Migrant Histories
By Bob Bussel and Dan Tichenor
Data curation and visualization by InfoGraphics Lab
The Timeline
The timeline shown below highlights significant events and developments in Oregon’s migration history. It includes legislative and political initiatives, examples of anti-immigrant activity, efforts to support immigrant integration, and actions taken by immigrants themselves to advance their social, civic, and economic interests. The timeline underscores the roles played by multiple actors– government, business, labor, faith-based organizations, nonprofits, and community organizations, both pro and anti-immigrant, in shaping the course of the immigrant experience in Oregon.
Pro-Immigrant Politics and Policies
Official actions and policies in the legal and political sphere that support immigrants and refugees and seek to encourage their social, civic, economic, and cultural integration at both the national and state level.
Anti-Immigrant Politics and Policies
Official actions and policies in the legal and political sphere that seek to restrict immigrant and refugee migration and limit rights and opportunities for these groups at both the national and state level.
Pro-Immigrant Grassroots Action
Actions taken by individuals and organizations in community, workplace, and civic arenas that support the rights of immigrants and refugees and seek to ensure their social, economic, and cultural integration.
Anti-Immigrant Grassroots Action
Actions taken by individuals and organizations in community, workplace, and civic arenas that seek to limit or restrict the rights of immigrants and refugees and discourage their social, economic, and cultural integration.
1859-1923
Oregon’s Ambivalent Embrace of Immigrants
1924-1964
Closing the Doors
1965-1994
The Doors Reopen
1995-2022
Moving Toward a More Inclusionary Future
Open Arms, Cold Shoulders: Oregon’s Ambivalent Embrace of Immigrants (1859-1923)
In the decades after Oregon gained statehood in 1859, large numbers of European immigrants were drawn to the state’s abundant land and other vast resources. The discovery of gold in Oregon and the need for laborers to construct railroad lines later spurred Chinese immigration to the state. By the 1880s, however, a popular anti-Chinese movement gained political traction across the state, resulting in sweeping restrictions on Chinese civil, social, and economic rights. During the early twentieth-century, European immigrants and their children formed potent new voluntary associations and labor organizations, while expanding their influence in state political life. Japanese newcomers also found new economic opportunities in Oregon fishing, logging, and agriculture. They also encountered violence, discrimination, and legal restrictions once visited on the Chinese. In the 1910s and 1920s, the arrival of immigrants from southern and eastern European sources such as Italy, Greece, Poland, and Hungary spurred a new debate in Oregon about “desirable” versus “undesirable” newcomers.
1859
Oregon is admitted to the Union
Oregon became the only state admitted to the Union with an exclusion clause in its constitution prohibiting Black people from owning property or making contracts. This restriction was consistent with a territorial history of white conquest and oppression toward indigenous, Black, and Chinese people. The population at the time of statehood was 50,000.
1869
Bernard Goldsmith elected mayor of Portland
Jewish immigrant served as Portland mayor followed by Phillip Wasserman, another Jewish immigrant
1872
Board of Immigration created by Oregon legislature
Sought to recruit a “producing and consuming population” to boost Oregon economy
1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
Banned Chinese immigration to US for ten years and denied naturalization for Chinese immigrants
1887
Snake River Massacre
In May 1887, 34 Chinese gold miners were ambushed and murdered in northeastern Oregon. The killers were never convicted or punished in one of the deadliest attacks on Chinese immigrants in U. S. history.
Late 1800s
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association established
Served as advocacy group for Chinese in Portland area
1911
Nihon Jin Kai (Japanese Association of Oregon) established
Engaged in civic activities on behalf of Japanese living in Oregon
1917
Finnish Shipyard Workers Strike (Astoria, OR)
Finns in Astoria join west coast shipyard workers in strike during World War I
1923
Alien Land Law
Banned Japanese and Chinese nationals from buying or leasing land in Oregon, and placed restrictions on their operation of farm machinery. At the time, most Chinese immigrants were barred from entering the country by exclusion laws. Japanese newcomers, however, were finding success in farming. This law reflected intense racial animus toward Japanese growers and prohibited noncitizens from land ownership.
Closing the Doors, with some exceptions (1924-1964)
Through a new national origins quota system and a so-called “Asiatic Barred Zone,” the federal government imposed draconian restrictions on most overseas immigration during the Great Depression and Second World War. European immigration to Oregon slowed to a trickle in these years. At the same time, Mexican migration to the state grew markedly in this period through unrestricted Western Hemisphere immigration and a new Bracero program bringing farmworkers to the Pacific Northwest. During the post-World War II decades, Mexican immigrants to Oregon moved from farm labor to work in food processing, manufacturing, construction, and small businesses. They also developed community and labor organizations to improve their living and working conditions. Oregonians in the postwar era also committed new resources to help European refugees build new lives in the state.
1924
Immigration Act of 1924 (National Origins Act)
Established strict quotas that significantly limited immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and barred nearly all Asian migration. This legislation was supported by most Oregon lawmakers.
