Oregon’s largest farmworker advocacy organization hosted the even
By Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle
Hundreds of Oregonians marched through the blocks surrounding the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on Thursday to celebrate International Worker’s Day, commonly known as May Day.
The crowd ranged from young adults to seniors. Some wore T-shirts representing labor unions, while others dressed in traditional Indigenous headdresses. Many attendees chanted the Spanish phrase “sí se puede,” meaning “yes we can,” while holding flags representing the U.S. and Mexico, LGBTQ+ pride and Ukraine and signs criticizing the Trump administration.
The event was organized by Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste or PCUN, a Woodburn-based organization that has advocated for farmworker and immigrant rights in Oregon since the 1970s and continues doing so as federal immigration enforcement intensifies — especially against sanctuary states like Oregon. President Donald Trump this week called for freezing funding to states and cities that don’t coordinate with federal immigration enforcement.
About 120,000 unauthorized immigrants live in the state, according to a 2022 study from the Pew Research Center. Oregon since 1987 has prohibited state and local officials from helping enforce federal immigration law without judicial warrants, and lawmakers strengthened the state’s sanctuary protections during the first Trump administration.
PCUN, along with several Oregon faith groups, sued the Trump administration on Monday after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ended a policy that limited where federal immigration officers could operate, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
“(Today) reminds us that labor rights and immigrant rights are intertwined,” PCUN Executive Director Reyna Lopez told the crowd.
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Freshman Rep. Lesly Muñoz, D-Woodburn, spoke to the crowd and highlighted the role immigrant workers play in Oregon’s agricultural, construction, direct care and hospitality industries.
“We have an immigration system that is outdated and unjust, keeping millions in the shadows — even those who have lived here for decades, raised families here, paid taxes and contribute deeply to our communities,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz, a longtime labor organizer, is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her father worked as a landscaper and laborer and her mother cleaned homes, babysat and worked as a school instructional assistant.
Gov. Tina Kotek, standing in front of legislative leaders, also spoke at the event and pledged that Oregon will continue honoring its long history of being a sanctuary state.
“I want to address the fear that many of you are facing right now as the federal government wages unlawful attacks on our immigrant communities that threaten our values and our right to govern ourselves,” Kotek said. “I want you to know that I will not back down from the fight.”
Mia Maldonado covers Oregon and state legislature with a focus on social services for Oregon Capital Chronicle. She started her career in journalism with Oregon Capital Chronicle’s sister outlet in Idaho, Idaho Captial Sun.
