Pair were taken into custody after being followed from Exit 14, according to organization monitoring federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement activityBy Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.newsTwo undocumented individuals were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers near Ashland Sunday morning and then released from ICE custody after a habeas corpus petition was filed with a federal judge later that day. The individuals’ cases await further court proceedings locally.Identifying information about the individuals has been kept private for their safety, according to Allie Rosenbluth of Rogue Valley Migra Watch, which tracks and resists ICE deportations, according to its Facebook page. The Rogue Valley organization reported Sunday on social media that the individuals were detained around 7:30 a.m. at Emigrant Lake after being followed from Exit 14, the Interstate 5 interchange on the southeast side of Ashland at Highway 66. The individuals were detained by ICE personnel driving a black Ford Expedition, according to Migra Watch. The arrest report was the third ICE-related activity in three days, following on the postponed arraignment of an ICE observer Friday at the federal courthouse in Medford and a rally on Ashland Plaza on Saturday evening that drew some 75 people, according to an Ashland.news report.“Because of fast community response, we were able to gather information and work with attorneys to get a habeas corpus petition filed,” Rosenbluth said of Sunday’s arrest. Habeas corpus is a writ ordering a person in custody to be brought before a court where the burden of proof is on those detaining the person to justify the detention. After a judge reviewed the petition, “the two people (who) were detained at Emigrant Lake were released from ICE custody (Sunday) night.”Rogue Valley Migra Watch has to work quickly with attorneys to seek such a petition under the circumstances, Rosenbluth said, because if individuals detained by ICE are taken across state lines, and in this case to a detention center in Tacoma, Washington, it is often too late to release them from ICE custody.After a petition is filed, the court can issue a temporary order telling the government not to take the individuals outside the jurisdiction of the court — meaning, since ICE has no overnight detention facility within the jurisdiction of the federal court in Oregon, they have to let the individuals go pending their next court appearance.“It’s a widely used tool that helps protect people from being illegally detained by law enforcement,” Rosenbluth said.There have been 33 detentions of undocumented individuals by ICE in Southern Oregon in 2026, according to Rosenbluth, and seven successfully filed habeas corpus petitions, resulting in at least temporary release from ICE custody.Stacy Taeuber of Taeuber Law is a local criminal defense and immigration attorney who handles habeas corpus cases in Southern Oregon through Equity Corps of Oregon. ECO offers pro bono legal support to undocumented individuals. “Oregon is unique because there’s nowhere in Oregon where (ICE) can hold people overnight,” Taeuber told Ashland.news by phone. “They have to transfer people to Tacoma, Washington.”Once a habeas corpus petition is filed with a judge, an automatic order is sent to ICE, telling them not to transport that individual.“They have to let them go because they can’t hold them,” Taeuber said.Exit 14 in Ashland on Sunday, July 26, the same day ICE officers reported followed a vehicle from the exit to Emigrant Lake where they arrested a pair of vehicle occupants. Ashland.news photo by Bert EtlingWhat happens next depends on individual cases, she said. Individuals can still eventually be deported, even after a successful petition.“It’s not a final decision in their case,” she said. “They get released, and they still have to fight the case in federal court.“We’re keeping them out of detention in the meantime,” she said.While it is possible for individuals who are transported to Tacoma, Washington, to file habeas corpus petitions for temporary release, Taeuber said it’s a “much harder and much slower process to get them out.”Rosenbluth said the following make undocumented individuals more susceptible to being targeted by ICE:Having an arrest on record, even without a convictionBeing previously deported at the U.S. border or turned away at the U.S. borderHistory of being deported by an immigration judgeMissing immigration appointments“The pattern that we’ve seen ICE taking in the Rogue Valley is that they, for various reasons, are tracking particular individuals and have been finding vulnerable moments, often when they’re in their cars, to pull them over and make the detention,” Rosenbluth said. “That’s likely what happened on Sunday.”Rogue Valley Migra Watch is in touch with the family members and close contacts of the individuals who were detained and released, in addition to their legal representatives, according to a social media post on Sunday afternoon. The organization is recommending individuals continue to stay informed and to be vigilant.Rosenbluth encourages those who are at risk to enroll with the Equity Corps of Oregon, which offers pro bono legal support. She also suggested individuals meet with Coalition Fortaleza to make a family preparedness planRosebluth said if local residents think they see ICE in the Rogue Valley, she encourages them to message Rogue Valley Migra Watch on Facebook or Instagram and call Portland Immigrant Rights Hotline (PIRC) at 888-622-1510.“It’s very helpful, if we are going to be able to help get somebody released from ICE detention, to have as much information as possible,” Rosenbluth said.For those wanting to get connected to Rogue Valley Migra Watch and to volunteer with rapid response, there is an upcoming training from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16. To receive the address for the event, register online at bit.ly/8-16training.“It’s great for people who want to get involved with the rapid response network,” Rosenbluth said. “It’s also great for people who’ve been a part of the rapid response network and want a refresher.“There are a ton of volunteers who are part of the Ashland community with Rogue Valley Migra Watch and we welcome more to join,” she added.Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].July 29: Updated to clarify the impact of the habeas petition.July 31: Separate passage updated to reflect that habeas petitions are filed with a judge, not approved by a judge.Related storiesPlaza rally decries killings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (July 27, 2026)Case continued: Judge cites ‘legal hurdles’ in ICE citation against local protester (July 25, 2026)Reports of ICE activity in Southern Oregon surge: 6 detained in 11 days (May 30, 2026)Training set for Saturday on how to report local ICE tips, take part in ICE-watch (April 15, 2026)‘The time was right then, and the time is right now’: How the Civil Rights Movement applies today (April 8, 2026)Viewpoint: ICE came for our neighbors in Southern Oregon (Feb. 17, 2026)‘No warrant, no entry’: Rogue Valley workplaces train for encounters with ICE (Feb. 7, 2026)Ashland High School students walk out to demand climate accountability, protest ICE actions (Jan. 30, 2026)Demonstrators in Medford stage ‘die-in’ to protest ICE (Jan. 13, 2026)Close to a thousand protesters marched to Ashland Plaza Sunday to protest ICE killing (Jan. 12, 2026)Confirmed: ICE arrested 17 workers during Rogue Valley cannabis raids in July (Dec. 20, 2025)