Oregon launches multi-agency effort to protect state’s immigrants and refugees

Last month, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed an executive order creating an interagency council to better support immigrants and refugees in the state. According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, there are more than 400,000 immigrants in Oregon, making up nearly 10% of the state’s population and nearly 13% of the state’s workforce.    The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement at ODHS is leading this new effort which aims to boost coordination and communication between multiple state agencies amid the toll heightened immigration enforcement is taking on communities and the state services they rely on.     According to OIRA director Jessica Ventura, the council had its first meeting last week and aims to deliver a plan by late spring that identifies how to align and boost state programs to support immigrants and refugees while upholding the state’s sanctuary law. Gov. Kotek and Ventura join us for more details about the Interagency Council for Immigrant and Refugee Coordination and to share what they’ve been hearing from dozens of community partners who advocate on behalf of these vulnerable Oregonians.