Federal immigration authorities arrested 26 people in Salem Tuesday as part of an operation including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol agents.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman shared the arrest total with Salem Reporter Friday afternoon after an ICE spokesperson had initially not responded to questions about the operation Tuesday.

Immigrant rights groups previously said Tuesday at least 16 people were arrested, at least nine of whom were farmworkers.

DHS provided few other details about the arrests in response to questions, and did not provide the names of any immigrants arrested.

“On November 11, ICE conducted targeted immigration enforcement operations in Salem, Oregon, that resulted in the arrest of 26 illegal aliens,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant public affairs secretary for DHS, said in an emailed statement.

The statement said some of those arrested were previously charged with domestic violence and driving under the influence, but the agency did not say how many of the 26 had previous criminal convictions or charges.

Immigration violations, such as overstaying a visa, are typically matters of civil law, not criminal, and deportation is a civil proceeding. Immigration court records are generally not publicly searchable, and most information requires the name of a specific person to locate.

McLaughlin’s statement did not address questions about what information or processes ICE agents used to arrest people in Salem or provide the names of those arrested.

ICE agents “are trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability,” McLaughlin’s statement said. She said operations are “highly targeted.”

“We know who we are targeting ahead of time,” McLaughlin said.

Witnesses reported agents smashed the windows of a vehicle of people heading to work that morning, according to a previous statement by the Oregon for All coalition, which represents immigrant and Latino communities.

A separate court case provided more details on the operation.

Federal prosecutors charged Alvaro Carrillo, 32, in Portland U.S. District Court Wednesday with assaulting federal agents while attempting to flee during a Salem arrest, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

An affidavit by Special Agent Julie Peay said Border Patrol and ICE agents were conducting operations in Salem Nov. 11 and ran a records check on a silver Saturn sedan. The information identified a Guatemalan man who had overstayed an H2B visa, which is a visa for temporary non-agricultural workers.

“The law enforcement officers approached the vehicle, identified themselves to the driver, later identified as Carrillo and attempted to remove him from the vehicle when he did not comply with their commands,” Peay said in the affidavit.

The affidavit said an ICE agent was attempting to pull Carrillo out of the driver’s side door of the car when Carrillo “put the car in drive and fled the scene.” Immigration agents drove after him. 

Carrillo ran multiple red lights and intentionally hit another agent’s car, Peay’s affidavit said. Carrillo crashed his car after a 10-minute pursuit and then attempted to run away. He resisted officers attempting to handcuff him, the affidavit said.

Court records show Carrillo had no previous criminal charges in state or federal court.

A U.S. magistrate judge on Friday ordered him detained pending further court proceedings, court records show.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 

Salem sees at least 16 immigrants arrested on Veterans Day, groups say

Managing Editor Rachel Alexander contributed reporting.

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.