Bill in Oregon Legislature would provide legal aid to immigrants

When Rep. Ricki Ruiz (D-Gresham) was growing up with immigrant parents, the pervasive fear of deportation was integrally woven into his experience of childhood. He told KGW that even today, as an adult and a U.S. citizen, he’s always looking over his shoulder. That’s why he’s co-sponsoring SB 703, which would provide funding to nonprofits to help immigrant families that are eligible to apply for legal status to do so. On his Instagram account, he posted about the proposal’s bipartisan support, saying it indicates that “despite the federal landscape, Democrats & Republicans can still come together & work on immigration policies.”

Ruiz joins us to tell us more about the bill and the impact it would have on immigrants and their families. House Republicans were either unavailable or did not respond to invitations to participate in this discussion.

Note: The following transcript was transcribed digitally and validated for accuracy, readability and formatting by an OPB volunteer.

Dave Miller: From the Gert Boyle Studio at OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Dave Miller. When Democratic State Representative Ricki Ruiz was growing up in Gresham with immigrant parents, the pervasive fear of deportation was woven into every aspect of his childhood. That’s one reason he is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 703, which would provide funding to help some immigrants apply for legal status.

The House Republicans that we reached out to were unavailable or did not respond to our invitation to participate in this conversation, but Ruiz joins us now to talk about his bill. It’s great to have you on Think Out Loud.

Rep. Ricki Ruiz: It’s an honor to be here. Thank you for having me.

Miller: Before we get to the bill itself, I’m curious about what I mentioned just now in my intro. How did your parents’ fear of being picked up by ICE agents affect your childhood?

Ruiz: Oh my goodness, what a good question. Well, talking about childhood, I don’t think I ever had a childhood. It was always a constant fear of watching over my parents, whether it was at a public transportation platform, whether it was at a grocery store, at a healthcare appointment. My job was to be an advocate for my parents from a young age. And there was no question that rumors were circling the neighborhood about ICE being at a grocery store or ICE being at a nearby neighborhood, and obviously everybody communicated with each other. My job was to make sure my parents were safe and sound.

My mother, who was undocumented, was my biggest concern. She was the rock of her family. My job was to protect her. And I kid you not, every single day there were new rumors roaming around and my job was just to make sure she was OK, she was protected. Any information that I was getting – even in my classroom from other classmates – I was bringing it back to her and her neighbors to ensure they were staying protected from any potential ICE sightings or ICE raids in the area.

Miller: How much does all that inform the way you think about immigration issues now?

Ruiz: Well, I think a lot of it is just personal experience. I look at what’s happening right now … it’s 2025, mind you. What I’m talking about was early 2000s. And the fact of the matter is, there are children right now, potentially in my own neighborhood that I grew up in, who are doing exactly the same thing, watching over their parents, watching over their loved ones, to ensure that they’re protecting vulnerable communities. I bring that with me when it comes to policy and Senate Bill 703 is an example of that.

My mother, rest her soul, she had to wait years for us to even start the immigration process. They told us it was gonna be a potentially nine to 10 year wait. And my wife, who at the time used to be an immigration service provider, was a tremendous help. But even then, we can’t control what the federal government is doing. She waited and waited and waited, and after her passing, we got a notification that one of her applications was approved. Obviously, it was such heart-wrenching news, knowing that my mother waited for years. I can tell you that to this day, families are in the same situation as we speak.

Miller: Let’s turn to the bill, Senate Bill 703. What kind of legal help would the nonprofits be providing to immigrants with the $6 million in state funding that this bill would authorize?

Ruiz: Well, when you look at the application to apply for the U.S. Residency or Citizenship, it is daunting. You look at the application and it is quite frankly terrifying to see it as a regular human being. I think a lot of individuals, a lot of families would benefit from nonprofits who have legal expertise around how to ensure the applications are being done completely correct the first time around, because there’s been a lot of situations where individuals tried to do it themselves and waited years just to hear back that there was a mistake … and now you have to start all over.

A lot of our legal providers, who are doing this work and have been doing this work, know exactly how to fill out an application, know exactly how to navigate the system, even if it’s changing drastically. These resources will help continue that work. And there’s already been a lot of federal freezes for federal support coming to these nonprofits that the Trump administration has already frozen. So now, more than ever, these resources are needed.

Miller: There would be relatively specific and limited populations, if I’m reading the bill correctly, who could get access to this help. Who would this be available to?

Ruiz: This will be available prioritizing our DACA recipients, knowing that we have thousands of them here in the state of Oregon, who, by no choice of themselves, were brought to the United States, and at no fault should they be held liable or responsible for their status. I think they should be the first people that should be prioritized when it comes to following a U.S. citizenship pathway.

