illegal aliens

Members and supporters of Oregonians for Immigration Reform lined the sidewalk of busy Mission Street SE on Saturday holding signs to encourage people to vote against Ballot Measure 88.

OFIR president Cynthia Kendoll said that it was meant to be a brief reminder to the public to vote "no" on the measure, or the Oregon Alternative Driver Licenses Referendum.

"Measure 88 is the citizen's veto referendum to overturn the Senate Bill 833 which gives driver's cards to people in the country illegally," Kendoll said.

Saturday brought a good turnout, much like Kendoll was expecting.

Prior to the rally, the group met at the Best Western Mill Creek Inn for a meeting and to hear from speaker Derek Hernandez, vice president of the western region of the National Border Patrol Council. The council is a union that represents non-supervisory border patrol agents.

"We don't query people on why they're here but we have great participation and we're really happy about that," Kendoll said.

  Read more about Anti-driver's card rally lines up along Mission Street SE

Come Saturday, rain or shine, the two groups responsible for challenging a state law that would have granted "driver's cards" to Oregonians who couldn't prove legal residency, will be rallying on a street in Salem to promote a no-vote on Measure 88.

It has been a long and contentious issue, and with less than 45 days until the November general election, Oregonians for Immigration Reform and the Protect Oregon Driver Licenses organization, are galvanizing their grass-roots supporters to demonstrate against the measure.

The two groups submitted enough signatures last October to the Secretary of State's office to qualify their referendum for the 2014 ballot. They were propelled into action last spring when the state Legislature approved a bill to grant limited-duration driver's cards (not licenses) to residents who were unable to prove their residency but otherwise complied with requirements for driving privileges and had resided in Oregon for more than one year. With the qualification of the ballot measure, the law was prevented from going into effect in January.

The bill, SB 833, had bipartisan support when the governor signed it in May 2013. It also was endorsed by numerous religious groups, agricultural interests and a few law enforcement personnel who saw it as a way to help educate new drivers, enable more of them to qualify for, and buy, car insurance, and help families meet daily obligations. Some viewed it as a means to make Oregon's roads safer for all.

But the OFIR and PODL groups believed otherwise, and criticized the Legislature for not allowing Oregonians to decide on what they see is an immigration issue.

To illustrate their point, on Saturday, before the sidewalk demonstration, the groups will host Derek Hernandez, vice president of the western region of the National Border Patrol Council. The NBPC is a union representing non-supervisory border patrol agents.

Jim Ludwick, a spokesman for OFIR, said the group is excited Hernandez has agreed to speak about other state-issued identification similar to Oregon's proposed driver's card and how it adds to the immigration crisis at the nation's borders. His position is that residents should vote "no" on Measure 88.

Cynthia Kendoll, OFIR president who recently returned from a border-patrol summit in El Paso, Texas, said she is hopeful the weather will hold out and there will be a strong show of support at the demonstration.

"The number of people really depends on the weather," Kendoll said. "But we're hopeful."

Rep. Sal Esquivel of Medford and Rep. Kim Thatcher of Keizer, who is running for the state senate, also will attend the meeting before the rally. Both are sponsors of the Veto Referendum on SB 833, which became Ballot Measure 88.

OFIR and PODL say they are staffed by unpaid volunteers who work to preserve the safety and well being of the state and nation. However, their campaign has received nearly $100,000 from 88-year-old Loren Parks, a Nevada resident who owns Parks Medical Electronics, Inc. in Aloha, who has financed myriad ballot measure petitions and campaigns since the mid-1990s. He is represented by Salem attorney Kevin Mannix, himself a chief ballot-campaign petitioner.

Oregonians for Immigration Reform and Protect Oregon Driver Licenses will meet at approximately 4:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 outside of the Best Western Mill Creek Inn, 3125 Ryan Drive SE, Salem. Participants are encouraged to bring American flags and take yard signs for the protest on Mission Street SE adjacent to the Costco parking lot.

