Immigration enforcement actions in Eugene are a “humanitarian crisis,” the City Council declared in a formal statement at its February 9 meeting. The council also authorized spending $50,000 to support organizations that help people affected by deportation.
“The community is really experiencing damage right now,” Councilor Lyndsie Leech said. “It is within our role as the city to do what we can and to respond. This resolution states that the impacts of federal immigration enforcement constitute a humanitarian crisis for all of our residents.”
The resolution stops short of calling a “state of emergency,” which is typically a request for federal funding that is unlikely to be granted for an emergency caused by the federal government.
The four-page resolution is primarily a statement of values, which reads:
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“Immigration enforcement actions constitute a humanitarian crisis.”
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Eugene is committed to the “safety of all people, regardless of national origin or immigration status.”
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Immigrants in Eugene “contribute significantly to the social, cultural and economic vitality of the community” and actions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement “have resulted in widespread fear, trauma, family separation, loss of income, housing instability, and disruption of residents in Eugene.”
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Existing state and local law prevents Eugene from using city resources for immigration enforcement.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent displays his badge during a traffic stop at the intersection of 28th Street and Pierce Parkway in Springfield, Nov. 19, 2025.
The resolution also includes a few actions. Directs the city manager to:
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Educate the mayor and councilors about immigration processes and their local impacts.
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Promote a multilingual resource web page to help connect families affected by deportation to available services and supports.
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Support a system for victims and witnesses of immigration enforcement to report it.
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Offer contracts, grants, memoranda of understanding, and access to City facilities to organizations that “provide navigation, communication, education, and humanitarian support” to immigrants.
The City Council authorized $50,000 for a grant fund to support agencies that help families of people who have been detained or deported, such as through rental assistance. The grants will be awarded by the city’s human rights commission with funding from the “council contingency” fund, into which the council moved money from its reserves during its December 8 meeting.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached by email at atorres@registerguard.com, at X @alanfryetorres or on Reddit at u/AlfrytRG.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene City Council declares immigration enforcement a ‘humanitarian crisis’