On March 31, 2026, Oregon Governor Kotek signed SB 1570 into law. The Health Care Without Fear Act is one of a number of bills introduced during the short 2026 legislative session that will impact health care providers. Described as an attempt to protect Oregonians from the Trump Administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda, SB 1570 will require hospitals and federally qualified health centers to take affirmative steps to protect patients and their families beginning June 5, 2026.

First, all hospitals (as defined by ORS § 442.015) must adopt and maintain written policies and procedures that describe how they will interact with law enforcement (including federal immigration officers). The new policies and procedures must:

1. 1. Describe how the hospital will respond if a law enforcement authority arrives at the hospital.
   2. Identify at least one supervising administrator who will serve as the hospital’s designated representative to interact with law enforcement.
   3. Designate which areas of the hospital are private and not open to the public, which must include patient rooms as well as any area for which entry or access is controlled.

While the law as enacted does not describe what steps hospitals must take to protect non-public areas, the presumption is that they will prohibit and restrict law enforcement from accessing all private areas unless they present a valid judicial warrant that authorizes such access.

Second, SB 1570 prohibits hospitals and federally qualified health centers (collectively, health care facilities) from retaliating or taking disciplinary action against employees for distributing informational or educational materials concerning immigrant rights or available immigration legal services if the materials are published or otherwise made available by a state agency.  Employees who allege a violation may file a complaint with BOLI as provided by ORS § 659A.820.

Finally, SB 1570 requires health care facilities to treat information about a person’s citizenship, immigration status, and country of birth as confidential and protected in the same manner as all other health information protected by state law. Further, health care facilities may not disclose such information for the purpose of law enforcement unless disclosure is required by state or federal law or by court order.

This article does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice regarding your situation, you should contact an attorney.