Members of the Portland Community,
Portland is a Sanctuary City and Oregon is a Sanctuary State. Our community has reaffirmed our commitment to these values time and time again—we know that immigrants are a vital part of Portland’s fabric, that we are stronger together, and we condemn the xenophobic and racist attacks of the federal administration on immigrants. We uphold our sanctuary status in part by instructing City bureaus not to assist U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), one of the primary institutional perpetrators of human rights abuses against immigrants by this federal administration.
ICE’s dedicated attacks on immigrants are intended to sow fear and distrust of law enforcement. Recently, ICE has issued subpoenas directly to law enforcement agencies across the country requesting information about immigrants. This subpoena action will undoubtedly add to existing confusion and anxiety for immigrant communities regarding the 2020 Census—emotions which were ignited by this federal administration’s unsuccessful attempt to require a citizenship question on the form. The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government cannot put a citizenship question on the 2020 Census—immigrants who fill out the 2020 Census will be not be targeted for their citizenship status. Please remember: the 2020 Census does not ask whether you or anyone in your home is a U.S. citizen.
The City of Portland is committed to a complete count on the 2020 Census and in order to achieve that we need participation from historically hard-to-count populations. Census data determines electoral representation and federal funding—experts predict that a full count will result in a 6th Congressional seat for Oregon and billions of federal dollars invested in Oregon over the next 10 years. The 2020 Census count is now underway—we strongly urge every Portlander to participate and encourage their friends and family to get counted. If we work together, this federal administration will not succeed in terrorizing immigrant Portlanders into an undercount of the 2020 Census.
We want to be very clear—the City of Portland condemns the federal administration’s fearmongering and ICE’s attempts to subvert sanctuary laws, and we stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors.
The City of Portland pioneered and supports the Universal Representation Project, an Innovation Law Lab program that provides legal defense funding for immigrant community members in removal defense proceedings. The City’s early investment in this program allowed our community partners to leverage those funds to receive funding from both Multnomah County and the State of Oregon. We prioritized this initiative because in this country if you are accused of a crime you are guaranteed a court-appointed attorney—however, this same access to representation is not provided to individuals in immigration proceedings. The federal administration is criminalizing immigrants, and we know that all immigrants deserve equal representation under the law. This continued criminalization is dangerous, wrong, and Portland will not stand for it.
As a Council, we stand unified against the federal administration’s fearmongering tactics. We will continue to closely monitor ICE’s actions in Oregon, and we will protect and support immigrant communities. Portland is the city of Universal Representation, the New Portlanders Policy Commission, and Parks for New Portlanders. Portland is a city where every person counts: as a voice in our political process and as a part of our Census. You are welcome here, you belong in this city, and Portland will continue to be your sanctuary.
In Solidarity,
Mayor Ted Wheeler Commissioner Chloe Eudaly
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty Commissioner Amanda Fritz