HB 3464 has passed Oregon's House 35 to 23. Now it moves to the Senate. This is a real peoples' victory!

Today HB 3464 passed Oregon's House, now on to the Senate! If passed, HB 3464 would protect the privacy of immigrant families by limiting the collection and sharing of information for the purpose of immigration enforcement. Thanks to Representatives Teresa Alonso and Diego Hernandez, the bill's chief sponsors, for leading the effort.

HB 3464 provides clarity on what information can be shared and increases privacy for Oregonians from federal anti-immigration actions.“In Oregon, over and over again, we have answered the call to uphold the values of our constitution and the values of inclusivity, equal protection and diversity,” Rep. Diego Hernandez said. “I believe this bill is good policy. It follows federal law, it creates clarity and consistency for all of our public bodies, it protects the privacy of Oregonians, it protects our limited resources and reaffirms our values as an inclusive state.”

“Over the last few months, leaders in the communities that I represent and statewide have come to me asking for help and asking for guidance,” State Representative Teresa Alonso Leon added. “I have heard from teachers, principals and educators who do not know what to do to protect their students if ICE comes asking for information, I have heard from city employees and local elected officials who want to know what they can do to make people feel safe, and I have heard from our immigrant communities and their allies asking what it is we are doing to protect their families, friends and
neighbors.”

Representative Alonso Leon has won a fully-deserved reputation for keeping her fingers on the pulse of our community, responding to the people, keeping an open door and an open mind, learning and managing the ropes of being in the legislature quickly, and taking on hard fights.

This is a serious blow to the far-right, racist, anti-immigrant forces in Oregon. It is possible that they will again attempt to put together a high-pressure racist campaign in the closing weeks of the legislative sessions. This victory in the House also challenges other liberal and progressive forces to fight the far-right, do a better job and to follow the lead of Representatives Hernandez and Alonso Leon. Can we count on legislative allies to do the right thing? Can we maintain unity in the face of a likely right-wing challenge? Can we win this victory and turn it into a successful pushback against the right-wing's Initiative Petition #22, which seeks to overturn Oregon's Sanctuary Statute?