election

Start calling early Monday - join the fight to beat Obama's unconstitutional plans for amnesty via Executive fiat - your calls can stop this!

Alert date: 
December 6, 2014
Alert body: 
The America we know is being threatened - by President Obama, who has promised to grant executive amnesty to millions of illegal aliens as soon as next week.
 
Obama's actions range from deliberate non-enforcement of immigration laws, to DACA via executive fiat, to promising to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. These are not the actions of a weak and distracted administration. Indeed, they are deliberate, calculated actions based on an explicit agenda of "fundamentally transforming the United States" into a dependent immigrant class... who vote Democratic.
 
From NumbersUSA:
 
Don't give away your power of the purse to defund amnesty.  Insist on a SHORT-TERM SPENDING BILL.

Reject any long-term omnibus spending bill that takes away your ability to stop an executive amnesty early next year.

HERE'S THE DIRE DANGER WE ARE IN

...when our staff and the staff of our allies in Congress look at the words of the Republican leaders -- particularly of Senate Minority Leader McConnell and House Speaker Boehner -- they fail to find any promise to take away all funding from Pres. Obama to carry out his executive amnesty.

Right now, it looks like the GOP leaders are prepared to make political hay in vocally opposing the President. But they also are planning to take away the ability of Congress to defund his actions.

Yes, you read that right. Outrageous. But we have no reason to believe otherwise at this moment.  Surely you won't let them get away with that.

How would Sen. McConnell and Speaker Boehner do it?

By allowing passage of an omnibus spending bill over the next few weeks that would fund the government through next September. During that time, opponents of amnesty would lose the one tool that is available to them to stop President Obama's amnesty before millions more illegal aliens get work permits.

 
Don't give away your power of the purse to de-fund amnesty.  Insist on a SHORT-TERM SPENDING BILL.
 
Please call Rep. Greg Walden's DC office at (202) 225-6730 on Monday.

You can call 1-866-220-0044 and ask to be connected with any Congressman - the operator will ring you through.

 

Report: Obama Will Soon Announce 10-Point Plan for Illegals

President Barack Obama will introduce 10 executive actions that could suspend deportations for and legalize more than 5 million illegal immigrants as early as next week, news reports say.

The plan was part of a draft proposal to a federal agency that was leaked to Fox News, the network reported on Wednesday.

Obama's announcement could come as early as Nov. 21 or shortly thereafter, a White House source told Fox.

The president was briefed on the plan by the Department of Homeland Security before he left on his trip to Asia and the Pacific last week, Fox reports. One of the architects of the plan was Esther Olavarria, the top immigration lawyer on the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's staff.

Among the plan's most controversial elements include orders that would expand deportation deferrals not only to illegals who came to the U.S. as children, but to the parents of U.S. citizens — those who were born in this country — and those who have become legal permanent residents.

The parental expansion could allow as many as 4.5 million illegal adults with U.S.-born children to remain in the country, Fox reports.

Obama's orders also would expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program he created in June 2012.

DACA affected millions of illegals who were brought to the United States as children before June 2007 and who were under 31 years old as of June 2012, when the program started.

With the new order, Obama would expand DACA to cover anyone who entered the United States before age 16 — and would move the cutoff date back to Jan. 1, 2010.

This is expected to affect nearly 300,000 illegal immigrants, Fox reports.

In addition, a State Department immigrant visa program involving technology jobs would offer another half-million immigrants a path to citizenship, according to Fox. Spouses also would be helped by the program.

According to Fox, the DHS plans to "promote" the new naturalization process by giving a 50 percent discount on the first 10,000 applicants who come forward, with the exception of those whose incomes are above 200 percent of the national poverty level.

Other planned executive actions would increase pay for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers — an effort to "increase morale" within the agency, Fox reports — and the administration would revise its priorities to target only serious criminals for deportation, while replacing its current "Secure Communities" program with a new effort.

The Fox report comes as Obama vowed last week to act unilaterally on immigration in the absence of congressional action.

