Take action for the good of our communities
These Oregon bills impact immigrant families – contact your legislators
Many of us believe our federal immigration laws need reform and a way for undocumented immigrants to achieve legal status and citizenship. While we wait for Congress to act, Oregon legislators have introduced several bills in the state legislature that would impact the lives of Oregon’s immigrants. Most are in committees and now is a good time to write to your state representatives and express your opinion about these proposed laws.
Sanctuary Promise (HB 3265)
Bars law enforcement or a public agency from denying services or benefits to individuals on basis of federal civil immigration actions, asking about an individual's citizenship without a connection to a criminal investigation, or providing information about an individual in custody to federal immigration authorities.
Universal Legal Representation (HB 3230)
Provides nonprofit legal services for people who need to present a case or a defense in immigration courts.
Cover All People (HB 3352)
Renames Health Care for All Oregon Children as Cover All People program and expands Medicaid eligibility to adults who would qualify for state medical assistance except for their immigration status.
Leave No Worker Behind (HB 2819)
Allows qualified individuals to claim the earned income tax credit on their Oregon tax form under their individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), in lieu of a Social Security number.
Farmworker Overtime (HB 2358)
Prohibits employers from permitting or requiring agricultural workers to work in excess of 40 hours in one workweek unless workers are compensated for overtime hours worked.
Visit https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1# to track these bills. Visit https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement to contact your representatives.
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Margarita Cardona (left) of Redmond had a powerful reason to get vaccinated, she said. She listened to her daughter, a nurse, describe her work with critically ill COVID patients in Seattle. Cardona got her Pfizer doses at the fairgrounds, and when she developed a slight fever, chills and a sore arm the next day, her boss gave her time off from her landscaping w
ork to recover, she said. She came with family members who were deciding whether or not to get the shot.
Eric Cardona (below, in the middle) hopes he can get a seat reserved for vaccinated fans to watch a Portland Trailblazer's playoff game, he said as he waited in line. And he had another reason: “My sister and I want to go to Mexico this summer.”
LCA also helped organize a vaccination event in Madras on May 7, when we partnered with Jefferson County Public Health to vaccinate 174 people at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. More vaccine clinics are coming up in Prineville and second-dose clinics in all three cities. See the section below about clinics in June and July.
Oregon Health Authority and county health departments, will offer COVID-19 vaccination clinics this summer that include the Pfizer vaccine approved for ages 12 and older. Appointments are preferred, but not necessary. Vaccines are free and medical insurance is not required.
pandemic shut down live events, the Latino Community Association canceled our 20th anniversary Gala de Oro fundraiser. This summer, we will revive our gala and celebrate our 21st anniversary at a brand new venue, the Seventh Mountain Resort in Bend, from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. on Friday, July 23. 
help make up for income lost during the pandemic? We at the Latino Community Association certainly believe so. But not everyone in our communities received this help. As soon as we learned this, in late March of 2020, we created a fund supported by local donors and foundations to award relief checks to local workers in economic need who did not qualify for federal payments or unemployment benefits. Since then, our fund has had three rounds of funding, the last of which we just completed. When we opened our application period on March 29, the response was overwhelming. We received 257 applications in just a few days. 
