A new immigration operation in Beaverton, Oregon, sparked controversy after a father was arrested by ICE agents just after dropping his son off at school. The incident occurred on the morning of Monday, July 15, outside Guidepost Montessori School, when Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, a 38-year-old Iranian citizen, was intercepted and detained by federal officers in front of other parents and minors who witnessed the scene.

According to The Guardian, agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) waited for the detainee to arrive at the school. Witnesses say that after the man briefly refused to get out of the car, officers broke a window and forcibly removed him.

The school was placed on "soft lockdown" during the operation, while the administration expressed deep concern about the event's impact on the school community.

An arrest that generated local outrage

According to the same outlet, the chiropractor had received a signal from ICE to stop. However, Khanbabazadeh continued to his son's school where he was finally arrested in front of the child, who was not injured according to immigration authorities.

Khanbabazadeh’s arrest quickly sparked a backlash from residents, local authorities, and pro-immigrant organizations. The fact that the operation took place in a school setting was particularly criticized. Parents described the intervention as unnecessarily aggressive and pointed out the emotional harm it could have caused to the minors present.

According to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), Khanbabazadeh was in the process of obtaining permanent residency as he was married to a U.S. citizen. Although his visa had expired in 2019, he had initiated proceedings to regularize his status, but in 2021, a deportation order was issued against him.

ICE justified the operation based on the order.although his family has insisted that the procedure was disproportionate and traumatic.

The man currently remains in custody at the Northwest Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, while he faces deportation proceedings. His case has been taken up by specialized lawyers and human rights advocates, who question the ethics of immigration operations carried out in school settings or in the presence of minors.

The debate over immigration practices in the US is growing.

The events involving Mahdi Khanbabazadeh have reopened the debate over the limits and criteria used by immigration agencies when carrying out arrests. Several organizations, such as the ACLU and Innovation Law Lab, have called for transparency and a review of ICE protocols, noting that educational settings have traditionally been considered sensitive areas where direct confrontation should be avoided.

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