Oregon shop owner with green card detained by ICE, lawsuit wins major victory
Nov 5, 2025·Location: Cottage Grove, OR
Country of origin: Guatemala

Juanita Avila, a Guatemalan-born permanent resident and shop owner, was detained by ICE agents on November 5, 2025, while driving on Highway 99 in Cottage Grove despite having her valid green card in her pocket. Avila alleges she was racially profiled and that agents used excessive force, dragging her from her vehicle and pinning her to the pavement. Her case became part of a lawsuit that challenged ICE's "arrest first, justify later" tactics; in May 2026, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking ICE agents in Oregon from detaining people without warrants or probable cause, ruling their conduct "brutal and violent" and a systematic violation of constitutional rights.
Sources
- Newsweek
- KEZI
- Cottage Grove woman with Permanent Resident Card remembers ICE agents forcibly detaining her as daughter looked on
KLCC·Dec 4, 2025·archived copy
- ICE arrested an Oregon shop owner who had her green card in her pocket: ‘They didn’t care’ | The Guardian Mirror
thefappeningnewz.pages.dev·Mar 6, 2026·archived copy
- Cottage Grove woman’s story of ICE actions part of judge's decision to limit warrantless arrests
lookouteugene-springfield.com·Feb 5, 2026·archived copy
- ICE arrested an Oregon shop owner who had her green card in her pocket: They didn
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