1925
Toledo Incident
Mob forcibly expelled Japanese laborers from their jobs at a local sawmill in Toledo, a small town in Lincoln County.
Tamakichi Ogura and Ichiro Kawamoto at Portland courthouse
1935
National Labor Relations Act of 1935
Established the right for workers to collectively bargain but excluded agricultural laborers from its protections
1942
Japanese Wartime Incarceration in Oregon (Executive Order 9066)
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the restriction and removal of all people of Japanese ancestry on the west coast. Oregon “relocation camps” were established at a Portland Assembly Center on the site of the Pacific International Livestock Exposition and at Tule Lake near Klamath Falls. These camps were encircled by barbed wire, watch towers, and armed military guards. The University of Oregon and Oregon State University joined in resisting efforts to remove college students of Japanese descent.
U.S. military relocating Japanese Americans to Portland Assembly Center, 1942
Bracero Program initiated by signing of Mexican Farm Labor Agreement
Begun during labor shortages, especially in agricultural production, during the Second World War. This bilateral agreement between Mexico and the United States (officially named the Emergency Farm Labor Supply Program) contracted temporary Mexican workers to sustain agricultural production both during and after the war. Roughly 15,000 Mexican guest farmworkers, called braceros, toiled on Oregon farms from 1942 to 1947. This farmworker program nurtured cross-border labor flows that encouraged undocumented Mexican workers to seek jobs in Oregon in the years that followed.
1944
Hood River Incident
American Legion removes names of Japanese American servicemen from roll of honor. After protest, Legion restores names in 1945.
1953
Siempre Adelante formed in Nyssa
In response to the unpunished killing of a Mexican by a white youth, Latinx community activists created an advocacy group to seek justice
1956
Beginning of Holt International
Creswell residents Bertha and Harry Holt adopt Korean children. Their action helped launch an international adoption program that gained worldwide renown.
The Doors Reopen (1965-1994)
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 dramatically recast federal immigration system, placing new emphasis on family ties and job skills in the admissions process. For Oregon, this shift enabled record numbers of authorized Asian and Latin American immigrants to settle in the state. Moreover, the end of the Bracero program and economic push factors fueled unprecedented numbers of undocumented migrants, mostly from Mexico, to work and live in Oregon. As the state became a new destination for Asian and Latino immigrants, community and church-sponsored organizations emerged to offer social services, job training, and housing support to these newcomers. In later years, activists launched an aggressive and energetic farm workers union, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), which would play a leading role in advocating for immigrant rights in Oregon. Unauthorized immigration also became a volatile political issue in these decades, culminating in passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This sweeping new law established sanctions on employers who hired unauthorized workers, enhanced border control, initiated a new Seasonal Agricultural Worker program, and created an amnesty program that enabled 2.8 undocumented immigrants to gain legal status.
1965
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
Enacted as part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program, this law initiated landmark changes in the nation’s immigration system. The legislation established new legal admissions preferences for immigrants with strong family ties with U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. It also created new priorities for refugees and immigrants with special job skills and educational training. One major consequence of this major reform was that it shifted immigrant admissions from traditional European origins to unprecedented levels of immigration from Asian and Latin American source countries.
Valley Migrant League founded
Founded as a private, nonprofit organization, by the Oregon Council of Churches, to provide migrant farm workers better access to public services and education.
1969
United Farm Workers of Oregon founded
formed as a pressure group to advocate for improved conditions for Oregon’s farm workers
“All labor has dignity”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
“All labor has dignity”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
1977
Willamette Valley Immigration Project founded
Formed as a legal aid organization, one that emerged as a formidable defender of Latinx reforestation and farm workers in labor conflicts and federal immigration enforcement procedures.
1985
Willamette Valley Immigration Project founded
Created as a union bringing together Oregon’s farmworkers and treeplanters. Based in Woodburn and growing out of the Willamette Valley Immigration Project, PCUN devoted special attention to serving immigrant workers. Over time, PCUN emerged as one of the most important organizations representing Latinas and Latinos in the Pacific Northwest. It also forged alliances at the state and national levels with other unions, civil rights groups, and religious associations in advancing immigrant rights.
1986
Legalization Provisions of The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
Allowed all undocumented people who resided in the country since January 1, 1982, or who worked in the agricultural sector for 90 days between May 1, 1985 and May 1, 1985, to apply for legal residency. PCUN and other non-profit organizations helped thousands of undocumented Oregonians gain legal status under the law’s amnesty and seasonal agricultural worker programs.
1987
Oregon becomes first sanctuary state
Established sanctuary protections in Oregon with passage of a new law that prohibits local law enforcement officers from enforcing federal immigration laws against people not suspected of any criminal activities.
