Below is an email I sent today to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. I’m sharing it as a concrete example of what “social and political action” can look like for social workers: using our voice—clearly, lawfully, and with professional boundaries—to advocate for community safety and civil rights. This message contains no client-identifying information.
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Subject: Urgent: Activate Oregon National Guard for Civilian Protection; Offer EMAC Support to Minnesota
Governor Kotek,
I am writing as an Oregon resident and a licensed clinical social worker in Oregon. In my clinical work, I am seeing a clear pattern: many clients are experiencing high levels of fear, stress, and destabilization in response to the violence and escalating use of force associated with supposed federal immigration enforcement. I cannot and will not share client-identifying information—but the trend is unmistakable. People are afraid that what is happening elsewhere can happen here, and they are losing faith that anyone is protecting ordinary residents. I also personally have friends and neighbors who report being assaulted by ICE agents in the course of these operations, and I have personally seen their injuries. In plain terms: what we are witnessing has gone far beyond targeted efforts to locate people who are unlawfully in the country and remove them through accountable legal process.
Governor Kotek, the minefield has already happened. When you can count the dead and the hospitalized, this is no longer theoretical. This month in Minneapolis, federal agents have fatally shot U.S. citizens, including Renée Good (January 7, 2026) and Alex Pretti (January 24, 2026), amid widespread public dispute about what occurred and whether lethal force was necessary.
Oregon has already seen what this looks like locally. On January 8, 2026, Portland Police reported that two people were shot and injured in Portland in an incident involving federal agents, and Portland Police stated they were not involved in that shooting. The Oregon Department of Justice opened a formal investigation the same day.
Let me be blunt: even when an arrest might be lawful, shooting first is not what federal agents should be doing. The use of force must be necessary, proportionate, and accountable. When armed agents operate in public with unclear identification and limited transparency, and people end up shot or dead, the public is left with fear instead of trust—and fear is gasoline on an already burning situation.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. warned that a society may have to repent not only for the actions of those who do harm, but for the “appalling silence” of those who stand by and wait. Governor, this is your time—and your responsibility—to act. If Oregon’s leadership responds with statements but not action, that inaction will be understood as acquiescence. When people are being shot during “supposed enforcement” operations, inaction functions as permission.
I am asking you to take two concrete actions now:
1) Activate the Oregon National Guard under state authority for civilian protection in Oregon
Deploy the Guard with a narrowly defined mission: protect life, deter violence, and support de-escalation during periods of heightened risk—especially around large demonstrations and areas where federal operations may trigger confrontation.
This activation must be paired with clear, public commitments:
• Clearly identified personnel and transparent command structure. No masks. No ambiguity. Oregonians must know who is acting under Oregon authority and who is not.
• Rules of engagement centered on protection and de-escalation—without suppressing lawful protest or observation. De-escalation first. Force only when necessary and proportionate to prevent imminent loss of life or serious bodily injury. The mission must explicitly protect the public’s right to protest, observe, and report, including recording events in public spaces.
• Medical response capacity and automatic review. Immediate medical response on scene and automatic independent investigation of any use of force.
• A public accountability pathway. A clear, public process for reporting misconduct and for how complaints will be investigated.
• No cooperation in immigration enforcement. The mission is civilian protection and constitutional rights—period.
• Real consequences for unlawful force. If any armed individual—state, local, or federal—unlawfully endangers life or violates civil rights in Oregon, Oregon must not look away. Direct Guard personnel to secure the scene, preserve evidence, identify involved personnel, and coordinate immediately with Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Justice so that arrest, detention, and prosecution occur through lawful process. No one operating in Oregon should be beyond accountability.
2) Offer Oregon National Guard support to Minnesota for civilian protection
Formally offer Oregon’s assistance to Minnesota—including National Guard resources—through lawful mutual-aid channels such as EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact) so support can move quickly if Governor Tim Walz requests it. Oregon’s offered mission should be clearly defined: civilian protection, medical support, logistics, and de-escalation—not immigration enforcement.
Governor, people in Oregon are watching civilians get shot—here and elsewhere—and they are asking whether their state government will act before the next body hits the ground. Please respond publicly with: (a) whether you will activate the Guard for civilian protection in Oregon, (b) what the mission, rules of engagement, and accountability structure will be, and (c) whether you will offer Guard assistance to Minnesota immediately through lawful channels. As an Oregonian, I will remember how you respond in this moment, and I will share that response widely with my community.
Respectfully,
Stephen C. Arnold, LCSW
technicalcounseling@gmail.com
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That letter is one example of what it means to act as a social worker outside the therapy hour: not by coercing clients or collapsing boundaries, but by using our professional voice to advocate for safety, dignity, and accountability. Here’s why the NASW Code of Ethics supports this—and why silence is not neutral.
