Immigrants in Oregon could be significantly impacted by Trump’s second term. Here’s how

Editor’s note: As President Donald Trump takes office, OPB is providing a look over the week surrounding inauguration to understand how Oregonians voted, how they’re feeling now and how the new administration could affect Northwest communities through top issues like immigration, tariffs, criminal justice and the I-5 bridge replacement.

Oregon is preparing for what could be sweeping changes to its immigration landscape with President-elect Donald Trump poised to retake office on Monday.

The state is home to about 120,000 undocumented immigrants, according to 2022 estimates from the Pew Research Center. There are also tens of thousands more people living in Oregon under other designations, including those fleeing violence and persecution, workers who are here on the H-1B visa, or international students enrolled in Oregon universities. The state also has one of the broadest sanctuary laws in the U.S.

A recent poll found that many Americans consider immigration a higher priority than they did last year, and Trump has promised aggressive immigration enforcement and mass deportations. In Oregon, 18% of voters polled listed immigration as their top issue, according to exit poll data from the Associated Press. Of those who listed it as their top issue in Oregon, 90% voted for Trump.

Whether it’s asylum seekers, public schools and universities, companies that rely on visa-holders, or the state’s legal system, Trump’s immigration policies could have consequential impacts on Oregon.

Jump ahead to read about potential impacts to:

A test for Oregon’s sanctuary law

For decades, Oregon has upheld strong legal protections for immigrants. Since 1987, Oregon’s sanctuary law has prevented police and sheriffs responsible for enforcing criminal laws from carrying out federal immigration law.

For example: under the law, state and local police aren’t allowed to ask someone about their immigration status. It also keeps local and state resources from being used for immigration enforcement.

Oregon’s law became more prominent during Trump’s first term following high profile incidents where local law enforcement appeared to assist federal immigration officials with arrests. Courts also thwarted efforts by President Barack Obama to use local law enforcement to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement through a program called Secure Communities.

While the law has been strengthened since Trump’s first term, Oregon’s sanctuary law could face scrutiny both locally and nationally.

Republicans in the Oregon Legislature have pushed efforts to repeal the sanctuary law, including several bills introduced this month. OPB reached out to two of the bills' authors, but they did not respond to a request for comment.

They’re also pushing for changes to the law that would require Oregon law enforcement to ask about a person’s citizenship if they’re arrested for delivery of a controlled substance or arrested with a firearm. In those cases where people are not citizens, the proposed legislation would require the officer to notify federal immigration authorities.

Trump allies have also suggested ways the White House and a Republican-controlled Congress could pressure sanctuary states and cities to assist with immigration enforcement. The writers of Project 2025, a blueprint of conservative priorities for the administration, suggested tying federal dollars to compliance. Sanctuary cities and states have also recently been the subject of a public pressure campaign over sanctuary policies – including in a letter sent to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek – that suggests potential legal action.

“It looks like the Trump administration is going to go after so-called sanctuary cities, try to withhold funds,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU National Immigrants’ Rights Project. “I expect pitched battles in court between cities and states who don’t want to engage in immigration enforcement and the federal government.”

For those trying to stay in the U.S. who are in danger back home, there are a number of paths, including temporary protected status and asylum. Both could be more difficult to access under the new administration’s proposed policies.

Weeks before Trump’s inauguration, a group gathered in a makeshift classroom in downtown Portland to learn how to argue their case for asylum.

“When people come to the workshop, what we’re trying to do is really take away the fear of the process of actually applying for asylum,” said Stephen Manning, executive director of the Portland-based Innovation Law Lab.

The workshop is funded by Oregon taxpayers, and teaches people how to apply for asylum. The process can be scary. Participants represent themselves in their immigration case, but get legal guidance from Manning and others.

Manning estimates there are a total of 60,000 to 70,000 people in Oregon seeking asylum.

He said there’s about 100 immigration attorneys and others trained in removal proceedings, he said.

“That’s extremely under-resourced,” Manning said.

A 2015 article in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review found people who had an immigration attorney were roughly five times more likely to win their case than those who represented themselves.

It’s a situation that could be made more challenging by the new administration. In the run up to the November election, Trump said he would eliminate an app used to make appointments with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at the border, and reinstate the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy which requires those seeking asylum to stay in Mexico while waiting for immigration court hearings. Republicans in D.C. have also proposed a law that would codify that practice.

