Portland man wrongly arrested by ICE, lost in detention system
Oct 15, 2025·Location: Portland, OR
Country of origin: Mexico

Juan Barbosa Gomez, a 60-year-old Mexican national with a valid work visa and clean criminal record, was arrested by ICE officers on October 15 in Portland, Oregon. His family claims the arrest was wrongful and says he has lived and worked legally in the U.S. for over 30 years. Since his arrest, Barbosa has been transferred between multiple detention facilities across three states and does not appear on ICE's online detainee locator, leaving his family unable to locate him or mount a legal defense.
Sources
- PBS
- A Portland family says their dad was wrongly arrested by ICE. Now he's lost in immigration detention.
reason.com·Oct 30, 2025·archived copy
reason.com·Oct 30, 2025·archived copy
- Hillsboro’s Victor Cruz released from ICE detention following case of mistaken identity - The Portland Tribune
portlandtribune.com·Nov 8, 2025·archived copy
- After ICE arrest U.S. citizen in Milwaukie, officials call for investigation - Lake Oswego Review
lakeoswegoreview.com·Oct 10, 2025·archived copy
- The Oregonian
More incidents in Oregon
- Astoria business owner detained by ICE at port, later released from Tacoma facilityOct 2, 2026 · Astoria, OR
- Woman pepper-sprayed by ICE agent after confronting vehicles at Astoria portOct 2, 2026 · Astoria, OR
- Data shows rising ICE arrests outside Oregon big-box storesSep 27, 2026 · OR
- ICE detains 21 farmworkers during multi-agency drug raids across Southern OregonSep 26, 2026 · Medford, OR
- Farmworkers detained as ICE joins drug raids on Southern Oregon cannabis farmsSep 23, 2026 · Medford, OR
- Oregon AG joins briefs challenging prolonged ICE detention, warrantless arrestsSep 23, 2026 · OR