1994
North American Free Trade Agreement Passed
Contested Terrain: Navigating an Exclusionary Past and Moving Toward a More Inclusionary Future (1995-present)
Consistent with Oregon’s rival traditions of immigrant inclusion and exclusion, the contemporary integration of refugees and other legal newcomers has been coupled with deep contention over unauthorized immigration. The Oregon legislature considered proposals in 1995 to limit social and educational services to legal immigrants, which ultimately were defeated by pro-immigration advocates. In 2000, immigration opponents established Oregonians for Immigration Reform (OFIR) and pressed for stiff restrictions on the rights of undocumented immigrants. In the new millennium, the failure of Congress to enact comprehensive reform addressing unauthorized immigration has fueled a contentious statewide debate. For more than a decade, OFIR and restrictionists have battled with immigrant rights advocates including PCUN, Causa, and young undocumented activists called “Dreamers” over the issues of sanctuary, driving privileges, and educational opportunities for undocumented Oregon residents.
1995
Causa founded
founded by “farmworkers, Latinos, immigrants, and various progressive groups”
1996
Illegal Immigration Reform and and Immigration Responsibility Act
Federal legislation that enhanced border enforcement and imposed criminal penalties on unauthorized immigrants
2000
Oregonians for Immigration Reform founded
Emerged as part of a national immigration restriction movement led by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The McMinnville-based organization is the most prominent group advocating crackdowns on undocumented immigrants living and working in the state. It also favors reductions in legal immigration to “environmentally sustainable” levels. OFIR has played a prominent role in Oregon struggles over driver’s cards, in-state tuition, and sanctuary.
Federal Immigration Agents stepped up enforcement efforts against undocumented immigrants in the Portland area
Led to the arrest, detention, and removal of large numbers of undocumented workers in Multnomah County during the summer of 2000. These Portland-areas raids sparked wide protest from various local officials and immigrant communities.
2003
Republican Rep. Billy Dalto attempts to win in-state college tuition for all Oregon immigrant students
Dalto was the Legislature’s only Latinx member; Failed to gain passage by the Oregon legislature due to stiff Republican opposition, despite the efforts by Republican Representative Billy Dalto to win in-state tuition benefits for undocumented students in Oregon.
2006
Anti-immigrant protests in Portland led by Oregonians for Immigration Reform
Organized by OFIR against the presence of unauthorized immigrants, in response to state agencies and the Mexican consulate holding informational events for an expanding Spanish-speaking population
2007
New restrictions disqualified undocumented immigrants from receiving Oregon drivers’ licenses
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski issues executive order denying drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants.
More than 150 federal agents raided a North Portland food processing plant
Raid was strongly criticized by Portland Mayor Tom Potter and immigrant rights, civil rights, and religious advocates
2011
Defeat of proposed in-state tuition for unauthorized immigrants
Oregon House and Senate Education Committees considered in-state tuition benefits for unauthorized immigrants, hearing testimony from young Dreamers, but these proposals failed to pass
2013
Tuition equity law enacted by Oregon legislature
Granted in-state resident tuition rates at public universities to non-citizens and those lacking permanent resident status. On the heels of the Obama administration establishing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Oregon joins a dozen other states in granting in-state tuition to its unauthorized student population pursuing higher education.
Tuition equity supporters raise linked arms after the Oregon Senate on Thursday approved a bill granting in-state tuition rates to undocumented Oregon high school graduates who meet certain criteria.
2014
Measure 88 approved by Oregon voters
66 percent of Oregon voters approve repeal of recently passed state driver card law for unauthorized immigrants
2017
Oregon joins lawsuit challenging President Trump’s “Muslim ban”
When state agencies and the Mexican consulate organized informational events When President Donald Trump issued an executive order seeking to exclude immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries, Oregon’s attorney general joined other states in successfully challenging this action in federal court.
2018
Oregon voters reject Measure 105, upholding state’s sanctuary status
Upheld the Oregon’s sanctuary laws and policies, reinforcing state-level resistance to federal efforts to target the undocumented population for arrest and removal. In 2017-2018, Oregon’s Democratic officials invoke state’s thirty-year old sanctuary law to defy federal immigration enforcement efforts. When OFIR attempted to repeal this law through Measure 105, 63 percent of Oregon voters rejected this proposal.
2019
Oregon legislature approves drivers’ licenses for unauthorized immigrants
Established by the Oregon legislature to collaborate with statewide and community-based organizations and develop an intentional immigrant and refugee strategy to guide public policy. Oregon House and Senate majorities approve new drivers’ license legislation for unauthorized immigrants, including a provision that insulates these privileges from ballot measure repeal.
2020
Creation of Oregon Worker Relief Fund
Prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, private organizations, the Oregon legislature, and some local government entities created a fund to help undocumented workers who can demonstrate economic hardship and are ineligible for other forms of government assistance.
2021
Oregon Sanctuary Promise Act approved
Strengthened Oregon’s sanctuary law by barring local assistance with immigration law enforcement and ensuring that state services and benefits are accessible regardless of immigration status.
Creation of Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement
Established by the Oregon legislature to collaborate with statewide and community-based organizations and develop an intentional immigrant and refugee strategy to guide public policy.
2022
Universal Legal Representation approved for Oregonians facing deportation
Oregon legislature approves provision of free legal assistance to persons at risk for deportation.
Overtime Pay for Agricultural Workers
Oregon becomes one of a handful of states requiring overtime pay for agricultural workers.