At least nine people were detained by immigration agents Tuesday in Gresham, Troutdale and eastern Portland, according to the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, which tracks reports through a hotline and checks them against the federal detainee locator. The reported arrests, some of them in public during the day, prompted concern among advocates that federal immigration enforcement may be expanding again in the Portland area. The coalition’s co-director, Alyssa Walker Keller, described a sharp increase in activity and said community members were worried about what they were seeing. Reports of enforcement continued Wednesday in Washington and Marion counties. Witnesses, video footage and immigration attorneys helped corroborate some incidents, though the total number of detentions remained unclear. At a restaurant at Mall 205, employee Yesenia Morales said four agents arrested a man outside around 11 a.m. Tuesday; she said two other people appeared to already be in an agent’s vehicle. Video reviewed by reporters showed agents breaking a car window during a traffic stop near Century High School in Hillsboro shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday. It was not clear whether anyone was detained. The Hillsboro School District said it knew of enforcement in neighborhoods around district schools but said no actions took place on school grounds. Oregon’s immigration arrests climbed after a sharp decline earlier this year, according to figures compiled by the Deportation Data Project. Monthly arrests reached 484 last November, fell to 30 in March, then rose to 186 in June and 174 in July. The project had not yet published statewide figures for August or September. The latest activity has intensified concerns about a possible new operation, particularly after the Department of Homeland Security recently pledged to target sanctuary jurisdictions such as Oregon. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not say whether it had launched an operation in Portland. An agency spokesperson said arrests would continue routinely nationwide and that people who violate immigration law could be detained regardless of criminal history. State Rep. Ricki Ruiz, who represents Gresham, said residents see similarities between this week’s enforcement and tactics used during Operation Black Rose, a regional immigration sweep last fall. Ruiz said people are understandably concerned, but added that community members are better prepared to share reliable information and support one another than they were a year ago. Access to legal help is another concern. Immigration attorneys say they have had difficulty meeting newly detained people at Portland’s ICE facility, where detainees may be transferred to facilities in other states. CLEAR Clinic attorney Josie Moberg said she was turned away from the facility a dozen times Tuesday. She said some people held there are denied phone calls and asked to sign deportation paperwork before speaking with a lawyer. A federal judge declined Sept. 30 to grant CLEAR Clinic’s request for a guarantee that detainees could consult attorneys in Oregon before being transferred. Moberg said people should be able to get legal advice before making decisions that affect their rights. ICE did not provide information about its current attorney-access policies.