December Newsletter: Delivering Big Wins, ICE Update, the Mayor’s Housing Plan and Constituent Coffee

City of Portland, Oregon sent this bulletin at 12/04/2025 01:29 PM PST

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District 3 Councilor Angelita Morillo Banner

(she/they) councilor.morillo@portlandoregon.gov

Bluesky @councilormorillo.bsky.social
Instagram @councilorangelitamorillo

Dear Friend,

As we approach the holidays, I’m feeling more thankful than ever for the privilege of serving District 3. My team and I have been hard at work delivering on some big wins for our community, and I’m excited to share a few of them with you today.

Councilor Morillo Passes Two Major Ordinances!

Since I took office in January, I knew that I wanted to do more than just maintain the status quo in our city government. I came to City Hall with big ideas for making life more affordable for our most marginalized Portlanders, and today I’m proud to say that I’ve delivered on some of those promises.

In November, Council successfully passed my Algorithmic Price Fixing Ban, which prohibits corporate landlords from using algorithmic technology that drives up the cost of rent in our city. This vote came on the heels of a major settlement brought by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, which alleges that the nation’s largest landlord, Greystar Management Services, used price fixing software to participate in rental price fixing schemes.

Councilor Morillo holding a mug that says "landlord tears"

The evidence makes it crystal clear: the biggest and most powerful corporate landlords in Portland are using technology that inflates rent prices in a time when more and more Portlanders are struggling to afford a stable place to live. So my team and I took action to put a stop to this unfair price fixing practice. With my landmark ordinance, the first of its kind to be passed in Oregon, corporate landlords no longer have unfettered access to price fixing tools that pad their pockets while the rest of us struggle to find a stable place to call home.

Our second big win came yesterday with the passage of my Detention Facility Fee, co-sponsored by Councilor Mitch Green. The ordinance makes sure that private property owners who rent out their buildings for detention centers pay for the real public costs caused by those facilities. It also lets the City act quickly if dangerous chemicals or contamination spread from a detention site into nearby neighborhoods.

Councilor Morillo standing with Councilor Green outside Council chambers

I worked with co-sponsor Councilor Mitch Green to pass my Detention Facility Fee ordinance

I worked hard on this policy because for too long, our taxpayers, our City bureaus, and most painfully, our neighbors living near detention facilities have shouldered the very real environmental, public health, and safety costs of operations they cannot control – like federal agents using tear gas with impunity at the Macadam ICE facility or the Cottonwood School being forced to relocate due to hazardous conditions. This policy ensures that the private parties who choose to host these high-impact facilities take responsibility for the burdens they create. I’m tired of them skirting responsibility for the suffering they inflict on our communities, and I'm thankful for my colleagues who worked with me to get this done for our city.

Macadam ICE Facility Updates

As federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity ramps up in our region, I want to be unequivocally clear: I believe ICE should be abolished. A system that cages people for seeking safety and opportunity has no place in a society that believes in dignity and human rights. The presence of ICE in our region has done nothing but cause real fear, life changing harm, and deep trauma for our immigrant neighbors.

Many have called for the revocation of the operating permit at the ICE facility on Macadam in Portland. While I don’t have space in this newsletter to detail the entire process, I want to give an update on where that work stands.

Mayor Wilson has been involved with the permit process along with PP&D

In July, a complaint was filed against the facility that began a process, housed within the City’s Permitting and Development department (PP&D), to review the terms of the facility’s permit and consider revocation. Now, PP&D is negotiating with the Macadam facility landlord on the violations expressed in July’s complaint, and the process sits with both that department and Mayor Wilson. Council is engaging with them to move with urgency, and we are encouraged to see Portlanders doing the same.

Over the past few months, community members have used their voice and peacefully protested to raise concerns over the actions of federal agents at the ICE facility, the kidnapping of immigrants in our community with no due process, and the existence of the ICE facility in general. I am thankful for every person who has shown up to testify, emailed my office, or protested peacefully at the facility. I want you know to know that I’ve heard you loud and clear: ICE is not welcome in our community.

Navigating the bureaucratic red tape that limits City Council’s power on this issue has been a challenge, for those of us on Council and for members of the community who want to see the permit revoked. That’s why my team and I put together an extensive FAQ that addresses the permit process, Council’s power, and next steps. I believe it’s critical to have the right information so that we can move forward in a way that’s strategic, meaningful, and grounded in liberation for all.

Click here to read the Permit FAQ

Mayor Wilson’s Shelter Plan Deadline was December 1st.

Here's my response.

This week, Mayor Wilson celebrated a major milestone in our homelessness response by announcing the creation of 1,500 new shelter beds in Portland. In reaching that number of new beds, the mayor is declaring victory in one of his priorities on homelessness and for that I want to congratulate him. His second priority was to end unsanctioned homelessness -- this is what I'd like to address here today.

I’m glad that Portlanders experiencing homelessness now have safer places to sleep than a sidewalk. But shelter is not housing, and unsheltered homelessness does not end just because we are able to temporarily move some people indoors for a few hours. Homelessness ends when Portlanders have permanent, stable homes with support and resources for staying there. Until those 1,500 Portlanders have keys in their hands, we are not ending homelessness. We are simply prolonging it. We are making it invisible for a few hours every night.

We know, based on evidence backed research and case studies, how to end homelessness: by building and funding permanent, deeply affordable housing and making sure people can stay there. I cannot in good conscience sit idly by while we continue to spend taxpayer dollars on a system that only serves to warehouse people in temporary beds, knowing full well that those investments could be going towards long term solutions to get and keep people housed. That’s why I fought to move money from the sweeps program into rent assistance, supported our social housing initiatives, made our permitting process easier, and passed an ordinance to stop corporate landlords from price fixing rents.

I believe we can make big, bold moves that have a real impact on ending homelessness. I will keep pushing for long term solutions that do right by ALL Portlanders.

Constituent Coffee: Next Friday, December 12

Councilor Morillo meeting with constituents at the Holgate Library

A few weeks ago, I hosted a constituent coffee at the Holgate Library — it was so lovely chatting with neighbors and community members about their concerns, questions and feedback. I’m excited to invite you to our next constituent coffee happening next Friday, December 12th at 10:30. We’ll be meeting at Bipartisan Café at 7901 SE Stark St.

Please join us for an hour and a half of lively conversation, camaraderie, and of course, Bipartisan’s famous sweet treats and warm bevvies.

Every day I’m thankful for the honor of serving District 3. I’m always bragging about how I have the best constituents in Oregon: you’re truly a brilliant, engaged, visionary bunch. Thank you so much for fighting alongside me to build a Portland that doesn’t leave anyone behind. I couldn’t do this without you. Please reach out any time with your questions, comments and feedback.

In solidarity,

Councilor Angelita Morillo

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