immigration

(March 11, 2020, Washington, D.C.) — The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), regarding an upcoming vote on legislation to dismantle the president’s travel ban authority at the height of the coronavirus outbreak:

 “Amidst a full-blown public health crisis driven by travel from abroad, House Democrats have demonstrated where their priorities lie: taking political shots at President Trump. This partisan hackery is both stunning and ill-advised. . .

  Read more about FAIR: ‘NO BAN’ Act Endangers Public Safety, National Security

What Saint Thomas Aquinas Says About Immigration:

Read more about What Saint Thomas Aquinas Says About Immigration

Under current policy all persons — not just citizens — are included in the population count when apportioning seats to states in the U.S. House of Representatives and for votes in the Electoral College, which is based on House seats. Although we focus on the next census in 2020, the impact of immigration has been building for decades as the number of people settling in the country has increased dramatically. This report examines the cumulative impact of immigration, both legal and illegal, on the apportionment of House seats; this is not an analysis of the impact of immigration only since the previous census. Apportionment is a zero-sum system; by adding more population to some states rather than others, immigration will continue to significantly redistribute political power in Washington.. . Read more about The Impact of Legal and Illegal Immigration on the Apportionment of Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020

NumbersUSA has just released a new report, Population Growth and Sprawl in Oregon, which details the expansion of population and how it has affected the environment here.

Top conclusions: 

What we found was that between 1982 and 2015, Oregon lost 419,000 acres (656 square miles) of open space as the state’s population grew by 1.3 million. …

Oregon has also been one of the leaders in anti-sprawl efforts, limiting the amount of sprawl per person. However, population growth has caused sprawl to continue as Oregon officials have failed to accommodate its growth population within exiting urbanized area. On average, 0.311 acre of land was developed to accommodate each new resident during the 33-year period covered in the study. …

The majority of Oregon’s recent population growth has come through migration from other U.S. states and international migration (immigration) from abroad. From 2000 to 2015 just 38% of Oregon’s population growth was due to natural increase. The rest (62%) came from in-migration from other states (32%) and immigration (30%). …

Losing open space isn’t the same as filling up empty space. What Oregon is losing to urban sprawl are croplands, forestlands, wetlands, and wildlife habitats, all vital to a healthy ecosystem. There are also physiological and psychological benefits of open space.

Being able to enjoy natural areas is important to 85% of Oregonians polled as part of the sprawl study. Oregon’s natural beauty and opportunity for outdoor recreation is what draws so many people to the state, and it is Oregon’s growing population which threatens these landscapes.

Oregon residents express a clear preference for slower growth, and a plurality are open to cuts in immigration, while very few favor increases. There is a lot that Oregonians can do to stop sprawl in their state, but as long as the U.S. population continues to grow at its current rate, millions more will likely move to the state. Oregon’s government has projected that the state’s population will reach 5.6 million by 2050, almost 1.5 million more than its current population. …

While immigration is not responsible for most population growth in Oregon, it is a significant contributor, and it likely factors into the decision of many who move to Oregon from out-of-state. Consider that California is by far the more recent state of residence for those who move to Oregon, followed by Washington, Illinois, New York, and Texas. These are all states that have seen significant increases in their population, driven in large-part by immigration. Of those who moved to Oregon as an adult from another state, 44% said they did so “seeking a better quality of life.” …

Oregonians strongly prefer to preserve open spaces in their state, yet the policies put in place to do so have proven ineffective. Like most Americans, residents of Oregon must make a choice:

Take adequate steps to prevent urban sprawl, which must include slowing population growth, or accept the continuing disappearance of the state's habitat and farmland and unspoiled natural areas.

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See the announcement here.  See the complete 160-page report at: https://www.numbersusa.org/sites/default/files/public/assets/resources/files/Oregon_Sprawl.pdf

This report is a clear warning that applies to all states:  Oregon and the entire U.S.  must immediately stop illegal immigration and greatly reduce the excessive levels of legal immigration. Population numbers in the U.S. and worldwide must be in balance with basic environmental resources.  Otherwise, we are rushing into environmental and social disaster.

OFIR has worked since its founding in 2000 to educate Oregon citizens and voters regarding the need to reduce immigration levels.  From our statement of goals:  “For the first 200 years of our nation we averaged about 236,000 immigrants per year, and we grew into the most successful nation in history.  Current immigration levels of over 1.5 million a year are unsustainable for us environmentally, socially, fiscally and politically.  Immigration at that level dissuades assimilation of new immigrants into becoming Americans.  …” Read more about Population growth and sprawl in Oregon

[Abstract only; view the complete article here.]

Oregon recently became the latest state to order Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out of its courthouses, elevating the rights of criminal aliens at the expense of public safety.

