Dexter: “Portland won’t be bullied into betraying our values”

February 7, 2025 Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03) released the following statement on Portland joining a coalition of other sanctuary cities suing the Trump administration for his unlawful effort to deny our communities federal funding. "Portland won’t be bullied into betraying our values. Trump’s effort to starve sanctuary cities of funding is just another disgusting, chaos-generating attack on our community. “We are taking this fight straight to his doorstep. I applaud Mayor Keith Wilson and the City of Portland for making clear that we will not be intimidated, and we will not back down." The lawsuit comes in response to a directive from the U.S. Department of Justice instructing the agency’s staff to investigate and prosecute state and local officials in sanctuary jurisdictions who do not actively assist in immigration enforcement. That threat was realized this week when the federal government filed a lawsuit challenging sanctuary law in the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. ###