Taxes going to support illegal acts

Letter date: 
Monday, July 10, 2017
Letter publisher: 
The Register-Guard
Letter author: 
DAVE PECK
Letter body: 

I realize the proposed ordinance described in the July 9 article, “County to take up immigration protections,” reflects Oregon state laws recently passed, and this one focuses on not using county funds to enforce immigration law. But the article’s headline reflects the real truth: It’s not about money and wise use of taxpayer funds. This ordinance is a political statement relating to our federal immigration law.

As I thought about the proposed ordinance, I can only assume it would prohibit a county employee who for whatever reason discovered or suspected a person was in the United States illegally from simply calling Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities to report that fact. In fact, even if employees waited until they were off duty to make the call, it might result in their termination or worse.

So, to sum up, Lane County and the state of Oregon are essentially making it illegal for a county employee to report a federal crime to federal law enforcement. And my property taxes are being used to support that.