Oregon Could Lose $43.5 Billion After Trump Vows to Strip Funding From Sanctuary States
President Donald Trump says he will withdraw funding to sanctuary states and cities at the beginning of next month, placing Oregon and Portland squarely in the firing line.
Records show that of the $139 billion which Oregon budgeted for 2025-27, $43.5 billion is in federal funding, a loss which will have a long-lasting effect on the state’s economy.
Source: Oregon 2025/27 budget totals
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Oregon District Attorney is Committed to Fighting Anti-Oregon Government Proposals
However, the state’s District Attorney, Dan Rayfield, has been a committed and often successful protagonist of anti-Trump lawsuits. To date, litigation against the federal government has successfully retained $4.6 billion in federal funds from being frozen or terminated.
Here are the biggest examples Oregon DOJ cites when describing funds protected through litigation.
| Case focus | Funding area | Amount cited | What Oregon says was at risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOT grant terms tied to immigration enforcement | Transportation and aviation grants | $1.65B plus $12M | ODOT biennial funding plus Oregon Department of Aviation projects |
| OMB memo freezing federal grants | Multiple grant programs | $696M | Funds Oregon says were preserved after court orders blocking the freeze |
| DHS grant terms tied to immigration enforcement | Emergency management and FEMA grants | $833M obligated | Oregon DEM FEMA obligations cited for fiscal 2024 |
| Education funding freezes reversed after lawsuit | K to 12 and adult education programs | $80M | After school, English learner support, teacher prep, adult literacy |
| Public health grant terminations blocked | Oregon Health Authority grants | $117M | Vaccines, behavioral health services, outbreak and wildfire response |
One of the lawsuits that saved Oregon $4.6 billion was a ruling by a district court that issued a permanent injunction barring the U.S. Department of Transportation from imposing conditions that attempted to illegally coerce states into performing federal immigration enforcement functions. The litigation saved the Oregon Department of Transportation an estimated $1.65 billion.
The President Accused Sanctuary States of Protecting Criminals
Trump made his latest threat when he addressed members of the Detroit Economic Club on Tuesday, where he accused sanctuary states and cities of protecting criminals ‘at the expense of American citizens.’
The president vowed that the days of colossal fraud are over, saying that he is creating a new division at the Department of Justice that will lead to the imprisonment of fraudsters, politicians, and public officials ‘involved in these sick plots to loot and pillage our country.’
Turning his attention to immigrants, Trump said the government is going to revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant convicted of fraud.
Trump says the federal government has frozen all children’s payments to sanctuary states and that proof of attendance will now be required to receive childcare funding. Additionally, individuals on public assistance will no longer be allowed to wire money back to their countries of origin.