He was attacked by House Speaker John Boehner, who said any such move would "poison the well" with Republicans, and by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who likened it to "waving a red flag in front of a bull."

McConnell, who will become majority leader when the new Congress convenes in January, reiterated his opposition to Obama's acting alone on immigration in a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday.

"President Obama has a duty to help build the trust we all need to move forward together, not to double-down on old ways of doing business," McConnell said. "That's why I think moving forward with the unilateral action on immigration he's planned would be a big mistake." Read more about Report: Obama Will Soon Announce 10-Point Plan for Illegals

Obama Promises (Threatens?) to Take Executive Action on Immigration

On Election Day Americans across the United States voted to turn control of the United States Senate over to Republicans and increase the number of Republicans in the House of Representatives. Additionally, many supposed “Blue” (Democratic) states elected Republican governors.

About one week before the elections, President Obama admitted that the elections would be, in essence, a referendum on the policies of his administration. One of the most contentious and controversial policy decisions of his administration was to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” to grant lawful status to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens (DREAMERs) who may be as old as 31 years of age who claim to have entered the United States prior to their 15th birthday.

Clearly the majority of American voters oppose the president’s agenda – his policies and his actions.

Yet, incredibly, during his first news conference held just after Election Day, President Obama said that he would not attempt to read the “political tea leaves” but would leave it to the journalists and pundits to do that. He might as well have stuffed his fingers in his ears and made it clear that he will not listen to the voices of the citizens of the United States, who had just spoken loud and clearly on this issue. It is beyond belief that any politician would not be concerned about interpreting the results of elections or political polls.

Where immigration and other issues are concerned, the President has, in effect, stated, “Damn the will of the American people, full steam ahead!”

The Washington Post published the transcript of the presidential news conference. Here is one of many key sentences from his prepared statement:

All of us have to give more Americans a reason to feel like the ground is stable beneath their feet, that the future is secure, that there is a path for young people to succeed, and that folks here in Washington are concerned about them.

Our immigration laws were enacted to protect American lives and the jobs of American workers. How would providing millions of illegal aliens with lawful status provide Americans with that which the President claimed should be provided to Americans? Virtually every political candidate promises to “create jobs.” However, each month the number of foreign workers entering the United States is greater than the number of new jobs that are being created. Legalizing unknown millions of heretofore illegal aliens would put these aliens into direct competition with unemployed and underemployed American workers. Even Americans who don’t lose their jobs to foreign competitors will likely suffer wage suppression. It is time for the government to liberate jobs by effectively enforcing the immigration laws. This would, overnight, free up millions of jobs for Americans.

The contradictions in his prepared statement and his responses to questions posed by reporters at that news conference were obvious and disturbing. On the one hand he talked about the need to enable American workers to find good jobs and for American students to be able to afford college educations so that they can get attain their goals and not have to worry about paying off massive student loans. On the other hand, however, he talked about the need to go forward with what he deemed would be “lawful” actions to provide millions of illegal aliens with pathways to lawful status provided that they paid their taxes, learned English and would be put on the infamous “end of the line.” “Beauty,” as the saying goes, “is in the eye of the beholder.” These previous issued executive orders are of questionable legality and raise many questions that have, thus far gone unanswered. This time he may well over-reach and could face many legal challenges.

Of course no one ever asks, where is the end of the line or where the line leads. The point is, that while waiting on the “end of the line,” these aliens would be granted lawful status, giving them an equal standing in the labor pool as lawful immigrants and even, United States citizens. Although the presence of these aliens in the United States represents a violation of law, yet they would be provided with official identity documents and because of the huge number of aliens who would be eligible to participate, there would be no capacity to conduct in-person interviews or field investigations to verify that the information contained in their applications is accurate and truthful. There would be no way to verify when or how they entered the United States, or what is in their backgrounds or their possible affiliations with criminal or terrorist organizations.

The administration appears hell-bent on wielding the President’s infamous phone and pen to undermine America and American workers by undermining the integrity of the immigration system.

