BEAVERTON, Ore. — The arrest of a 38-year-old Iranian man by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside a Beaverton day care has sparked public backlash and reignited concerns over immigration enforcement tactics.
The incident, which took place earlier this month, involved Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, who was sitting in his car with his young son when ICE agents approached him. Video of the encounter, shared widely across social media and news outlets, captured the tense and emotional moments that unfolded.
“There is a baby in the car”
The video begins with an ICE officer walking up to Khanbabazadeh’s vehicle and requesting identification. Khanbabazadeh, visibly confused and concerned, responds politely, saying, “Hello, sir,” and quickly explains, “I have a baby in the car.”
When asked where he was headed, Khanbabazadeh replies, “Day care.” He was en route to drop off his son at the Guidepost Montessori School in Beaverton.
The video later shows him comforting his crying child in the back seat. “There is a baby in the car. Is it hard to wait for three minutes?” he pleads with the agent.
According to witnesses and the video timeline, Khanbabazadeh was allowed to drop off his child before ICE agents escalated the situation.
Window Shattered During Arrest
At 8:42 a.m., the video cuts to a more intense scene where ICE agents forcibly remove Khanbabazadeh from his vehicle. One officer breaks a car window, prompting Khanbabazadeh to shout, “I’m getting out.”
An agent can be heard responding, “You should have gotten out already.”
ICE later released a statement saying that Khanbabazadeh was detained for overstaying the term of his visa. The agency claims he had stopped cooperating with officers, resisted arrest, and refused to exit his vehicle, which led to them using force to take him into custody.
Community Reaction and Legal Response
The arrest has drawn strong criticism from local immigrant rights advocates and community members.
Marco Mejia, a member of the Deportation Defense Coalition, condemned the manner of the arrest, calling it “traumatic” not only for Khanbabazadeh’s family but for the broader immigrant community.
“For me, it’s very traumatic. I am a migrant too, and I come from a country where I grew up under dictatorships. It is a trauma that they created for this family,” Mejia said.
He added that such actions by authorities risk creating long-term emotional and psychological harm:
“If they keep doing this, they are creating a generation of people that are going to be traumatized and very angry about what the government is doing.”
A witness at the scene also expressed frustration with the situation, questioning the necessity of escalating the arrest in front of a child.
Awaiting Bond Hearing
Khanbabazadeh is currently being held in an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, where he awaits a bond hearing. Advocates are calling for his immediate release and are urging ICE to review enforcement policies that may put families and young children in distressing situations.
The case has reignited ongoing conversations about humane immigration enforcement and the impact of deportation actions on families and communities in Oregon and across the country.
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