illegal aliens

Rep. Thatcher speaks out against SB833

Representative Kim Thatcher, a Chief Petitioner for the referendum campaign against SB833 expressed her concerns about the bill in a just published Guest Opinion.
  Read more about Rep. Thatcher speaks out against SB833

From his blog to ours, Rep. Richardson speaks out

The Driver Card Bill (Senate Bill 833), passed the Senate, the House and has been signed into law by Gov. Kitzhaber.

I voted against issuing driver cards to those who cannot prove legal residency after learning the experience of other states where such laws have been tested. (Watch a video of my floor debate against Senate Bill 833 on YouTube.)

New Mexico’s illegal immigrant drivers’ law failed to achieve its goal of lessening the number of uninsured drivers. Investigations revealed New Mexico’s law was a magnet that attracted additional illegal immigration into their state. In addition, New Mexico’s governor says she wishes their law could be repealed — citing problems relating to fraud, human trafficking, organized crime and national security.

After several years, Tennessee repealed its driving certificate laws. Investigators discovered non-residents were being shuttled to Tennessee and driving certificates were being issued based on false residency documents and even bribery of government officials.

In short, the desire to help thousands of undocumented workers and their families be assimilated into Oregon society may be well-intended, but the new Oregon driver card may have unintended consequences. When states such as Tennessee and New Mexico have documented, widespread fraud and abuse of their driver cards, and have either repealed their laws or have a governor who wishes the laws were terminated, Oregon should beware.

Like it or not, the Oregon driver card law will become effective Jan. 1, 2014. Time will tell whether or not the Oregon driver card was good policy or fraught with negative unintended consequences.

Rep. Dennis Richardson

http://blogs.esouthernoregon.com/southern-oregon-legislators/2013/05/03/why-i-voted-against-driver-cards/

  Read more about From his blog to ours, Rep. Richardson speaks out

Esquivel files to kill new driver's licence law

SALEM — Medford state representative Sal Esquivel and a fellow GOP legislator want voters to decide whether to overturn a new law that allows illegal immigrants in Oregon to obtain driver's licenses.

Esquivel, Rep. Kim Thatcher of Keizer and Portland activist Richard LaMountain with the group Oregonians for Immigration Reform are sponsors of a referendum submitted to the Secretary of State's Office Wednesday.

Referendum supporters will have to work quickly if they want to make the November 2014 ballot. They'll have to gather more than 58,000 valid signatures from registered voters within 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.

The law is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, but it would be put on hold until after the election if referendum proponents successfully force a vote.

Critics say the law rewards illegal actions and might encourage more people without legal documents to come to Oregon.

"If someone is willing to disregard immigration laws, what other laws are they willing to disregard?" Thatcher said last month.

Esquivel, the son of immigrants, questioned the value of the law in a May 1 story in the Mail Tribune.

"They broke the law getting in the country, broke the law working, broke the law driving and broke the law by being uninsured," Esquivel said. "... I don't see where the card makes them buy insurance. Let's face the facts. They're not going to buy it."

Supporters, however, say it would make Oregon's roads safer by reducing the number of unlicensed and uninsured drivers.

"(The referendum) is trying to make this about immigration when this is a public safety issue about Oregon's roads," said Jeff Stone, director of Oregon Association of Nurseries and an architect of the law.

Stone said he's disappointed by the referendum, especially because the legislation passed with bipartisan support.

Gov. John Kitzhaber signed the bill last week before a throng of cheering supporters in front of the Capitol.

The law would allow tens of thousands of immigrants living in Oregon without legal permission to get driver's licenses good for four years, half as long as a standard Oregon license. Immigrants and others who don't have documents proving they are in the country lawfully, including elderly and homeless people, could apply for the driver's licenses if they've lived in Oregon for at least a year and meet other requirements.

The restricted driver's licenses could not be used to vote, board a plane or buy a firearm. The licenses would be marked "Driver's Card" to distinguish them from a standard Oregon license.
  Read more about Esquivel files to kill new driver's licence law

SB833 Referendum preparing for take off

Alert date: 
May 10, 2013
Alert body: 

The final preparations are being completed as the "Protect Oregon Driver Licenses" referendum campaign is nearing take off.  Fasten you seatbelts!

Petition signature sheets are in their final approval stage and soon we will begin printing and distributing supplies.

If you are interested in helping to collect signatures, please click on the "contact us" link and sign up.  We are compiling a list of volunteers.

If you are interested, and are able to help financially, please do!  The expense to undertake such a project is great.  Any financial assistance you can give would be appreciated and would be put to very good use over-turning this destructive legislation.

Another suggestion, while we are dotting all the "i's" and crossing all the "t's" would be to write a letter to the Editor.  We would like to flood the papers with letters of support for this campaign.  For inspiration, visit the letters section of our website.

Standby for take-off!
 

Oregon driver-card opponents file referendum papers

Opponents, as expected, have started their effort to force a statewide election on four-year driver’s cards for Oregonians who do not qualify for standard eight-year licenses.