However, what remains to be seen is what, if anything, the Congress will do. We need to be concerned about what the “Lame Duck” congress may do and we also need to be just as concerned about what both the Senate and House of Representatives may do when they re-convene in January.

In noting the “Lame Duck” Congress, it is remarkable that when employees are terminated they are almost invariably divested of their access to the computer databases at work before they are handed their “pink slips” to make certain that they not take any retaliatory action against their employer.

Where Congress is concerned, members who have lost their positions have several weeks during that dreaded “Lame Duck” period when they continue to have full authority to act, even though they know that they are no longer going to be held accountable by the electorate. This is an open invitation to a disaster! The time has come to end this lunacy. At the very least, the day after Election Day, members of Congress who were either defeated or decided to not run for re-election should not be able to take official action. Votes on critical issues should not be cast by those who are on their way out the door.

Here is a cautionary note to all members of Congress. The American people have spoken loudly. In just two years every seat in the House of Representatives will be up for election again. One third of all Senate seats will be up for election and the White House will be up for grabs. Clearly the citizens of the United States have awakened from their slumber. Americans, irrespective of political orientation, are angry and are very much paying attention. Immigration is rarely portrayed as it should be. It is not a single issue but a singular issue that impacts virtually every challenge and threat America and Americans face. As I noted in my PFIR policy brief, “The Liberal Case for Effective Immigration Law Enforcement” this is not about “Left” or “Right” but about right or wrong.

When Obama was asked about the nuclear aspirations of Iran and negotiations with the United States, he said that it would be better to not make any deal than make a bad deal. This perspective must be applied to any immigration proposals as well. Read more about Obama Promises (Threatens?) to Take Executive Action on Immigration

Oregonians voted for people and issues, not party lines

Last week's election gave me hope for Oregon.

Not because of the overall results. They were unsurprising.

Rather, I am heartened that thousands of Oregonians voted for individuals and issues, instead of along straight party lines.

If you look at county-by-county election results, you'll see vast differences. For example, Marion and Polk counties voted for Republican Dennis Richardson for governor but Democrat Jeff Merkley for U.S. senator.

Measure 88, which would have made driver cards available to undocumented Oregonians, passed in only one county — Multnomah — and lost overwhelmingly statewide. Meanwhile, Measure 89, the state Equal Rights Amendment, was approved statewide amid support in Northwest, Southwest, Central and Northeast Oregon counties. Measure 90, the open or "top-two" primary, lost in every county.

As for Measure 91, legalizing marijuana, Polk and Marion counties voted against it but it passed statewide. Its support was in the Portland metro area, the coast, and Lane, Deschutes and Jackson counties. The measure barely failed in Josephine County.

I worry about what legalization will mean for Oregon.

But I am reassured that Oregonians displayed individuality and independence on Tuesday.

Other thoughts:

• This election season produced some of the worst-run campaigns I've witnessed.

One was Republican Monica Wehby's ill-fated attempt to unseat the liberal's liberal, Jeff Merkley.

Every candidate, especially a challenger, should learn from Wehby's mistakes:

1. Hire top-notch campaign staff. My sense is that staffers and consultants who understand Oregon do better than outsiders.

2. Know the issues before you even consider running. Wehby displayed a stunning unfamiliarity with most state and federal matters, which was a key reason that the Statesman Journal Editorial Board endorsed Rep. Jason Conger over her in the Republican primary.

3. Have a solid — non-plagiarized — plan for what you would do if elected. That plan must be understandable, significant and pragmatic. Give voters good reasons to vote for you. Opposition to the opponent is an insufficient reason.

4. Practice debating; master the art of debate and of back-and-forth politics, instead of taking criticisms personally. Both Kitzhaber and Richardson generally impressed me in this regard.

5. Expect your personal life to become public, so know your flaws and skeletons and reveal them before your opponent and the media do.

