The free pass for criminal aliens bill
Posted by E Van Staaveren on Tue, 10/03/2017
There was such a whirl of activity in the final days of the late, unlamented session of Oregon’s Legislature that further wounds to citizenship and the rule of law slipped through with very little notice.
Looking into the history of HB 2355, “Relating to public safety; and declaring an emergency,” we find that the innocent-sounding summary says: “Directs Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to develop method for recording data concerning officer-initiated pedestrian and traffic stops.”
The bill was said to be aimed at “racial profiling” – the claimed unfair treatment by police of racial minorities. It was introduced on January 9, 2017. But because of amendments that conveniently came much later, HB 2355 might as well now be called the free pass for criminal aliens bill.
At a July 4 session of the House Ways and Means Committee which was considering HB 2355, a majority of Committee members voted to reduce the penalty for a Class A misdemeanor from the standard 365 days to 364 days. What a difference a day makes! Now aliens who may or may not be here legally can escape the federal rule that makes deportable those aliens convicted of Class A misdemeanors.
HR 2355 was pre-session filed at the request of Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. There was little publicity, and most voters were probably unaware of the contents of the bill, especially the addition of the part benefitting criminal aliens. The bill sailed through House hearings with almost no public opposition.
The House vote was 36 Ayes and 23 Nays. All Democrats voted Aye except Rep. Boone who was excused. All Republicans voted Nay except Reps. John Huffman and A. Richard Vial.
News of the bill’s passage on July 5 by the House appeared in some Oregon newspapers, referring to it as an anti racial profiling bill.
The bill went to the Senate the very next day, July 6, where it passed quickly without any hearing, and the Legislature adjourned on July 7.
The Senate vote was 20 Ayes and 9 Nays. Sen. Knopp (R) was excused. All Democrats voted Aye except Sen. Betsy Johnson, who voted Nay. Republicans were split, 8 Nays to 4 Ayes. Republicans voting Nay were: Sens. Baertshiger, Boquist, Ferrioli, Girod, Kruse, Linthicum, Olsen, Thatcher. The Aye-voting Republicans were: Sens. DeBoer, Hansell, Thomsen, Winters.
An account of final passage was published on July 11 by the Portland Tribune, written by Paris Achen of the Capitol Bureau. Like her account of House passage, it ended with this paragraph:
“Another provision reduces maximum penalty for a Class A misdemeanor from 365 days of imprisonment to 364 days. That change was meant to prevent federal deportation of legal immigrants who are convicted of a Class A misdemeanor and may be a refugee, enrolled in school in the United States, or are the spouses or family members of a U.S. citizen, said Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland. A sentence of 365 days triggers mandatory federal deportation.”
However, HB 2355 as amended and passed will benefit all criminal aliens legally and illegally here, not just a favored few. This bit of legislative history illustrates how Oregon’s legislative leadership and allies deceptively manipulate human sympathy to expand benefits, incentivize illegal immigration, degrade the value of citizenship, and endanger public safety.