Republican Reps. Sal Esquivel of Medford and Kim Thatcher of Keizer, and Richard LaMountain of Portland, filed the referendum papers with the secretary of state.

They hope to overturn Senate Bill 833, which lawmakers approved and Gov. John Kitzhaber signed on May 1. The bill would allow four-year cards for those who cannot prove legal presence in the United States and do not qualify for licenses, which also can be used for federal identification purposes such as boarding commercial aircraft and entering federal buildings.

The referendum effort was announced last week by Oregonians for Immigration Reform, which opposed the bill, hours after Kitzhaber signed it. Esquivel and Thatcher both spoke against the bill during a House debate April 30.

Referendum sponsors will have to gather 58,142 valid signatures by 90 days after the end of the 2013 Legislature. That deadline would fall on Sept. 26 if lawmakers adjourn by their target of June 28.

If their measure qualifies for a statewide election, the attorney general will write a ballot title, which is an official summary. The measure would then appear on the November 2014 ballot, although lawmakers can provide for a different date. The law would be suspended pending the outcome of the election.

If their measure does not qualify for a statewide election, the law will take effect Jan. 1.

Oregon would join Washington, New Mexico, Utah and Illinois in providing alternatives to driver licenses. The 2005 federal law does allow alternatives to licenses as long as they are clearly marked invalid for federal identification purposes. Read more about Oregon driver-card opponents file referendum papers

Do you wonder what others think about illegal immigration? Check out OFIR'S letter to the editor link

Everyone has an opinion and one way to put it to good use is to write a letter to the editor of your local paper.

Be brief, be specific and be respectful.  A good idea is to ask someone else you know to read it before you submit it, to be certain there are no errors and that your intent is clear.

You can go to your newspaper's website and check out their policy for LTE's (letter's to the editor) regarding the word count limit, the best way and how often you can submit a letter, too. 

If you have a letter published, please share it with OFIR and we will post it on our website.

Don't know how to get started?  Check out some of these great letters! Read more about Do you wonder what others think about illegal immigration? Check out OFIR'S letter to the editor link

Kingpin behind Ice Breaker 2 drug enterprise pleads guilty

A man who investigators described as the kingpin of the county’s second-largest known drug operation has entered a plea of guilty as part of a negotiated agreement with the prosecution.

Rogelio Gonzalez-Martinez, 37, of Lebanon, pleaded guilty in Benton County Circuit Court on Monday to one count of racketeering and to five counts related to dealing methamphetamine. Dismissed in exchange were remaining charges of racketeering and of dealing meth, cocaine and heroin.

His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Prosecutors from the Benton County District Attorney’s Office and the Oregon Department of Justice, and Gonzalez-Martinez’s defense will argue his potential sentence before Circuit Court Judge Matthew Donohue.

Gonzalez-Martinez and 26 others were arrested in March 2012 after area law-enforcement agencies served more than three dozen search warrants as part of a drug bust, which they dubbed Icebreaker 2.

His brother — Abel Gonzalez-Martinez — and Juventino Santibanez-Castro, who investigators identified as the other top men in the operation, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison last December.

The enterprise involved bringing in “substantial amounts” of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from Mexico for distribution throughout Oregon, according to court testimony.

The raid came almost five years to the day after another huge drug bust, dubbed Ice Breaker, which remains the largest criminal sweep in Benton County’s history. Some of the people arrested in the Ice Breaker 2 raid had ties to the first Ice Breaker case, authorities said.
  Read more about Kingpin behind Ice Breaker 2 drug enterprise pleads guilty

UPDATE: SB833 referendum campaign

Alert date: 
May 4, 2013
Alert body: 

We are so energized by the excitement of longtime OFIR members as well as so many new people wanting to get involved to help overturn SB833 by a vote of the people.  We are all outraged that so many Oregon Legislators think that the demands of foreign nationals illegally in our country are more important than what's best for Oregon's citizens and legal residents.

We want to bring everyone up to speed on OFIR filing a referendum on Senate Bill 833.

The OFIR phone line has been flooded with calls and hundreds of e-mails!  OFIR's volunteer board members have been on a number of TV news and radio talk shows all over Oregon this week.  People from all over the state and even some folks from other states have called offering help to overturn SB 833.

Currently we are filling out the necessary forms with the Secretary of States Elections Office.  It is not an easy process.   In addition to a number of other tasks we will be building a new website specific for the referendum, opening a campaign account, organizing committee leaders, etc.  Please bear with us.

A few specifics regarding the referendum process:

We will be filing paperwork of intent, getting approval and getting petition styles approved this coming week.  
 
Then, we will need to gather about 59,000* valid signatures. *We will actually need to collect about 80,000 signatures to offset errors, duplicates, unregistered voters etc.  Accuracy and legibility are crucial to our success.  We've heard stories of opponents attempting to sign petition sheets multiple times using fraudulent names in an effort to have all the signatures thrown out.

We will have ONLY 90 days following the end of the legislative session to collect the signatures we need...but we can start as soon as we get the go ahead form the Secretary of State's office..