6. Respect the opponent. Set that standard for your campaign staff and volunteers.

By the way, the Merkley campaign's incessant attacks on Wehby bugged the heck out of me. One Merkley aide was even texting me on weekends to complain about Wehby.

• Some pro-Measure 88 campaigners looked down on the opponents, and it showed. The pro campaign got outwitted and outworked. The opponents had dug far deeper into the potential impacts of the driver cards.

• As with other journalists I know, I am basically a-political. I registered with a political party simply so I could vote in primary elections. I cannot afford to get invested in the outcomes, because my job is to deal with whichever side prevails.

So it was surprising to get a nasty, accusatory post-election email from a campaign consultant who's been around long enough that he should know better: Losing one's temper is not the optimum way of building credibility.

Which brings me to this tip, which is suitable for non-election consumption as well: Never put anything in an email that you wouldn't want to see on a billboard.

Or in a newspaper.

More information

To view statewide and county-by-county election results, go to oregonvotes.gov/results/2014G/index.html.
  Read more about Oregonians voted for people and issues, not party lines

Midterm Exit Poll: 75% reject executive amnesty, 80% don't want foreign workers taking jobs from Americans

Americans who voted in the midterms on Tuesday overwhelming are opposed to President Barack Obama's executive amnesty and do not want foreign workers to take jobs from Americans and legal immigrants who are already here.

An exit poll conducting by Kellyanne Conway's The Polling Company found that three-quarters (74%) of voters believed that "President Obama should work with Congress rather than around Congress on immigration and separately."

Overall, strong "majorities of men (75%), women (74%), whites (79%), blacks (59%), and Hispanics (54%)," in addition to tri - partisan majorities of "self - identified Republicans (92%), Independents (80%), and Democrats (51%)" did not want Obama to enact an executive amnesty on his own. Only 20% of voters wanted Obama to move forward with his executive amnesty. Read more about Midterm Exit Poll: 75% reject executive amnesty, 80% don't want foreign workers taking jobs from Americans

Oregon’s Immigration Hawks

Enough is enough. An important bloc of voters made their voices heard on Tuesday. Their message: Quit rewarding people who violate our immigration laws. They chose a sovereign nation over an illegal-alien sanctuary nation, and they told politicians in both parties loud and clear: Put Americans first.

Will D.C. listen?

These voters are tired of politicians creating magnets for illegal immigrants. They’re tired of preferential treatment for defiant border crossers, visa overstayers, and deportation fugitives. They’re tired of the heavy costs and consequences of the government’s systemic refusal to protect its borders and fully implement interior enforcement.

Pay attention, both parties in the Beltway: These aren’t voters in a red-state bastion. They’re fed-up voters in bright-blue Oregon — a whopping 941,042 of them, to be exact — who overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure to provide special driver’s licenses “without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States.”

When Democratic governor John Kitzhaber and radicals in the state legislature tried to push through illegal-alien driver’s cards against the will of the people, the people struck back and forced a full public vote and electoral accountability.

“Citizens expect our lawmakers to uphold our laws, not work at finding ways to circumvent them,” said the group Protect Oregon Driver Licenses. “Oregon is the only state in the country that [gave citizens the] opportunity to vote on giving driver cards to those who cannot prove legal presence in the United States.” If only every state had the power of initiative and referendum. Ten states – California, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, plus the District of Columbia – “have had the law forced upon them with little or no recourse available to them.”

Listen up, D.C.: The Oregon proposal went down in flames by more than a two-to-one margin. More voters weighed in on Measure 88 than on any other single candidate or question on the ballot, including the campaigns for governor, U.S. senator, and marijuana legalization.

Who supported Measure 88? Entitled ethnic lobbyists, immigration lawyers, American-worker-betraying labor unions such as the SEIU and UFCW, the ACLU, the militant Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, agricultural interests, NARAL, far-left church leaders, soft-on-illegal-immigration newspaper editorial boards, and some business-pandering Republicans.

