02/09/2026
Last week, I testified on behalf of HB 4148, The Law Enforcement Accountability and Visibility Act. Alongside colleagues and community advocates, I spoke to the immediate necessity to protect or immigrant communities from violent and racist federal agents.
LEAVA received over 500 pieces of testimony! Thank you to everyone who responded to our call to action by submitting written testimony. Your voices matter.
Stay tuned for updates as LEAVA moves through the Short Session
Transcript:
Chair Kropf, Vice Chairs Chotzen and Wallen, and members of the Committee,
For the record, my name is Farrah Chaichi and I have the privilege of representing House District 35, Beaverton and Aloha.
I am here today to speak on behalf of HB 4138, the Law Enforcement Accountability and Visibility Act. Colleagues, we are being called on by vulnerable members of our community to do something to protect them. We must respond meaningfully, by passing legislation that creates a firewall between rogue federal agencies and scared Oregonians. That is what LEAVA does.
I will keep my comments brief, because in this moment we need to prioritize the voices of experts, including those with the lived experience of living in fear of ICE. Right now, masked agents are terrorizing immigrant communities with impunity. Federal agents are obscuring their identity and refusing to identify under whose authority they are acting when they rip people from their cars, lurk outside of schools and workplaces, and kidnap folks off the street. LEAVA would require that all law enforcement agencies operating in Oregon have clear identification both of individual badge numbers and jurisdictions, a standard many local police agencies have already adopted.
In addition to identification requirements, LEAVA also strengthens the protections set forward by Oregon’s Sanctuary Promise by mandating that public bodies who receive requests for information or data from law enforcement agencies may not turn over that information without legitimate cause and assurance that the information shared will not be used to violate the rights of individuals. This is critical not just in establishing protections for our immigrant neighbors but also for any Oregonian engaging in protected actions that are being targeted by the federal government. There is a long and grim history of State Agencies being weaponized by the Federal government to target activists, community organizers, and marginalized people. This bill would establish a firewall and additional checks to ensure that Oregon, our local law enforcement agencies, and public bodies are not unintentionally contributing to the targeting and terrorizing of vulnerable people.
LEAVA establishes a pathway to injunctive relief to ensure that community members are protected against violations of their constitutional right by the Federal government. It is imperative that we rebuild the broken trust between community members and their government.
My team and I have worked tirelessly to collaborate with advocates, community partners, and local law enforcement to craft a bill that meaningfully responds to the moment we’re in, while honoring the work already being done by these agencies to promote trust and cooperation in the community. And I want to thank everyone for their meaningful and constructive feedback.
