Sanctuary funding is putting Multnomah County, Oregon, back in the national spotlight after local officials approved taxpayer-backed grants to groups that assist illegal immigrants. The initiative, launched Thursday, will distribute up to $75,000 to left-wing organizations that work with populations “affected by immigration enforcement,” according to county materials.
County officials say the sanctuary fund will award grants between $2,000 and $10,000 for services including “legal aid, utility/rental assistance, child care, case management, healthcare, and related needs.” The program prioritizes what the county calls “equitable distribution across diverse linguistic, ethnic and cultural communities.”
The grants are part of a broader $250,000 package the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved in December “to strengthen the County’s sanctuary commitment.” An additional $226,000 from Oregon’s Metro Council brings total public spending tied to these efforts to $476,000.
Of the county funding, $175,000 will be divided among three organizations. Multnomah Public Defenders and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon will each receive $60,000, while the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization will get $55,000 for immigration legal services and “tenant defense.” Metro Council funds will go to Bienestar de la Familia for “rent assistance for families affected by immigration enforcement,” prioritizing Latino/a/x and BIPOC communities.
The move follows an emergency declaration by county chair Jessica Vega Pederson over “the deleterious effects of the federal government’s callous and heavy-handed approach to immigration enforcement.” Pederson said the funding aims to “restore a sense of safety and stability.”
“Because each and every act of terror enacted on our neighbors is an assault against our entire community,” she wrote.
Oregon’s sanctuary policies already restrict cooperation with ICE, and federal agents arrested roughly 1,100 individuals in the state last year—nearly 10 times the total recorded during the final year of the Biden administration, according to the Portland Tribune.
