Oregon Hits Back: Defending Sanctuary Status and Gender-Affirming Care from Trump Policies
Amid nationwide protests and lawsuits suing the Trump administration, Portland has joined a coalition of local governments opposing executive orders and actions that harm immigrants living in cities with sanctuary policies and minors under 19 seeking gender-affirming treatments.
Portland Joins California to Maintain Its Status as a Sanctuary for Immigrants
Portland has joined the Californian counties of San Francisco and Santa Clara in a lawsuit that is filed in Northern California.
President Donald Trump’s new U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, issued a statement confirming that sanctuary states such as Oregon and California will not receive federal funding from the Department of Justice.
Portland has been a sanctuary city since 2017, and Mayor Keith Wilson confirms that Portland will remain a ‘safe, welcoming place’ unless dictated otherwise by law enforcement.
Portland was awarded $10 million in grants from various U.S. Department of Justice programs. However, these funds have not yet been dispersed, according to city attorney Robert Taylor, and are now jeopardized.
Oregon Challenges Trump’s Funding Freeze on Gender-Affirming Care
In another multi-state lawsuit, Oregon is challenging the Trump administration for its threats to cut federal funding to medical institutions that offer gender-affirming care for people under 19.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit with the AGs from Minnesota and Washington. Rayfield said gender-affirming care was not an issue in which politicians should become embroiled.
The lawsuit challenges the presidential executive order issued on 28 January. The lawsuit has been joined by three doctors representing their minor patients.
The lawsuit says the executive order is a violation of the 5th Amendment’s equal protection guarantee. The lawyers point out that Congress has already authorized funding for medical institutions in Washington State and argue that the president cannot unilaterally override congressional intent.
The executive order directs federal agencies to stop funding research and education grants to medical institutions. This includes hospitals and medical schools that provide gender-affirming care to individuals under 19.
According to Rayfield, the directive will impact hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants from reaching state hospitals and medical schools.
The lawsuit follows an order given by a federal judge in Rhode Island that prohibits the Trump administration from freezing funds to 22 states, including Oregon. Rayfield says the federal funding freeze process began the first week that Trump took office as president of the U.S.