A 38-year-old father was arrested by immigration officials outside his child’s preschool in Oregon on Tuesday, officials said.
The spokesperson said ICE officials attempted to arrest Khanbabazadeh during a traffic stop when he requested permission to drop his child off at daycare. The agency allowed him to the school’s parking lot, where he “resisted arrest and refused to exit his vehicle.”
ICE officials broke one of the windows of the vehicle to “complete the arrest,” the spokesperson said, adding that Khanbabazadeh’s child was unharmed.
Caroline Medeiros, an immigration lawyer who said she offered her advice and guidance to the school and family, told local media that seven unmarked cars pulled into the school’s parking lot to make the arrest. She said that Khanbabazadeh was dragged out of the car while his wife was asking where they were taking him.
“Thankfully, the kids didn’t see anything, but it was definitely a dangerous and traumatic situation, as there were several armed, masked officers in the parking lot within feet of where they were playing,” she said via email.
Medeiros told local media that Khanbabazadeh was being held at an ICE detention center in Tacoma, Washington.
“As educators and caregivers, we are grounded in the belief that children deserve to feel safe, supported and protected – especially in the places they come to learn and grow,” the statement said in part. “While we are still working to understand the full scope of what happened, we are approaching this moment with care and urgency. We’re supporting the family directly affected, standing behind our staff, and looking closely at how we can safeguard the emotional and physical security of every child in our schools.”
The arrest is among thousands of detentions by immigration officials since President Trump came into office. He promised to launch the largest deportation effort in U.S. history. His administration quickly reversed limits on ICE operations put in place by previous administrations and moved to revoke the legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants.
