Potencial”.
Esto es una señal de alerta para muchos — sugiere exposición legal para la Ciudad y posiblemente para el propio empleado.
6. La Policía de Hillsboro admite que no puede proteger a los residentes de acciones de ICE.
En una sección llamativa, HPD aclara que sus oficiales no pueden intervenir en operativos de ICE — ni pueden proteger a residentes de detenciones federales.
Reacción del Personal: “Esto Se Siente Como la Historia que Estudiamos”
Los empleados que contactaron al Herald describieron la misma emoción: miedo.
Un empleado dijo:
“Esto es lo que aprendimos en la universidad — funcionarios civiles obligados a mantenerse en silencio.”
Otro comentó:
“Parece que nos están convirtiendo en testigos pasivos de cosas que creemos que están mal.”
Varios mencionaron explícitamente sistemas autoritarios de principios del siglo XX — no como una comparación moral, sino como un eco estructural que les generaba profunda inquietud.
Historiadores consultados por el Herald señalan paralelos claros en los patrones de comportamiento, no en la intención:
Prohibiciones de documentar acciones gubernamentales
Impedimentos para advertir a quienes podrían ser blanco
Pasividad forzada de empleados públicos
Temor a consecuencias legales ambiguas
Amplios poderes discrecionales para agentes federales
Falta de herramientas para que trabajadores locales protejan a la comunidad
Este tipo de presión burocrática recuerda a la vivida por servidores públicos en los primeros años de la década de 1930 en Alemania y otros países en momentos de retroceso democrático.
No es la misma moralidad.
No son los mismos objetivos.
Pero sí son las mismas mecánicas inquietantes.
Por Qué Este Momento Importa
La mayoría de residentes de Hillsboro nunca verá este documento — excepto por nuestra publicación.
Pero el personal municipal — bibliotecarios, trabajadores de parques, representantes de servicio al cliente, empleados de centros comunitarios, archivistas e incluso empleados con DACA — ahora carga con este peso.
Se les ordena no grabar.
Se les ordena no advertir.
Se les ordena no ayudar.
Se les ordena no intervenir.
Se les advierte que su propia libertad podría estar en riesgo si actúan según su conciencia.
Lo que no se les da es un plan sobre cómo la Ciudad los protegerá si ICE, o alguien que diga ser ICE, viola los derechos o la seguridad del público dentro de una instalación municipal.
Ese silencio dice más que cualquier línea del documento.
Una Ciudad Congelada por el Miedo
Mientras Forest Grove y el Condado de Washington declararon emergencias — señalando claramente que sus residentes merecen protección — Hillsboro ha emitido reglas internas de cautela y silencio.
La metáfora es inevitable:
Un Ayuntamiento envuelto en hielo, rígido bajo el peso del miedo, apoyándose en leyes y abogados, incapaz de actuar con el calor humano que sus residentes y trabajadores necesitan.
El Herald seguirá investigando estas directrices, la participación de HPD y si estas políticas cumplen con la Ley Santuario de Oregón (Sanctuary Promise Act).
Documentos Completos para los Empleados de la Ciudad
En el enlace rojo a continuación encontrará una copia completa del documento enviado a los empleados de la Ciudad:
City of Hillsboro, Oregon – MEMO a los Empleados Municipales
City of Hillsboro, Oregon – Directrices Internas sobre ICE
Please leave AI pictures out of the article.
You are an idiot. If the city employees assist ICE you are unhappy. If they are told to stay out of the way you stare unhappy. How about these workers just do their jobs?
Spot on, Steve. It’s called the Rule of Law, and telling employees to do their job and not obstruct law enforcement, and yes, ICE is federal law enforcement!
Well, we are not sure who is ICE and who is not. They produce no papers, wear no name tags or badges, so while I agree with your precept, the supposed agents do not have any credibility. Also, cooperation vs non-cooperation or interference has many layers. This particular take is so in favor of and slanted towards the rights of supposed Federal Agents and authortites that it is laughable and weak. Our hard working City Staff deserve better.
Their job is to serve the people of this city. How does working with ICE or staying out of their way help the innocent people telling their government that they’re living in fear? I see one idiot here, “Steve,” and it’s the racist fake tough guy who showed up unarmed (as usual) to a battle of wits. Go lick windows.
