MEDIA ADVISORY: Nurses And Allies To Testify In Support Of The ‘Healthcare Without Fear’ Act Feb. 4 (Photo) - 02/04/26
FOR MEDIA PLANNING PURPOSES
TODAY: Healthcare providers will pack the room at first hearing on bill to hold ICE accountable in Oregon’s hospitals
Senate Health Care Committee Hearing on the Healthcare Without Fear Act - Senate Bill 1570-1
Wednesday, Feb. 4
3 p.m.
Oregon State Capitol
900 Court St NE, Salem, OR 97301
Hearing Room D
Livestream available on the Oregon State Legislature’s website.
WHAT: Frontline healthcare workers and state legislators are among those scheduled to testify in support of the Healthcare Without Fear Act – Oregon Senate Bill 1570-1 during its first hearing Feb. 4. If passed, the bill would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to follow the same standards as other law enforcement inside Oregon hospitals, protect patients’ and workers’ rights, and ensure all people can access healthcare without fearing for their health and safety.
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 4. 3 – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Senate Committee on Health Care Meeting
Hearing Room D in the Oregon State Capitol
900 Court St NE, Salem, OR 97301
Livestream available here
WHO: Nurses and healthcare workers from across the state, Oregon state legislators, legal experts and allies.
WHY: Hospitals and clinics must be places of healing—not fear, intimidation, and detention. The Trump administration has begun targeting hospitals, clinics, schools, and places of worship for aggressive immigration enforcement actions—leading to violence, harassment, intimidation.
Federal immigration officers recently shot two people in a hospital parking lot in Portland and arrested an entire family while they were trying to take their sick 7-year-old daughter to the ER. Federal officers have also been bringing detainees from the Portland ICE facility and people injured in ICE actions to local hospitals for healthcare. They have not always followed standard hospital protocols.
Federal agents have reportedly pressured doctors and nurses to skip recommended healthcare so they could discharge detained patients more quickly, refused to step away during private health consultations which include protected health information or sensitive medical exams, freely roamed patient hallways, and removed hospitalized patients against medical advice. These activities violate HIPAA, undermine trust in healthcare providers and our health system, and jeopardize patients’ care.
The Healthcare Without Fear Act—Oregon Senate Bill 1570-1—prevents hospitals from being weaponized by federal agencies by requiring federal immigration officers to follow the same standards as other law enforcement in Oregon hospitals and clinics, protects patients’ and workers’ rights, and helps ensure all people can access healthcare without fearing for their health and safety.
More information on the Healthcare without Fear Act can be found at OregonRN.org/CareWithoutFear.
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