Oregon’s and Washington’s legislative sessions both wrapped up earlier this month with lawmakers passing measures that will considerably impact patients and healthcare in the region. Many bills were clear attempts to slow or prevent changes proposed or mandated by the federal government.  Governor Tina Kotek summarized this effort on her website under the heading, “Protecting Oregon Against the Trump Agenda.”

In particular, legislators fought back against federal immigration enforcement efforts within hospital facilities, mandated coverage for certain vaccines, protected gender-affirming care and reproductive health services, and attempted to shore up lost Medicaid funds. Additionally, northwest lawmakers continued to focus on limiting the corporate practice of medicine and protecting patients’ access to physical and mental healthcare services, especially in rural communities.

A key bill affecting the industry is Oregon SB 1570, which is currently awaiting Governor Kotek’s signature.  The Health Care Without Fear Act requires hospitals to designate administrators who will serve as law enforcement/ICE liaisons, thereby relieving doctors, nurses, and other frontline caregivers from the duty to assume this role when officers show up to carry out immigration and other enforcement actions. The Act also requires hospitals to implement policies and procedures addressing how they will respond when law enforcement officers arrive on their premises, to designate areas of their facilities that are not open to the public, to treat information about a person’s immigration or citizenship status like protected health information, and to refrain from taking disciplinary action against employees who distribute education materials about immigrant rights or immigration legal services.

In contrast, Washington state legislators were unsuccessful in passing a similar bill aimed at curbing federal immigration enforcement in healthcare and other facilities.  Washington SB 5906, known as the SAFE Act (or Secure and Accountable Federal Enforcement Act), would have expanded the 2025 Keep Washington Working Act, to prevent federal immigration enforcement officers from entering nonpublic areas of schools, adult family homes and election offices, as well as a wide range of “healthcare facilities,” without a valid judicial warrant. The broader scope of the SAFE Act, as compared to Oregon SB 1570, which focused specifically on hospitals, likely contributed to its demise in the Washington House after it passed the state Senate on a party-line vote on February 12, 2026.

This article summarizes aspects of the law and opinions that are solely those of the authors. This article does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice regarding your situation, you should contact an attorney.