Pro-amnesty actress and Barack Obama campaign-finance bundler Eva Longoria’s “Latino Victory Project” forked over $50,000 to the pro–Measure 88 PAC. The open-borders campaign raised a whopping $500,000-plus from its deep-pocketed Big Government/Big Business/Hollywood patrons.

Who opposed the referendum? Grassroots citizens and a majority of commonsense sheriffs in Oregon who were outspent ten to one.

The police, sheriffs, and border-patrol agents who opposed Measure 88 forcefully connected the dots between immigration enforcement and homeland security. As I’ve reported repeatedly over the years, driver’s licenses are tickets into the American mainstream. They allow residents to establish an identity and foothold into their communities. They help you open bank accounts, enter secure facilities, and, yes, board planes.

Remember:

- The 9/11 hijackers obtained some 364 separate pieces of identification, including driver’s licenses, in order to conduct their murderous business. Hijackers Hani Hanjour and Khalid Almihdhar conspired with illegal-alien day laborers at a Falls Church, Va., 7-Eleven to obtain government-issued photo IDs. Three other hijackers obtained IDs at an Arlington, Va., DMV.

- In Boston, suspected al-Qaeda agent and illegal alien Nabil al-Marabh obtained a license permitting him to drive semi-trucks containing hazardous materials, including explosives and caustic materials.

The anti–Measure 88 law-enforcement officers were joined by Derek Hernandez, vice president of the Western Region National Border Patrol Council, and Maria Espinoza, national director of the Remembrance Project. Espinoza is a Mexican-American activist whose group “is dedicated to honoring and remembering Americans who have been killed by illegal aliens.” As she pointed out to Oregonians: “Americans are neither allowed nor do they expect being able to provide unverifiable documentation when applying for licenses, jobs, voter registrations, loans, or any of the many activities requiring proper identification. Why should illegal aliens be afforded this ill-begotten privilege?”

Pro–Measure 88 advocates disingenuously argued that the law was “pro–public safety” because it would allow Oregon to know who is living in the state. But Espinoza correctly notes that Mexican-government offices embedded in the U.S. continue to issue shady “matricula consular” identification cards “without proof of identity, in their efforts to achieve quasi-legal status for Mexican illegal aliens in the United States.”

As President Obama and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce conspire in Beltway backrooms to provide tens of millions of work permits for illegal aliens through administrative fiat, the new GOP majority on Capitol Hill better heed the defeat of Measure 88.

Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, spoke for law-abiding voters across the country who are “sick and tired of big business, special-interest groups, and unions controlling our government.” They’re tired of government-manufactured chaos, government-sponsored double standards, and government-imposed benefits for millions of law-breakers who supply cheap labor and cheap votes to bipartisan special interests. Illegal-alien driver’s licenses are a catalyst for politically driven amnesty, Mexico’s poverty-exportation plan, and corporate wage suppression.

American voters of all backgrounds, political affiliations, and incomes don’t want any part of that racket. Enough. Read more about Oregon’s Immigration Hawks

Make D.C. Listen: Voters Reject Illegal Alien Rewards

Enough is enough. An important bloc of voters made their voices heard on Tuesday. Their message: Quit rewarding people who violate our immigration laws. They chose a sovereign nation over an illegal alien sanctuary nation, and they told politicians in both parties loud and clear: Put Americans first.

Will D.C. listen?

These voters are tired of politicians creating magnets for illegal immigrants. They're tired of preferential treatment for defiant border-crossers, visa overstayers and deportation fugitives. They're tired of the heavy costs and consequences of the government's systemic refusal to protect its borders and fully implement interior enforcement.

Pay attention, both parties in the Beltway: These aren't voters in a red-state bastion. They're fed-up voters in bright blue Oregon -- a whopping 941,042 of them, to be exact -- who overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure to provide special driver's licenses "without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States."

When Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber and radicals in the state legislature tried to push through illegal alien driver's cards against the will of the people, the people struck back and forced a full public vote and electoral accountability.

