Eugene, OR Immigration Policy: Sanctuary Policy Preemption (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- EC 2.495, added by Ordinance 20579
- Enacted / effective
- March 13, 2017 / April 15, 2017
- Core rule
- No city resources for status-only enforcement
- Exception 1
- Verify status after any criminal arrest
- Exception 2
- Execute a federal magistrate's arrest warrant
- Companion section
- EC 2.497 limits immigration-status data collection
- Code currency
- Current through Ordinance 20739 (June 8, 2026)
Summary
Eugene Code 2.495 bars city law enforcement money, equipment and personnel from being used to detect or apprehend anyone whose only violation is unlawful immigration status. Adopted by Ordinance 20579 in 2017, the rule carries specific carve-outs for criminal-offense arrests and federal criminal-immigration warrants, and a companion section limits what immigration data city staff can collect.
(1) The city shall not use city law enforcement moneys, equipment or personnel for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, city law enforcement personnel may exchange information with the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement... in order to: (a) Verify the immigration status of a person if the person is arrested for any criminal offense... (3) ... city law enforcement personnel may arrest any person who: (a) Is charged by the United States with a criminal violation of federal immigration laws under Title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act or 18 U.S.C. 1015, 1422 to 1429 or 1505; and (b) Is subject to arrest for the crime pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by a federal magistrate.
Full Breakdown
495, titled "Protections for Individuals," was added by Ordinance No. 20579, enacted March 13, 2017 and effective April 15, 2017, and remains in force unchanged as of the code's currency through Ordinance 20739, passed June 8, 2026. Subsection (1) is the operative mandate: city law enforcement money, equipment and personnel cannot be used to detect or apprehend people whose only violation is being a foreign citizen present in the United States in violation of federal immigration law. Subsection (5) extends the same bar to every non-law-enforcement city employee.
The city carved out three exceptions rather than adopting a blanket non-cooperation rule. Under subsection (2), officers may still exchange information with federal immigration authorities to verify a person's immigration status after any criminal arrest, or to pull investigative information tied to someone already named in federal immigration records. 005. 497 ("Information Not to Be Collected or Maintained"), bars city law enforcement from collecting or maintaining information about a person's political, religious or social views absent a criminal-conduct nexus, bars non-law-enforcement staff from collecting political or religious-view data at all, and bars any city employee from collecting individually identifiable immigration-status information unless state or federal law requires it, the person volunteers it, or it comes through a city employment, contract, or business-license application.
Violations & Fines
EC 2.495 and 2.497 bind city government, not residents: no fine, citation or criminal charge attaches to a person under these sections for lacking immigration status, and the ordinance creates no private right of action. A city employee who steps outside the stated exceptions, such as using city resources to detect someone's status without a criminal arrest, warrant, or one of the listed information-sharing grounds, is subject to internal city discipline as a personnel matter rather than a court penalty defined in the code. The sections do not restrain federal agents acting under their own authority within city limits, and they expressly preserve Eugene police's ability to execute a valid criminal warrant, including one issued for a federal immigration offense under Title II of the INA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Eugene police cooperate with ICE at all?
Can Eugene city employees ask about someone's immigration status?
Is Eugene a total non-cooperation sanctuary city?
When did Eugene adopt this protection and is it still current?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Eugene
Compare Eugene to another location·View the Oregon immigration policy overview
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