PORTLAND—Randy Kornfield was dropping off his grandson at Guidepost Montessori school in Beaverton, Ore., when he saw cops swarm a car in the school’s parking lot. He said, “They were very cold and uncaring, whatever they were doing. You don’t think it’s going to happen here, but it does…it’s just not right.” Kornfield had no way of knowing at the time, but the cops were ICE agents.
On Tuesday Morning, July 15, Dr. Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, 38, was driving to drop off his kid at Guidepost Montessori, a kindergarten daycare program. What should be an ordinary trip turned into a traumatic nightmare as he was pulled over by ICE agents.
In video released by his family, Khanbabazadeh is heard telling the agents that “there’s a baby in the car” and requested he be able to get to the school to drop off his child before being detained. “Is it hard to wait for three minutes?” He was allowed to do so.
Khanbabazadeh called his wife to rush to the kindergarten to take their child on into the school. The child had no clue what was going on, is heard in the video repeating, “Daddy, police” and “Mommy’s coming.”
Once his wife took his child inside, Khanbabazadeh then requested to move off the school grounds “out of consideration for the children and families.” His wife said, “He pulled out of the lot and onto the street and began to open the car door to step out when agents broke the window and took him into custody.”
Kornfield, who heard the incident as it was unfolding, said, “I was trying to get my grandson out of earshot of whatever was happening. A woman who I believe was the head of the school was yelling at [the ICE agents], asking what are you doing…the policeman said, ‘It has nothing to do with you, so back off.’”
Brendan Hendricks, a parent of another child at the school, described further what he saw: “Our principal came outside and asked for identification, badges, a warrant, that information, and they did not provide any identification or any of that other information, and then proceeded to put hands on our principal.”
A witness who wished to remain anonymous said that they saw “parents crying and yelling. The whole situation was traumatizing.” Witnesses described seeing ICE agents wearing vests and face coverings pulling up in unmarked vehicles.
The Khanbabazadeh family’s video confirms the witness’s description, with agents seen arriving in plain unmarked vans, wearing face coverings, and dressed in vests that only say “Police” or “Federal Agent.”
Khanbabazadeh works as a chiropractor. Eric Squires, who works in the same building as Khanbabazadeh and is a patient of his, told the media: “This is a surprise. I trust him with my health, and I’m shocked that he is in custody. He’s a super great guy, very caring with his patients.”
Khanbabazadeh entered the U.S. on a student visa from Iran. He and his wife, who is a U.S. citizen, were interviewed by immigration authorities earlier this year as part of his process of applying for a green card, or permanent residency in the U.S. The application was all but complete and was only awaiting final approval. An ICE spokesperson claimed he had overstayed his student visa, but according to Khanbabazadeh’s wife, he’s always maintained lawful status in the U.S.
Kornfield said, “I can’t say what this poor guy had done if anything, but there’s a time and place. These are ordinary people living ordinary lives and working hard with children they’re striving to take care of, and they’re being punished for it.”
Hendricks described “the recklessness and irresponsibility” of choosing to conduct an operation at a preschool during drop-off hours. “It’s just not something I was or am okay with.” Squires said. “There’s a time and place for things, and I don’t want to pass judgment, but I think it begs the question: Why did they have to do it there? That’s kind of theatrical, and the exposure to children is a bit of a head-scratcher.”
Khanbabazadeh reportedly went through all the hoops of the U.S. immigration system only to end up detained by ICE agents with face masks and unmarked vehicles who refused to provide badges, identification, or a warrant. Rather than taking Khanbabazadeh to the nearby Portland ICE facility, they instead sent him 150 miles away to the Tacoma, Wash., detention center, making it harder for family and attorneys to gain access to him.
It all sounds dystopian, but the level of callous suffering being caused is only comparable to fiction for people in the quiet suburbs of Beaverton.
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