Good reporting Dirk. Soon we’ll have federal drones chasing “criminals” and “undocumented immigrants” around the city capturing them with nets and trasporting them to undocumented detention centers. This would include the suspects a well as those violent criminals attempting to document what would then be a common daily event.
I wonder if a public live stream camera mounted on a post becomes a violent threat if it records one of these types of events. Maybe this ability should be banned if anybody within the public recorded space is implicitly being harmed. We can’t have these cameras just lying about capable at any moment of being coverted into a threatning or violent actor whenever a federal agent appears.
Perhaps we should expand more federal operations within states. More federal government spending and less local. We could just have a local federal government blocs for each state that controls everything and remove the local administrations. Communism seems to fit the bill. Make America a Communist Country (MACC) almost has the ring of MAGA. Let’s go!
I am so done with Hillsboro. This is the city I have lived in since 1978. Between not supporting our vulnerable citizens to allowing all the data centers. Time to move on.
Thank-you again, appreciate your considerable efforts to alert us to what is going on. And appreciate the city employees who reached out to you also and provided this.
I read the full document — encourage everyone to also.
1. Need to acknowledge There Is effort being made by the city to limit ICE access as they are putting up signage for private areas. I learned from Indivisible group & city document included that ICE has access to public spaces but not privately marked areas within (eg offices, break rooms). City employees can advise ICE but even state law enforcement has no ability to physically stop ICE. Those who are paying attention to current events know “should” is constantly being overridden without legal process by our current administration. Egs: until Now ICE wasn’t allowed in sensitive areas: such as schools, church, & medical areas. Also, until Now all previous immigration enforcement by other presidents — Excluded current residents: amnesty was given. Sadly we know there are virtually No limits now
2. This is seen in the no recording policy also. Technically this IS legal and a right, but current administration again is arresting for legal actions and apparently (I don’t doubt this) is threatening arrests for this. Threatening Is our current administration’s trademark. Get rid of ant discent (again easily seen for anyone paying attention). The city as you said is between a rock and a hard place. As I’m in local social chats, I know there are hard line Republican city residents who fully are believing what ICE is doing is legal, believe Hispanic residents are “the problem” (Don’t misunderstood, I do not), even to the point of cheering on these too often physically abusive, and certainly intimidating current actions of ICE . Even encouraging reporting immigrants to ICE. I’m sure the city is getting livid emails from these residents. Anyone in these chats know how they’re worded. Chilling in my opinion.
3. I think it was point 2, question asked about school classrooms. Don’t think it was fully answered there. My understanding is the Hillsboro school district made a statement they wouldn’t be allowed in the schools. Because of shooting violence in schools, one thing in place already is schools are locked down. I’m assuming that makes them not public spaces??
Horrible times we are in for sure.
PS, I spoke to Mayor Pace after a meeting Sunday: she wanted to make it clear there is another work session Tuesday and councilor Saldago’s (? Sp) proposal would be discussed more, Not dropped. One point was videoing ICE actions and storing in central repository.
Sen Bonamici spike at that meeting. Only answer she could give to question about what can we do — was to film and Keep the recording. Eventually these unlawful federal actions will be prosecuted, and like the insurrectionists, this filming is crucial testimony. She credited it for making those prosecutions possible.
Forgot this:
Re, declaring a state of emergency. Does nothing to protect our residents from federal ICE overreach, currently is not even possible, maybe with some court actions it could happen– Illinois I think has done some.
It only provides access to money in reserves. I know Wa Co needed that for $ they gave for food and immigrant help. Hillsboro had extra money already which is why they haven’t done it. Personally, even if nothing else I think it would be a nice gesture — even if in statement only, to our terrorized Latino community.
Here are Mayor Pace’s words in a Hillsboro News Times article about releasing $200,000 more (now $400,000 total) to support in response to ICE activity:
“I do see a state of emergency being discussed. If it’s the will of the council to declare a state of emergency, we can do that,” Pace said. “My frustration with the state of emergency is that it doesn’t get us anything. So when the county declared a state of emergency, they were able to free up funds. We are able to free up funds without declaring a state of emergency. That particular action doesn’t necessarily result in further support. It’s a declaration — that’s it.”