Federal authorities asked Oregon law enforcement agencies 95 times for some kind of assistance with immigration enforcement over the course of the past 12 months, according to an annual state report released this week.
The number represents a 265% increase from federal immigration agencies – from June 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025 – compared to the previous reporting period.
Since 1987, Oregon has been a sanctuary state, which bars local and state resources from being used to enforce federal immigration law. In the years since, the state lawmakers have strengthened protections and rights for immigrants, including access to health care and driver’s licenses. Starting in 2021, lawmakers also required public agencies to report attempts by immigration authorities to circumvent the state’s law to the Criminal Justice Commission, which issues the annual report.
This latest information comes amid aggressive immigration enforcement, a campaign promise made by President Donald Trump to expand and speed up deportations of people in the United States who lack the legal authority to be in the country. Trump’s signature domestic policy package, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” would add more than $100 billion to fund immigration enforcement and detention.
In the Criminal Justice Commission’s annual report it noted the majority of the requests were sent by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to local jails to continue to hold a person in custody wanted by ICE. Immigration authorities also requested information from sheriffs, district attorneys and the State Police.
Requests for cooperation also came from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and even one from the Canada Border Services Agency. In addition to requests to hold a person in detention, immigration authorities asked for information such as copies of police reports, arrest warrants and law enforcement’s investigative documents.
Marion County received the largest number of overall requests for cooperation from immigration authorities, with 38 of the 95 reported statewide going to the county’s jail and sheriff.
In two cases, local Oregon agencies told the CJC they fulfilled the federal requests. One turned out to not be related to immigration enforcement, the report noted, while the other was for the jail release date of a person in custody.
“The release dates of adults in custody are considered public information in Oregon; however, if released to an immigration authority, the information must be available under the same terms and conditions as the information is available to the general public,” the CJC stated in the report.
The report also details calls made to an Oregon Department of Justice hotline to report violations of the state’s sanctuary law, which saw a 276% increase in reporting.