The referendum will be the exact same wording as Senate Bill 833.  In essence voters will have the same opportunity as a state legislator to vote for or against giving illegal aliens Oregon driver licenses.

There will be both online petitions as well as the standard 10 lined signature sheets.  We are looking into other options, as well.

We fully expect our opponents to spend alot of money in an attempt to prevent citizens from voting on this important issue.  The pro-illegal alien supporters brought in expensive lobbyists to pressure state legislators to pass SB 833. 

If anyone can contribute financially to OFIR's defeat SB833 campaign it would be most appreciated!  We ask that you give generously to support this project...but please, give only what you can afford.

Just as soon as the referendum forms are available we will let you know so we can all get started. 

The next OFIR meeting is scheduled for 2:00, Saturday, June 1,  at the Best Western Inn in Salem, 3125 Ryan Dr, SE, just west of I-5, Exit 253, across from Costco.  In the meanwhile, you could start making a list of people and places where you could collect signatures.

Invite your friends to join you at the meeting.  We will have all the supplies you need to get started collecting signatures.

We can't do this without you!  As soon as we get our ducks in a row, we will be in touch with all of  you.

Opponents will seek to force election on driver cards

Alert date: 
May 1, 2013
Alert body: 

Hours after Gov. John Kitzhaber signed it today, opponents said they would seek to force a statewide election on a bill allowing four-year driver’s cards to those who cannot prove legal presence to obtain an Oregon driver’s license.

Sponsors would have to gather 58,142 valid signatures and file them by Sept. 26, which is 90 days after the targeted adjournment of the 2013 Legislature on June 28. If the referendum qualified for the ballot, voters would decide the issue in November 2014, although lawmakers could provide for a different election date.

“It’s a huge undertaking, but we do not feel Oregonians have been represented in this building,” said Cynthia Kendoll of Salem, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, the chief group in opposition to Senate Bill 833. “Our goal is to make certain that people have the opportunity to vote on this.”

The referendum effort does not become official until the secretary of state certifies the process.

SB 833, which Kitzhaber signed at a May Day rally on the Capitol steps, would take effect on Jan. 1 if opponents do not get the required signatures. If they do, the bill would be suspended until the statewide vote.

Other than proof of legal presence in the United States, which lawmakers in 2008 made a requirement of obtaining a driver’s license, applicants for driver’s cards still would have to show proof of identity and date of birth, and pass written and driving-skills tests. Cards would be good for four years, half the eight years for a regular license.

Kendoll said lawmakers took barely one month to consider the bill. It was introduced on April 2, the same day that Kitzhaber signed into law in-state tuition rates for some immigrant students whose parents brought them into the United State illegally as children. That bill can be challenged legally in a suit filed with the Oregon Supreme Court, but House Bill 2787 is not subject to a referendum because an emergency clause is attached.

The House gave final legislative approval to it Tuesday on a 38-20 vote.

Kendoll’s group has launched previous efforts at ballot initiatives, which have a higher requirement for signatures, but none qualified for a statewide election.

Four other states have allowed alternatives to licenses meeting requirements of the federal Real ID Act: Illinois, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. Those alternatives are authorized by federal law, but cannot be used for federal identification purposes, such as entering federal buildings or boarding commercial aircraft.
 

Bill allowing four-year driver's cards passes Oregon House

Thousands of Oregonians will be allowed to drive with four-year driver’s cards, instead of regular eight-year licenses, under a bill that won final legislative approval today.

The House voted 38-20 to pass Senate Bill 833, which goes to Gov. John Kitzhaber for his signature at a May Day rally Wednesday on the Capitol steps. The bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2014.

A similar bill two years ago failed to advance in the Legislature.

This time, however, it was backed by Kitzhaber and major business groups such as Associated Oregon Industries, Oregon Business Association, Associated General Contractors, Oregon Association of Nurseries, Oregon Farm Bureau Federation, Oregon Home Builders Association, Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, and Oregon Winegrowers Association.

“All Oregonians, regardless of the documents they have, need the ability to participate in the local economy,” said Rep. Chris Harker, D-Beaverton, co-floor manager. “This bill will give them a chance to prove they can drive, get licenses and obtain insurance.”

It also was a major priority of immigrant-rights groups, along with in-state tuition for immigrant students whose parents brought them to the United States illegally as children. Kitzhaber signed that bill on April 2.

“The bill for a driver’s card is equally important,” Kitzhaber said in a recent interview.

But Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, said that holders of such cards may find it harder to get jobs, contrary to the intent of some of the bill’s advocates.

“For all practical purposes, this bill is dealing with those who cannot prove they are in the United States or Oregon legally,” Richardson said.

“You have to wonder that if someone is willing to disregard immigration law, what other laws are they willing to disregard?” asked Rep. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer.

Rep. Vic Gilliam of Silverton was one of the few Republicans to speak for the bill.

“I think it’s a small step forward in facing reality,” Gilliam said. “Can’t we give some hard-working Oregonians a second chance?”


  Read more about Bill allowing four-year driver's cards passes Oregon House

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