"Citizens expect our lawmakers to uphold our laws, not work at finding ways to circumvent them," said the group Protect Oregon Driver Licenses. "Oregon is the only state in the country that (gave citizens the) opportunity to vote on giving driver cards to those who cannot prove legal presence in the United States." If only every state had the power of initiative and referendum. Ten states, including California, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont and Washington, plus the District of Columbia, "have had the law forced upon them with little or no recourse available to them."

Listen up, D.C.: The Oregon proposal went down in flames by more than a 2-to-1 margin. More voters weighed in on Measure 88 than any other single candidate or question on the ballot, including the campaigns for governor, U.S. senator and marijuana legalization.

Who supported Measure 88? Entitled ethnic lobbyists, immigration lawyers, American worker-betraying labor unions like the SEIU and UFCW, the ACLU, the militant Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, agricultural interests, NARAL, far-left church leaders, soft-on-illegal-immigration newspaper editorial boards, and some business-pandering Republicans.

Pro-amnesty actress and Barack Obama campaign finance bundler Eva Longoria's "Latino Victory Project" forked over $50,000 to the pro-Measure 88 PAC. The open-borders campaign raised a whopping $500,000-plus from its deep-pocketed Big Government/Big Business/Hollywood patrons.

Who opposed the referendum? Grassroots citizens and a majority of common-sense sheriffs in Oregon who were outspent 10-to-1.

The police, sheriffs and border patrol agents who opposed Measure 88 forcefully connected the dots between immigration enforcement and homeland security. As I've reported repeatedly over the years, driver's licenses are tickets into the American mainstream. They allow residents to establish an identity and foothold into their communities. They help you open bank accounts, enter secure facilities and, yes, board planes.

Remember:

--The 9/11 hijackers obtained some 364 separate pieces of identification, including driver's licenses, in order to conduct their murderous business. Hijackers Hani Hanjour and Khalid Almihdhar conspired with illegal alien day laborers at a Falls Church, Va., 7-Eleven to obtain government-issued photo IDs. Three other hijackers obtained IDs at an Arlington, Va., DMV.

--In Boston, suspected al-Qaida agent and illegal alien Nabil al-Marabh obtained a license permitting him to drive semi-trucks containing hazardous materials, including explosives and caustic materials.

The anti-Measure 88 law enforcement officers were joined by Derek Hernandez, vice president of the Western Region National Border Patrol Council, and Maria Espinoza, national director of The Remembrance Project. Espinoza is a Mexican-American activist whose group "is dedicated to honoring and remembering Americans who have been killed by illegal aliens." As she pointed out to Oregonians, "Americans are neither allowed nor do they expect being able to provide unverifiable documentation when applying for licenses, jobs, voter registrations, loans or any of the many activities requiring proper identification. Why should illegal aliens be afforded this ill-begotten privilege?"

Pro-Measure 88 advocates disingenuously argued that the law was "pro-public safety" because it would allow Oregon to know who is living in the state. But Espinoza correctly notes that Mexican government offices embedded in the U.S. continue to issue shady "matricula consular" identification cards "without proof of identity, in their efforts to achieve quasi-legal status for Mexican illegal aliens in the United States."

As President Obama and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce conspire in Beltway backrooms to provide tens of millions of work permits for illegal aliens through administrative fiat, the new GOP majority on Capitol Hill better heed the defeat of Measure 88.

Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, spoke for law-abiding voters across the country who are "sick and tired of big business, special interest groups and unions controlling our government." They're tired of government-manufactured chaos, government-sponsored double standards and government-imposed benefits for millions of law-breakers who supply cheap labor and cheap votes to bipartisan special interests. Illegal alien driver's licenses are a catalyst for politically driven amnesty, Mexico's poverty exportation plan and corporate wage suppression.

American voters of all backgrounds, political affiliations and incomes don't want any part of that racket. Enough. Read more about Make D.C. Listen: Voters Reject Illegal Alien Rewards

Election night celebration

If you were unable to attend the Election Night celebration - we missed you! But, we took pictures for you!

