Portland immigrants and refugees honored with 'Welcoming Week' amid rise in bias crimes

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland is letting the immigrant and refugee community know they're welcome in the Rose City with a week devoted to honoring them.

This year's Welcoming Week, a series of events celebrating and offering a helping hand to immigrants and refugees, comes at a time when Oregon has been struggling with a surge in bias crimes.

In the last decade, bias crime reports went from 10 in 2015 to nearly 170 in 2023, according to the Oregon Department of Justice. On a national level, a similar rise in bias crimes in recent years has been reported by the FBI.

On Wednesday at Portland's Alberta House, Welcoming Week celebrations included a block party with live music, international cuisine, games, and family-friendly activities. The event, slated for 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., recognized the immigrant and refugee contributions to the city's diversity, culture and local economy.

A free resource fair was also held earlier in the day at Portland Community College Cascade's Terrell Hall in North Portland. Offerings included legal services and other assistance, such as connecting community members with employment information, health insurance, food and opportunities in housing and education.

The PCC Legal Resource Center and the CLEAR Clinic put on the resource fair.

Abduli Jam, an immigrant from Senegal, told KOIN 6 News via translation from a friend that he was looking for a job and a place to live.

Jam traveled more than 6,000 miles to come to Portland in hopes of finding a place of his own. He was one of several immigrants KOIN 6 saw get connected to services at PCC Wednesday.

"Coming from Africa, we don't have work, we don't have it nice, so he just come to support his family," Jam's friend explained.

Isabel Lara-Hernandez, an immigration law paralegal with the PCC Legal Resource Center, told KOIN 6 News it's important to break down barriers to get people the help they need.

"It really does bring great joy when we're able to help them with an asylum application and then a work permit, and I get pictures from clients of their kids," Lara-Hernandez said. "And I get progress of all the jobs that they're getting, or just all the work that they're able to continue to keep doing."

Beyond employment, PCC's Legal Resource Center helps immigrants navigate the legal and criminal justice system, aiding with screenings, fines, record expungement, DACA renewals, name changes and more. It's an issue that's personal for Lara-Hernandez, whose parents immigrated from Mexico.

"They came here with not knowing anything, not knowing where to go, I feel really lucky to be a person that could have helped my parents, and so that's how I see the people that are, that we're helping," Lara-Hernandez said.

This year alone, the Oregon Department of Justice said there have been 233 anti-national original reports of bias so far in 2024, with 62 being anti-immigrant, 36 anti-Mexico and 27 against the Asian community.

A recent shift in who is being targeted has also happened, with gender identity and sexual orientation among the most impacted classes over the last 30 years. Race, class and national origin lead reports received within the last week.

"The upcoming election, it does bring a sense of fear to community members," Lara-Hernandez said. "And when someone in our community is falling behind, we want to make sure we make them feel supported."

During a Portland City Council meeting last week formally recognizing Welcoming Week, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared, “I hope that together, we can continue to support the immigrant and refugee communities and ensure that Portland remains a place where everyone, no matter where they come from, knows that they belong.”

Check the PCC Legal Resource Center's website for more information.