We also included Afghan and Iraqi refugees. And this actually came from an idea from Republican colleagues last session, who really want to prioritize individuals who, us as a nation, harmed, and their respective countries. Some of them, obviously, had to flee over fears of war and being in the middle of a war zone. The reason why it’s really limited is because our Republican colleagues suggested these changes in order for this to become a bipartisan bill.

Miller: Representative Ed Diehl from District 17 in the Willamette Valley was among the Republicans who declined our request to come onto the show live, but he did send some comments in an email. I’m gonna run them by you now. He wrote this:  

“I appreciate that Senate Bill 703 is narrowly focused on DACA recipients, individuals who would otherwise qualify for DACA, and special immigrant visa holders from Iraq and Afghanistan. These are groups that have deep ties in our communities and in many cases have contributed meaningfully to our country.

“That said, I have concerns about fiscal priorities. With $6 million appropriated from Oregon’s general fund, this bill directs taxpayer money intended to serve our state’s most vulnerable citizens toward helping non-citizens adjust their immigration status. I believe those funds would be better spent on pressing needs like elderly care, services for individuals with disabilities, foster care support and mental health treatment.

“Additionally, there are many nonprofit organizations, both local and national, already dedicated to supporting immigrants. It’s worth asking whether public dollars are necessary here, when private and philanthropic resources could fulfill this role.”

How do you respond to your Republican colleague?

Ruiz: Well, I have a lot of respect for Representative Diehl. He and I actually were chatting in the hallway about 30 minutes ago about this and what I told him was, these are individuals that have contributed to our state and to our nation. Folks use the claim that our undocumented immigrants do not provide to the state or to the nation, but they do.

Most of them are living in fear currently to this day and I think what he mentioned was we have to prioritize our vulnerable communities. This is a vulnerable community. We owe it to them, especially when we’re seeing federal cuts left and right. We, as a state, need to step up, make sure that we are providing the resources needed for them to become legal U.S. residents and legal U.S. citizens. Either you’re for legal immigration or you’re not. And this is a path for legal immigration.

Miller: I’m curious how you think about this proposal in the broader context right now of immigration crackdowns on the part of the administration, and in particular with regard to the right to due process?

Ruiz: Well, there’s only so much we can do. I’m a state legislator.  We unfortunately don’t have much of a say when it comes to immigration policy, but we are seeing horrific cases in different areas of this nation. You’re hearing of folks being deported to El Salvador, where they have no ties to that country, and they’re being treated very, very poorly, in a foreign country.

We have to abide by the Constitution. We have the right to the laws that we currently have. There’s no question that our undocumented immigrants have rights in this nation and we must abide by them. The right to due process, it’s applicable to every single person. It shouldn’t be selective. So I really hope Congress acts very quickly to ensure that due process is respected, because what we’re seeing right now from the Trump administration is just inhumane and quite disgusting.

Miller: You posted a picture last month on your Facebook page of you and your 3-year-old daughter at the state capitol for a bill signing. How different do you think her childhood has been or is going to be than yours? You said at the beginning of the conversation that you didn’t have a childhood.

Ruiz: Well, this is part of generational healing. We’re blessed to be U.S. citizens and I owe that to my parents for making the long trip across the border. Just seeing how I grew up, in my childhood, one thing I told myself is, I do not want to bring this among the next wave of generational family. My daughter is growing up in a childhood that – and quite frankly, my wife and I talked about this a lot – we wish we grew up in.

And she is growing to be a child. Like, she should be playing with toys, she should be watching her favorite TV shows, reading books, going to the park, getting her favorite ice cream, throwing tantrums. That’s what a child should be doing. And I’m just really blessed that she is having a childhood that many of us wish we had. Hopefully, we continue to do that, not only for her but for the children that are living in our communities.

Miller: Just briefly, you’re the co-chair of the Oregon BIPOC Caucus. What are some of your other big priorities right now in the time you have left in this legislative session?

Ruiz: Absolutely. Senate Bill 599, which is Housing for All, is gonna be coming to the house floor, hopefully this week. It talks about how we cannot discriminate among immigration status when it comes to someone wanting to rent in an apartment complex.

There’s no question, not only do we have an immigration crisis, we have a housing crisis. We want to make sure that no matter where you come from, no matter what country you come from, you are accepted to be able to rent a home and live, and have a nice shelter over your head. You deserve that. Everybody deserves that.

We also have Food for All, which is a bill that Senator Campos has been championing, and again, provides much needed nutritional food support, especially prioritizing our children of immigrant descent. And there’s no question, food, housing, family sticking together is what we’re trying to push, not only as legislators ourselves, but as the BIPOC Caucus.

Miller: Rep. Ruiz, thanks very much.

Ruiz: Thank you very much.

Miller: Democratic State Representative Ricki Ruiz is from Gresham. He’s one of the co-sponsors of Senate Bill 703, which would provide funding to help some immigrants in Oregon apply for legal status.

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