POLITICS

Merkley, Salinas denounce Trump’s threats to immigrants, essential services

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U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, Oregon Democrats, showed their opposition to President Trump’s immigration policies, tax breaks to the wealthy and the now-halted federal funding freeze at a Sunday town hall in Salem.

Approximately 500 people attended the town hall held at Parrish Middle School, including some state legislators and Salem city councilors. The Salem Fire Chief David Gerboth was invited to speak, accompanied by firefighters who had traveled to California to fight the Los Angeles Fires.

Merkley said the recent funding freeze goes against Trump’s platform on lowering costs for families.

Trump is focusing on “giving tax breaks to his billionaire friends by freezing the government and saying that immigrants are taking all of our resources, which is completely untrue,” Salinas added.

“As the top Democrat of the Senate Budget Committee I spent last week trying to put a spotlight on Russell Vought and his attitude about woefully violating the law in the Constitution,” Merkley said about Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, who is behind Project 2025.

Trump’s administration could pose a threat to education, health care and the funding of essential services like food aid and the national suicide hotline, Salinas said. 

“People’s lives could be lost because of Trump,” she said. 

The recent federal funding freeze has been halted by federal judges, but money for essential services should not be taken for granted under the Trump administration, Salinas said.

An attendee holds up an “Impeach Trump” sign at a town hall for U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas held at Parrish Middle School on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (Alan Cohen/Salem Reporter)

Recent resignation requests sent by the federal government to federal employees are a “massive mistake,” and would only serve to replace nonpartisan employees with Trump’s loyalists, Merkley said. 

He added that air traffic controllers, inspectors general and employees at FEMA, Social Security, and many other agencies are at risk of being replaced by unskilled workers loyal to Trump.

Merkley said he was concerned with the role of Elon Musk, an unelected official, in the federal government. 

“We are on the march to a sweeping authority takeover completely out of sync” with constitutional values, he said. “We’re going to apply pressure from the House and the Senate.”

“We are about to enter IRS tax payment season. What is [Musk], who knows nothing about these systems, doing with people’s tax information?” Salinas said.

Oversight on Musk’s actions is made more difficult as Democrats have no standing to bring him to court and House Speaker Mike Johnson will not collaborate, Salinas said. State attorneys general like Oregon’s Dan Rayfield are often the last resort against overreach in the federal government.  

Salinas and Merkley oppose Trump’s nominees for cabinet positions, especially Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been tapped to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

“Donald Trump is not putting forth our best and our brightest,” Salinas said.

Immigration was a key issue at the town hall. Merkley said he is worried about the 120,000 undocumented residents in Oregon as fears of deportation spread. 

“Most of us are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants,” Merkley said. 

Salinas, daughter of Mexican immigrants, said that Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional and will harm the economy, as a high number of workers are immigrants. 

Merkley and Salinas opposed the recently-enacted Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of undocumented  immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.

An attendee asks a question at a town hall with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Andrea Salinas held at Parrish Middle School on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (Alan Cohen/Salem Reporter)

Oregon is one of two states that prohibit local law enforcement from assisting federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Salem police has confirmed that it will not cooperate with immigration enforcement.

Merkley and Salinas said that expanding access to housing and addressing homelessness are key priorities for Oregon. The city of Salem has done “a really good job of increasing units of housing” but it is not enough to fight homelessness in the city, Salinas said.

Drug addiction is directly tied to homelessness, she added. Salinas is working to increase penalties for those who distribute fentanyl and to expand access to treatment. Salinas has also co-sponsored the Fentanyl Awareness for Children and Teens in Schools Act, first introduced by U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici in 2023. The bill would create partnerships between health and state or local agencies to prevent opioid overdoses in youth and expand access in schools to naloxone, commonly known as Narcan.

Merkley acknowledged the need for civic engagement. 

“If Americans turn out, show up, speak out, act up, we will be able to save our country, but it takes some organizing,” he said.

Contact reporter Alan Cohen: [email protected].

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Alan Cohen is an intern at the Salem Reporter and an undergraduate at Willamette University. Born and raised in Spain, he has also been involved in student journalism for three years, and is passionate about bringing a voice to underrepresented communities through ethical reporting.