While many, including those at the workshop in Portland, are seeking asylum, the U.S. also offers another path for people from certain countries: temporary protected status. The Department of Homeland Security designates countries for TPS when conditions there prevent people from returning safely, like a civil war or an environmental disaster.

In Oregon, nearly 4,000 people have temporary protected status, according to a recent report from the Congressional Research Service.

Seventeen countries currently have TPS designations, and about half of those expire this year. On Jan. 10, the Biden administration extended protections for four countries – El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela – into 2026. But those designations could be revoked by the Department of Homeland Security secretary, with 60 days notice. Last year, Trump said he would revoke the protected status of Haitian immigrants.

“We do not expect the Trump administration to look favorably on a variety of TPS designations,” the ACLU’s Gelernt said. “We’ll be very concerned that those countries are either not re-designated, despite bad conditions that don’t allow people to return, or actually ending TPS before it expires.”

Gary Hollands wasn’t on the Portland Public Schools governing board during Trump’s first term. He was co-coaching a seventh grade girls’ basketball team. Still, when the political “climate changed,” as he described it, concerns weighed on his players.

“I remember those girls coming into practice crying,” the now-board member said. “The fear that they had, the uncertainty that they had, you can see it in their face. And we’re talking about kids, right?”

He thought of that team again earlier this month, as the school board took up a resolution to affirm protections for undocumented students.

“It was devastating,” he said.

Oregon public schools are legally obligated to educate every child between the ages of 5 through 18 who has not completed the 12th grade — regardless of the child’s immigration status or their parents’. State law also protects students’ education records from being used for immigration action.

Still, many districts adopted additional resolutions in 2016 — and again when Trump was reelected this fall — to assert their commitment to protecting children and staff.

Earlier this month, the PPS school board unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the rights of undocumented students and laid out the district’s protocols for dealing with ICE agents accessing schools.

“This is a travesty that we even need a resolution like this,” Hollands said before voting in favor. “Protecting our kids, all of our kids, should be a given.”

Leaders of schools, colleges and churches may be concerned about reports from news organizations such as NBC — based on anonymous sources — that the Trump administration intends to rescind policies that prevent ICE agents from raiding what are called “sensitive” locations, including schools.

“Let’s be clear — this resolution is not about politics. This is about doing what is right,” Hollands said toward the Portland school board. “[We’re] standing for children when they need us the most.”

Haley Percell, the chief legal officer and interim deputy executive director of the Oregon School Boards Association, said school board members across the state are “understandably concerned” about the implications for students and their families of any immigration-related actions taken by the new administration.

OSBA is developing legal and policy resources for school districts so that board members and staff can better understand their rights, roles and responsibilities and communicate clearly with their communities and law enforcement.

Undocumented students - including DACA recipients - made up about 1.7% of all students enrolled in colleges or universities in Oregon in 2021, according to an analysis of federal data.

The immigration status and other personal information of all higher education students is protected under federal law. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prevents federal officials from obtaining sensitive information without consent from the student, a subpoena or warrant.

When it comes to possible immigration enforcement, undocumented students attending any of the state’s seven public universities or 17 community colleges have additional protections: Oregon’s sanctuary laws.

“This means that, except where required by federal law, [Oregon State University] will not voluntarily assist with federal immigration enforcement efforts,” reads a statement on the school’s resource website for undocumented students

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“As a public institution, OSU follows Oregon’s Sanctuary Promise laws. This means that, except where required by federal law, OSU will not voluntarily assist with federal immigration enforcement efforts.””

— Oregon State University website

During the previous Trump administration, private institutions like Lewis & Clark College and Reed College publicly announced that their schools would support all students regardless of their immigration status. Other schools, including Portland Community College have declared the institution a “sanctuary college.” That designation does not grant students any additional rights, but officials say it has symbolic meaning.

Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission also protects identifying information of undocumented students who have applied for and received state financial aid to help pay for college.

In a memo sent earlier this month, the agency urged undocumented students to continue to apply for state grants administered by HECC’s Office of Student Access and Completion.

“Our agency does not disclose information concerning a person’s citizenship or immigration status unless the disclosure is required by state or federal law, a court order, or a warrant or judicial subpoena authorized by a court,” read the memo sent by HECC Executive Director Ben Cannon and OSAC Director Juan Báez-Arévalo.

