ICE Beat Died in the Senate Rules Committee
The Oregon Legislative Assembly wrapped up its 2026 short session on Friday, March 6, concluding five weeks of debate over budgeting, transportation funding, housing, and other policy priorities. During the session, the Democrat-controlled Legislature considered several measures aimed at addressing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
One such bill that failed to pass was Senate Bill 1563, which would have allowed residents of the state to sue law enforcement officers for violations of their civil rights under the Oregon Constitution. A similar measure from the House did survive, however, allowing Oregonians to sue law enforcement officers who enter their property without a warrant signed by a judge. House Bill 4114 specifically mentions places of worship, educational facilities, and medical facilities as property subject to the act, and has been sent to Governor Tina Kotek’s office for her signature.
Another bill on the Governor’s desk which addresses immigration enforcement activities on the grounds of schools and educational institutions is House Bill 4079. The bill directs school districts and public institutions of higher education to develop policies to respond to federal immigration enforcement agents on school property. The Legislature also passed a bill requiring hospitals to have proper legal authorization before cooperating with immigration enforcement officers and sharing patient information to law enforcement agencies.
Additional immigration-related bills awaiting Kotek’s signature include House Bill 4138, requiring any law enforcement officers operating in the state or Oregon to wear proper identification and limit the use of face coverings that obscure their identity, and House Bill 4111, barring immigration statutes from being used as evidence in most civil court cases.
Several other efforts to curb federal immigration enforcement did not pass the Legislature before the session adjourned. Among them were House Bill 4117, which would have allocated state funding to provide legal services for immigrants facing deportation or other immigration proceedings, and an amendment to House Bill 4134, providing authorization for Kotek to withhold funds owed to the federal government if the Trump administration did not distribute funds ordered by the courts. Lawmakers also considered House Bill 4001, which proposed directing the Oregon Department of Justice to study unlawful immigration enforcement activities and recommend policy responses. A proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution failed to advance past the Rules Committee in the Senate. The amendment would have established a right to be free "from enforcement of the law by secret police” if the ballot measure passed in the November 2026 election.
In the U.S. District Court of Oregon on Monday, March 9, a federal judge issued a preliminary ruling on a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon surrounding the use of crowd control munitions from officers at the ICE facility on Macadam Avenue. Judge Michael Simon extended his temporary restraining order barring officers from deploying chemical or projectile munitions in the vicinity of the facility, calling the conduct of federal immigration enforcement officers stationed at Macadam Avenue "objectively chilling.”