In 1987, Oregon became the first sanctuary state in the nation, enacting its sanctuary law, which forbade law enforcement officials’ cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. 

However, Oregon’s sanctuary law didn’t go far enough to satisfy the open-borders crowd. On October 14, Martha Walters, the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, issued a new sanctuary court rule. This rule does not allow anyone to make a “civil arrest” in a state courthouse or its “environs” without a warrant or other order signed by a judge.  The definition of “environs” is expansive and includes “the vicinity around a courthouse, as well as all public entryways, driveways, sidewalks, and parking areas intended to serve a courthouse.”

Oregon’s new ICE lockout rule is similar to others recently adopted by California, New York and New Jersey.  …

The federal Immigration and Nationality Act gives ICE and other federal immigration agencies the authority to make immigration arrests, both with and without warrants, anywhere in the country, which under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution clearly preempts these state rules.  Moreover, there is no such thing as a judicial immigration warrant, as federal law grants authority to issue immigration warrants to ICE supervisors, not judges. …

ICE spokeswoman Tanya Roman fired back, saying “[i]t is ironic that elected officials want to see policies in place to keep ICE out of courthouses, while caring little for laws enacted by Congress to keep criminal aliens out of our country,” and adding that the idea of judicial warrants for immigration violations is “simply a figment created by those who wish to undermine immigration enforcement and excuse the ill-conceived practices of sanctuary jurisdictions that put politics before public safety.” …

On Thursday, William Barr, the Attorney General of the United States, and Chad Wolf, the Acting Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, sent a joint letter to the chief justices of both the Oregon and Washington Supreme Courts urging them to “reconsider this dangerous and unlawful course of action.” To view the full letter, please click here. Read more about Oregon courts try to lock out ICE

Oregonians frustrated with what has happened in the Oregon Legislature - and in Congress - can learn more about the candidates and then 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 they 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.  The State Legislature, Governor, and Attorney General have also opposed reasonable controls over immigration.

We can look to the May 2020 Primary election 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 primary candidates, with links to their websites.  You can check what’s happening in your districts here.  If you don’t know which your districts are, you can enter your address on the form here and find out.

In earlier elections also, the OAAVEP collected detailed information on candidates’ positions on a number of important issues, including key questions about the candidate’s position on immigration.  You can see what some of them said about immigration in the 2018 and 2016 Primary campaigns on the OFIR website. Filling out the questionnaire is up to the candidate, and many of them have cooperated in recent years.

OAAVEP has also issued reports for the General Elections.  See their website homepage for more information.

Please share your knowledge with family, friends and acquaintances

Many people in Oregon and other states still believe that illegal aliens living and working in this country do no harm and see no problem in accepting their presence.  But this view ignores the widespread falsification of identities which does harm individual U.S. citizens.  The competition from illegal alien workers often causes a drop in wage levels - and that hurts all workers.  Worse still, acceptance of illegal immigration has led to more open borders policies, putting U.S. sovereignty at risk.

The article below highlights an actual case of enforcement that is usually cast narrowly by most media as pointless cruelty.  Thanks to Stephen Dinan for reporting a more complete picture.

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NO HARM? MOST ILLEGALS IN MISSISSIPPI ICE RAIDS STOLE AMERICANS' IDENTITIES, by Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Thursday, November 7, 2019

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/7/mississippi-ice-raids-most-illegal-immigrants-stol/

Excerpts:

Most of the 680 illegal immigrants nabbed in August’s immigration raids at poultry plants in Mississippi worked under stolen American identities, the Department of Homeland Security’s top investigator told Congress Thursday, rebuffing Democrats who insisted the “undocumented” workers were doing no harm.

“They stole the IDs of 400 U.S. citizens,” said Jere Miles, who leads Homeland Security Investigations’ New Orleans office. “Where’s their voice?”

Mr. Miles was defending the Aug. 7 operations against seven processing plants as both a success and a deterrent to future illegal immigrants, battling with Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee who called a field hearing in Mississippi to criticize the raids. …

Mr. Miles said the families are in no different position than any other instance where a parent runs afoul of the law and is incarcerated, forcing spouses and children to figure things out.

Democrats challenged Mr. Miles on whether anyone nabbed had major criminal rap sheets. He ticked off some felony cases against some of the people caught, but then pointed out that 400 of them were working in the U.S. on fraudulent identities he said were stolen from Americans.

“Is that not a serious crime?” he demanded of Democrats.

At that point Mr. Thompson cut him off.

“Be quiet,” the chairman ordered. …

To Democrats who fretted that the businesses were being let off the hook, Mr. Miles urged patience. He said the heart of the August operation wasn’t the arrest of the migrants but rather to serve search warrants at the businesses, which netted 850,000 documents. … Read more about Get acquainted with Oregon candidates for 2020 Primary