Val Hoyle

U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle is seeking access to her constituents detained at an ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington.

Hoyle spoke with four detainees from her Oregon district, describing them as non-criminals caught in a broken system.

The congresswoman stated she will not vote for any Department of Homeland Security budget until ICE is abolished in its current form.

U.S. Rep Val Hoyle wants access to her constituents detained at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington.

"It was really important for the people who have been detained to know that somebody is there, someone's fighting for them, that we listen to their story and that we'll be able to advocate for them," Hoyle said in a virtual news conference on Jan. 29. "We confirmed and made sure that we've got an open communication to be able to advocate for any of our constituents who are in detention."

Hoyle speaks to detainees in Tacoma

When visiting the facility, Hoyle said she spoke with four detainees from her district, which includes Lane, Douglas, Benton, Lincoln, Coos and Curry counties.

One detainee she talked with, a boy originally from Mexico who had recently turned 18, was taken into custody with his brother as they were on their way to pick salal shrubs.

"He looked so young and he was so afraid to talk to us. He just kept saying, 'everything's fine, everything's fine,'" Hoyle said. "We explained to the translator that we were not ICE, that we want to advocate for him, but he was just terrified and it was heartbreaking, just heartbreaking.

"These are not hardened criminals," she said. "These are people who have done nothing but getting caught up in a broken immigration system and got picked up because they happen to be brown."

Another detainee she spoke with moved to the U.S. for higher education, taught at University of Colorado, Boulder, and moved to Oregon three years ago. The man, originally from Ethiopia, allegedly had his green card expire due to a paperwork mishap — he was not given advance notice of the expiration and has been trying to get it fixed.

Hoyle said the man has four children ages 4 to 10 and a wife who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. The man, who is a deacon, said his church would put up any bond necessary so he can be there for his family when his wife goes into surgery.

Although Hoyle said the Tacoma facility was clean and organized, she stressed the issue is these people are detained and not able to go home and they are not a threat.

Hoyle said she intends to follow up with the four detainees' attorneys.

Funding for Homeland Security, ICE

"Fundamentally, I'm not voting for any DHS budget until ICE in its current form is abolished and eliminated, and we can get back to the place where we are not terrorizing communities and going after people who are caught up in a purposefully broken immigration system that needs to be fixed," Hoyle said.

The U.S. Senate reached a deal to fund DHS for two weeks on the evening of Jan. 29 after Senate Democrats demanded it be stripped from the broader budget package.

"What people need to know is the budget that's happening right now for DHS, even if we stop it, it doesn't stop the funding to ICE," Hoyle said.

She said President Donald Trump's HR-1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, greatly increased ICE funding. According to reporting by NPR, ICE's funding historically hovered around $10 billion a year, but ballooned to $85 billion thanks to the act.

Hoyle also referenced the recent enforcement in Eugene on Jan. 27 that ended in pepper spray, flash bangs and multiple arrests.

"As we just saw in Eugene, I mean, ICE is being used not as it's meant to be used for immigrations and custom enforcement," Hoyle said. "They're coming after and killing American citizens. They are picking up Native Americans. They're going after people who are not, as the president says, 'the worst of the worst,' or people who have committed crimes. I think we can all agree, if you are an immigrant, and you are here, and you're not a citizen, and you commit a crime, specifically a violent crime, that, yes, that is cause for deportation.

"But that is not how ICE is being used," she said.