NOTE:  The Parks contribution was for the referendum signature gathering campaign. Parks has NOT contributed to the PODL election campaign.

NOTE:  Supporters of Ballot Measure 88 have been given well over $200,000 by unions, businesses that benefit from an illegal work force and groups that advocate for illegal aliens.  Why was that not reported in this story? Read more about Anti-driver's card rally set for Saturday in Salem

Francisco Aguirre, a local labor activist originally from El Salvador, took refuge Friday in a Northeast Portland church...

"I've been a leader in this community for so many years," Aguirre said. "I'm part of this community, and this is where I belong. This is where I want to stay."

Aguirre was deported to El Salvador in 2000 after a conviction for drug trafficking offenses, ICE said in a statement. Aguirre came to the agency's attention again in August after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence...

He acknowledged that he was deported 14 years ago, but declined to comment further..

Aguirre was involved in the Workers' Organizing Committee that went on to found Voz Workers' Rights Education Project, nonprofit organization that mostly helps male Latino immigrants find work in Portland. He currently serves as the MLK Jr. Worker Center coordinator for the group.

Churches elsewhere in the country have been offering sanctuary to illegal immigrants...

ICE agents do not make arrests in sensitive locations...

Aguirre, a father of three, said he plans to stay at the church for as "long as it takes."

"We all make mistakes," he said. "We all have the right to fix those mistakes."

  Read more about Portland activist seeks asylum in church to avoid deportation

Texas Governor Rick Perry says it’s no surprise to him that four individuals with terrorism ties were captured on Texas soil on September tenth. He says it is indicative of the reason they have been bringing this issue to the attention of the federal government for some time.

Perry cites the movement of various law enforcement and Texas National Guard units to the border as the type of response that is needed, one that has already been demonstrated as effective in controlling a significant portion of the influx.

Governor Perry says that all Americans should be substantially concerned “That the southern border of the United States and Mexico is potentially a place where radicalized terrorists could penetrate into the United States with intent to do harm to American citizens.

He says, “That is the reason that the federal government continues to fail, from my perspective, in securing that border, putting the resources there that we know can make that border substantially more secure than it is today.”

Perry addresses the request that his state has had into the FAA to allow the use of drones for surveillance and a failure to respond or authorize their use as evidence that the federal government is not serious about correcting the problem.

He says, “I don’t think we’ve got the federal government’s agreement that this is as big of a problem as what a lot of us in this country and I can assure you that those farmers, those ranchers, those individuals that have seen these people penetrating across the border, crossing their land, and then that’s not to mention the thousands of criminal activities that have gone on by individuals who have come into the State of Texas and then go across this country and committing criminal acts.”

Hannity asks Governor Perry why there is not more of a sense of urgency and recognition of the threat of terrorism to this, our most vulnerable and easily penetrated security weakness.

Governor Perry says he can’t explain it. He feels this country is capable of multi-tasking and that we have the ability to defend ourselves here at home, we just don’t have the will, particularly within the executive branch.

He says that the American people want security; they want to feel safe in their homes and their communities. Border enforcement provides that and both the executive branch and terror groups such as ISIS are working to tear that down.

The Mexican president has labeled Governor Perry as reprehensible for acting in the interest of Texas and of the United States. Governor Perry sent a letter of response yesterday, which identified a portion of the role that Mexico has played in the lawless situation on our border. The governor has trade considerations which seem to have tempered his comments. Mexico is in many ways one of the greatest threats to the United States, particularly as it applies to their contributing to people crossing into our nation illegally.

Hannity points out the hypocrisy with which Mexico criticizes American immigration laws which are less rigid and much less stringently enforced than their own.

Rick Wells is a conservative writer who recognizes that our nation, our Constitution and our traditions are under a full scale assault from multiple threats. Please “Like” him on Facebook, “Follow” him on Twitter or visit www.rickwells.us Read more about Gov Rick Perry Warns Americans – Be Concerned That ISIS Terrorists Are Crossing Border