Who's Who Among the OregonCandidates

Article date: 
Monday, August 24, 2020
Article category: 
Oregon Issues
Medium
Article Body: 

Oregonians frustrated with what’s happening in the Oregon now and in the State Legislature and Congress can learn more about candidates in the November election, and get involved with a campaign.

Oregon’s Congressional delegation has a dismal record on protecting the interests of U.S. citizens in immigration policy.  Most of the delegation has been in office for many years, and have consistently voted for lax to no controls on immigration.  We see the results in unsustainable population growth, overcrowding, degradation of the environment and multiple other ill effects.  Oregon’s State Legislature, Governor, and Attorney General have also opposed reasonable controls over immigration.

Here’s how to find Oregon candidates who do support the best interests of citizens in immigration policy: 

 

The Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Project has already begun posting information on candidates in the 2020 election, with links to their websites.  You can check there to see what’s available now for your districts.  If you don’t know which your districts are, you can enter your address on the form here and find out.

As of mid-August, it’s still fairly early in this year’s election calendar, and the OAAVEP is continuously adding more data to its site.  In the past they have posted very useful comparison charts on some issues, including immigration.  See their postings thus far for the 2020 election at https://oregonabigailadams.wordpress.com/2020-general-election , and for the 2018 election here.

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The national immigration reform organization, NumbersUSA, is posting and constantly updating facts about candidates’ views.  NumbersUSA is particularly helpful about the positions of candidates for Congress, while they also cover state campaigns.  NumbersUSA has been in existence for many years and has an invaluable record of votes by Congresspersons on immigration bills, scoring the records of each member with a letter grade, A-plus to F-minus.  They offer a questionnaire to candidates, and Alex Skarlatos, running for CD 4 against long-time incumbent Peter DeFazio, is the only Oregon candidate for Congress who has made any replies so far.  

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In earlier years, OFIR’s website included key facts about candidates in state and federal elections.  See https://www.oregonir.org/immigration-topics/elections.  This information is still useful because many candidates have been in office for years.

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The questions asked in the OAAVEP’s questionnaire vary slightly according to the office sought.  Here are the questions for U.S. House of Representatives candidates:

24         Do you support requiring all employers to use the Federal E-Verify system to determine the employee's work eligibility status to work in the United States?

25        Do you support requiring proof that immigration laws are being enforced before laws granting amnesty are considered?

26         Do you support withholding federal funds to sanctuary cities that do not cooperate in federal immigration law enforcement?                                      

27         Do you support blocking ICE from state records when investigating criminal immigrants?       

28         Do you support stronger border security to prevent illegal aliens and illegal drugs from entering the U.S.?   

29         Do you support requiring aliens counted in the census to not be used for purposes of redistricting?

30         Do you support ending DACA?                                        

31         Do you support automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. when both parents are not legal residents?