Nervous energy quickly evaporated into high spirits as the results began to come in. 

It's BIG WIN for the NO on 88 campaign with 68% of the vote - our opponents only 32%.

  Read more about Election night celebration

Ballot Measure 88 goes down in flames

Alert date: 
November 5, 2014
Alert body: 

Oregon voters, by a 2 to 1 margin, said NO to state issued ID - in the form of driver cards - to people in our country illegally.

It's been reported that more people voted NO on 88 than voted on any other issue or for any other candidate in Oregon.  Read more about Ballot Measure 88's demise.
 

Oregon Voters Reject Illegal Alien Driver’s Licenses

Voters in Oregon overwhelmingly rejected a law passed in 2013 that would grant driver’s license cards to illegal aliens. (Oregon Live, Nov. 5, 2014) Ballot Measure 88, which put Senate Bill (“S.B.”) 833 up for voter approval, was defeated by a landslide of 68% of voters in favor of vetoing S.B 833, with only 32% in support of the law. (Id.) The defeat of Measure 88 marks a huge victory for true immigration reformers in Oregon and nationwide. Currently, eleven states grant driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. However, activists in Oregon were the first state to hold their elected representatives accountable and put the question on the ballot.

Opposition against Measure 88 was entirely a grassroots effort. Oregonians for Immigration Reform, a local group whose mission is to support enforcement of immigration law, initiated the referendum of the law by working tirelessly to gather over 71,000 signatures in just a few months to get Measure 88 on the ballot. (Breitbart, Oct. 21, 2014) Supporters for the Measure included illegal alien lobby groups, labor unions, and businesses that profited off of the availability of cheap, illegal labor. (Oregon Live, Nov. 4, 2014) True immigration reformers raised only $37,000 to fight Measure 88, compared to the $421,000 raised by the illegal alien lobby to support it. (Breitbart, Oct. 21, 2014)

The movement to defeat Measure 88 gained momentum in April when sheriffs representing all 36 counties in Oregon came out in opposition to the Measure. (Oregon Live, Sept. 22, 2014) Sheriffs of Oregon Political Action Committee, which represents Oregon sheriffs, issued a press release stating: “The Sheriffs of Oregon support the citizens veto referendum #301 to overturn S.B. 833. We urge a NO vote.” (Id.) Tom Bergin, current Clatsop County Sheriff and former President of the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association, added, “It is wrong to provide special driver’s licenses to people who cannot prove legal presence in the United States. For Oregon to do so, will only enhance the ability for criminal behavior, thus creating a larger risk to our citizens public safety. The Sheriffs of Oregon urge you to oppose this Measure.” (Id.)

Supporters of illegal alien driver’s licenses appealed to public safety concerns, arguing S.B. 833 would improve public safety and increase the number of insured drivers on state roads and highways. (Portland Tribune, Oct. 16, 2014) These arguments, however, lost credibility after the law enforcement adamantly spoke up against the law. Dave Driscall, a retired Salem Police officer, described Measure 88 as “just a way for a select group of people to avoid Oregon law. It will not increase traffic safety or lower the number of uninsured drivers in this state. If allowed to stand Oregon could become a safe haven for criminals and terrorists.” (Oregon Live, Sept. 22, 2014) Indeed, a study published in the Journal of Insurance Regulation in 2011 reported that the average percentage of uninsured motorists is actually higher in states that have no lawful presence requirement for obtaining driving privileges. (National Association of Insurance Commissioners)

True immigration reform activists in the state were thrilled to learn of the outcome of the referendum. (Statesman Journal, Nov. 4, 2014) Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, commented, “We wanted to get it to the ballot, and we wanted to let Oregon voters decide this issue. I think they’ve spoken loud and clear.” (Id.) Kendoll stated the outcome was a victory for those “sick and tired of big business, special interest groups and unions controlling our government.” (Oregon Live, Nov. 4, 2014)
  Read more about Oregon Voters Reject Illegal Alien Driver’s Licenses

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