Some Oregon universities are preparing for possible changes to immigration and international travel rules by advising their international students to be back on campus before Inauguration Day. During the early days of his first administration, Trump approved a travel ban that upended the education of many students, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries.

Most Oregon community colleges and universities are already back in session, with students getting back to class earlier this month. But some smaller private, liberal arts colleges have start dates after Monday, including Lewis & Clark College in Portland.

Undergraduates at the college begin their spring semester one day after the inauguration.

“While the incoming administration has not made any specific statement about changes to student visa policy or international student travel, we know that changes from one president to another can cause delays and disruptions,” read an email sent to the college’s international students in December. “New or changed policies are sometimes announced on inauguration day and we would like as many of you as possible to return to the U.S. before those announcements come.”

The college recommends international students be back in Oregon by Sunday, the same day dormitories reopen on campus. Lewis & Clark currently enrolls about 150 international students.

Lewis & Clark’s Associate Dean of Students and Director of International Students and Scholars Brian White said the college always sends end-of-semester travel reminders, but last month’s advisory was also meant to address concerns students might have.

White said it’s important for students to understand that any talk of another international travel ban is purely speculation.

“It’s understandable, these kinds of anxieties, but I don’t think they’re really based on anything firm or factual at this point,” White said. “Lewis & Clark is trying to keep students from panicking and just let them know that we’re aware that something might happen.”

More than 7,300 international students studied at Oregon universities and colleges last school year, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education. The University of Oregon, Oregon State University and Portland State University enrolled the vast majority of those students.

The economic benefits international students bring with them is nothing to balk at. Figures from the international education association NAFSA show students from foreign countries contributed nearly $44 billion to the U.S. economy and helped create more than 378,000 jobs.

Such students at Oregon colleges added more than $268 million to the state’s economy while supporting more than 2,000 jobs.

“But in order for this to actually materialize, we need to make sure that all of the different parts of our immigration system are working,” said NAFSA CEO Fanta Aw. “And right now there’s quite a lot of challenges around that.”

Aw said it’s common for international students to run into visa-processing delays and, in some cases, denials. These issues exist regardless of who is in the White House.

It’s not clear what immigration policies may change and how they could affect international students on or after Monday. While Trump created barriers for some international students during his first administration, as a candidate last summer, he suggested making it easier for international graduates to work in the U.S.

William Velez, Lane Community College’s director of international programs, said what’s most critical for colleges and universities to do right now is create a welcoming environment for international students.

“We want international students here. We love to have them here,” Velez said, who also chairs Study Oregon, a statewide organization that promotes international education.

“We’ll continue to do everything we can to support them and make a safe haven for them here.”

The H-1B visa program allows a U.S. employer to hire temporary workers from other countries for hard-to-fill jobs in fields that require highly specialized knowledge and education.

During his first term, Trump enacted stricter rules for H-1B visas, which more than doubled the rejection rate compared to the Obama administration. But that won’t necessarily be repeated. Leading up to Trump’s second term, Tesla CEO and advisor to the president Elon Musk – who previously held the visa himself – has publicly supported the program, citing its need to help fill positions in crucial U.S. industries like technology.

A small number of people in Oregon’s workforce – around 1,500 out of more than 2 million workers – are H-1B visa holders, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. Around 300 companies and universities in the state employed people with H-1B visas, including some of the most well known businesses and institutions.

As of September, federal numbers show Nike had the most H-1B visa holders in Oregon at more than 240. Technology service company Concentrix has the second most, at more than 200. Nike did not return OPB’s request for comment about how the company is preparing for potential changes to the program, and Concentrix declined to comment.

Major universities in the state also are among the top users of the program. As of September, OSU and OHSU each had just shy of 90 visa holders. UO had just under 30.

“At this time OHSU does not anticipate employees losing their H-1B status,” a spokesperson said in an email to OPB. “We will monitor the immigration landscape and will problem-solve if any changes are proposed or enacted.”

One of the world’s largest commercial truck manufacturers, Daimler Truck and Bus, has its North American headquarters in Portland. Federal data shows the company had nearly 30 workers with H-1B visas.

“We are aware of the potential changes to the H-1B visa program and are actively working with federal agencies involved in the temporary work visa process to ensure compliance with any new administration’s guidelines,” Jonathan Nancarrow, director of employee relations at Daimler Truck North America, told OPB in an email.

To see all of OPB’s ongoing coverage of regional politics and the latest national updates, visit our Politics page.