Home/ Fights/ Jackson County OR — DEA Cannabis Raids Used as ICE Pretext, 17 Workers Detained
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Jackson County OR — DEA Cannabis Raids Used as ICE Pretext, 17 Workers Detained

Jackson County, OR FIPS 41029
Current status: Sheriff denied knowledge of ICE role; 17 workers transported to Tacoma; sanctuary law violation questions unresolved; surveillance network documented

Summary

Jackson County (FIPS 41029, score 30, igsa:3) is the epicenter of ICE enforcement infrastructure in southern Oregon. The Medford ICE field office covers 10 rural counties. On July 30, 2025, DEA-led cannabis raids became the largest ICE operation in Oregon since Trump’s second inauguration, with 17 workers detained and sent to Tacoma despite Oregon’s sanctuary law. Separately, public records revealed a deep surveillance infrastructure — Flock ALPR cameras, interagency intelligence sharing, and ICE housed in a county-owned building through a third-party sublease.

The July 30, 2025 Cannabis Raids

What Happened

Eleven search warrant raids on cannabis farms in the Medford area / Rogue Valley, targeting licensed company HempNova Lifetech Corp. for alleged psychoactive products sold through smoke shops nationally.

Agencies Involved

  • DEA (lead agency)
  • ICE / Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  • Federal Protective Service — specifically assigned to handle “collateral” detainees (undocumented workers)
  • Jackson County Sheriff’s Office — deputies listed as “primary” at 7 of 10 raid locations
  • Central Point Police — at 1 location
  • Oregon State Police — at 1 location
  • GEO Group — private prison contractor provided transport bus, staged at Medford ICE facility before raids began

The Pretext Pattern

Federal authorities pre-planned immigration enforcement as part of drug raids. A GEO Transport bus was positioned at the Medford ICE facility before operations began. Federal Protective Service was specifically assigned to handle immigration detainees. This suggests ICE involvement was planned from the start, not an incidental result.

Sheriff Sickler’s Response

Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sickler: “The DEA was the lead agency for this investigation. The focus of this case was not immigration violations. While there were individuals taken into custody by ICE, we had no part in those activities.”

A spokesperson acknowledged it was “not outside the realm of possibility” that local officers detained workers during raids.

Outcomes

  • 17 workers loaded into unmarked vans, transported to GEO bus at Medford ICE facility, bused to Northwest ICE Processing Center (Tacoma, WA)
  • 3 individuals booked at Jackson County jail, later extradited to North Carolina on federal charges
  • ACLU of Oregon’s Kelly Simon warned: “Crime as pretext to make immigration arrests” would violate sanctuary law’s intent

Timeline of Disclosure

  • July 30, 2025: Raids occur; community organizers document via social media
  • November 3, 2025: The Intercept breaks national story citing federal memos granting DEA expanded immigration enforcement powers
  • Oregon legacy media and elected officials were largely silent until national coverage forced the issue

Surveillance Infrastructure

Flock ALPR Network

Public records obtained by Information for Public Use (313 pages from Medford, Grants Pass, and Jackson County) revealed:

  • Medford Police Department operates Vigilant, Axon Fleet 3, and Flock ALPR cameras
  • Central Point, Klamath Falls, Josephine County Sheriff, Jackson County Sheriff all use Flock
  • MPD’s crime analysts performed Flock plate lookups for ICE/HSI agents without warrants
  • Officers actively exchanged license plate data with HSI across state lines

The Southern Oregon Analyst Group

An informal intelligence-sharing network (2021-2024) including:

  • Crime analysts from Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, and Klamath counties
  • Oregon State Police, Deschutes County
  • FBI
  • ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents

Members shared surveillance techniques, license plate data, and investigative resources. In 2021, Medford officers conducted a plate check for ICE following a casual request within the email group.

Social Media Surveillance

MPD operated a Facebook “sock puppet” account under the name “Jessica Taylor” starting in 2020, infiltrating “Black Lives Matter Southern Oregon” group and monitoring community organizing.

ICE Office in County-Owned Building

Jackson County owns the building at 3715 International Way housing ICE’s Medford field office. The county leased it to William McCulloch of BM2W in a 25-year agreement (renewed 2019) at $0.28/sq ft annually — effectively providing ICE access to publicly owned property through a private intermediary.

Josephine County HSI MOU

A 2021 Memorandum of Understanding between HSI and Josephine County Sheriff’s Office allows designated officers to perform customs duties, though administrative immigration enforcement authority was not formally transferred.

Community Response

  • June 2025: ACLU and privacy advocates raise alarm over Flock cameras and ICE data sharing
  • Medford Police “die-in” protest: Dozens gathered at Medford ICE office
  • False raid calls: Medford Police warned public about false ICE raid calls spreading fear (June 2025)
  • Unete Oregon (Jackson-based nonprofit): Reports immigrants afraid to buy groceries or send kids to school

Why This Matters

Jackson County demonstrates three sanctuary law bypass mechanisms operating simultaneously:

  1. Drug enforcement pretext — DEA-led raids provide legal cover for planned ICE operations
  2. Surveillance sharing — ALPR data and interagency intelligence networks allow ICE to track targets without formal 287(g) agreements
  3. Property laundering — County-owned building houses ICE through private sublease, avoiding direct public body cooperation

This is the most sophisticated sanctuary evasion infrastructure documented in Oregon.

Sources

Cross-References

This research is published at The RAMM — investigative reporting on the detention pipeline.
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Last updated: Apr 13, 2026