Oregon legislation

One has to wonder why, why would our Governor want to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens?  Why are so many Legislators trying to hide the fact that there is a bill, HB 3226,  "hiding in the shadows" at the Oregon Legislature? Why?  I'll tell you why...

In a recent poll by the Statesman Journal, while not scientific, the views of the public were made very clear in this open poll. We must all keep our eyes wide open lest the Legislature tries to slip the bill through under the radar.

QUESTION:

Should the Oregon Legislature reinstate driver's licenses for those who cannot prove legal presence in the United States?

Yes 5%

No 91%

Not sure 1%

Don’t care 0%

Voting is now closed: 705 votes

This comment followed the poll results regarding HB 2787, the instate tuition benefits for illegal aliens bill:

I am so astounded by the number of representatives that are willing to ignore our returning veterans but reward the children of people who snuck into this country to steal jobs away from Americans.

The media continues to sell this position as supporting people who have entered this country only to take jobs Americans don't want. I am 66 years old, I have been in the construction industry for over 40 years, I have seen the transformation of the labor force in the skilled construction trades over the last 20 years. Having worked for the state I represented the state as a construction project manager. This means that the work that was being done under my management was work that was classified prevailing wage public works. I have watched the number of English-speaking tradesmen diminish in trades such as concrete, tile installation, framing, roofing, drywall, and painting. These trades, under the prevailing wage category, pay between $30 and $60 an hour. I'm sorry, but I have a hard time believing that there are no Americans who want to earn between $30 and $60 an hour.

What's worse, is that I know as sure as God made little green apples, that many of them, perhaps even the vast majority of them, are not being paid the lawful prevailing wage. However, because they are in this country illegally it is easy for unscrupulous contractors to exploit them. In the meantime, because these contractors can underbid legitimate contractors who pay the true prevailing wage, legitimate businesses are being driven into bankruptcy.

Over the last 40 years I have watched most of America's manufacturing jobs get sent overseas. Now that there are few manufacturing jobs left that can earn a decent wage, the only blue-collar work remaining is construction and service work. Service work traditionally does not pay a living wage. Construction used to, but because of the influx of illegal immigration into the trades the wages are being driven down. So, after shipping the high paying manufacturing jobs out of the country business interests are now choosing to import Third World labor to cover those jobs that can't be shipped out of the country.

In my opinion the elected representatives that voted in favor of HB 2787, and who vote for any other bill, now or in the future, that supports illegal immigration, are committing a treasonous act.

  Read more about One has to wonder...

A recent letter sent to Causa supporters:

On behalf of all of us here at Causa Oregon, we want to thank you for all your work and support. While there are still some big fights to win this year, we have accomplished so much in the first three months of 2013.

With your help, we have forged new alliances with our sisters and brothers in the LGBT, labor, faith, business and education communities. Together, we've harnessed the political power to pass the ten-year-long struggle for tuition equity in Oregon and gained national recognition for our collaborative work in registering new Americans to vote. And, just this week it was announced that Causa, the Act Network and our allies were successful in forcing the Multnomah County Sheriff to end his policy of detaining undocumented immigrants for low-level crimes and non-violent misdemeanors.

It's only three months in to 2013 and together we're already making history.  Thank you for being a tireless ally in our mission to promote the rights of Latinos and immigrants in Oregon. Together, we are ensuring a healthy, vibrant American democracy.

In Solidarity,

Francisco Lopez
Executive Director

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I would like to take a moment to address the "successes" listed in the letter:

1.) Causa appears to be a group whose mission is to cause the ruling bodies of our state to CAVE IN to their demands.

2.) Causa appears to be a group that, by hooking up with legitimate minorities with issues, they hope that the public won't notice that they are advocating for the RIGHTS(?) of those in our country illegally. 

3.) Illegal aliens perpetrate crimes in far greater numbers than their 'legal' peers.  Yet, they seem to feel they shouldn't be in jail and that they deserve special treatment from the Multnomah County Sheriff....and he obliged their demand.

4.) The last line was the worst:  Thank you for being a tireless ally in our mission to promote the rights of Latinos and immigrants in Oregon. Together, we are ensuring a healthy, vibrant American democracy.

First of all, Latino's and legal immigrants have rights.  Do Latino's have special rights?  Causa simply chooses to drop the word ILLEGAL from their immigrant vocabulary and hopes that no one will notice.  After all, who doesn't want to help an 'immigrant'?  And, to make matters worse, claiming they are ensuring a healthy, vibrant American democracy is just a LIE!  Here in Oregon, the cost of services to illegal aliens tipped the BILLION dollar mark.

Since when do any of us get to pick and choose which laws we obey and which laws we ignore?  People who come here illegally are breaking immigration laws.   If they work, they are breaking labor laws. If they steal, buy, or borrow a social security number, they are committing identity theft. But, shhhh...don't say anything about that....that's not nice.  They are bringing the culture of corruption from their homeland, right to our front door.

But, all that aside, the thing that bothers me the most, are the lawmakers that are bending over backwards to work with groups like Causa.  That's the most disappointing of all!  Elections are a great opportunity to clear the decks! Read more about Who's REALLY in charge?

It's been a rough month for those of us working to stop the move to legitimize the presence of illegal aliens in our country. Sadly, we lost a 10 year battle against giving instate tuition benefits to students here illegally. We tried to negotiate with both the House and Senate Education Committees and nearly all the Legislators, either in person, by phone or email.

OFIR brought good, reasonable suggestions to the table. But, it was as if they could smell blood in the water and they didn't need to give an inch in any negotiations. Democrats sensed they could ram the bill through with lightening speed without any amendments that would protect Oregon students and Oregon taxpayers.

It was really quite sickening to hear the debate on the Senate floor as several Democrats and even a Republican gushed about giving every opportunity to students here illegally. They made no mention of the fact that these students and their families have likely "gamed the system" for years. They have stolen identities, have been working illegally, maybe even being paid under the table and are likely driving without licenses or insurance. But, aside from all that, the most important point is they are here illegally! When we have elected officials working so hard for the special benefits for illegal aliens, citizens have to wonder what's next!

I fear that we have taken the first step onto a very slippery slope. If our Legislators do not hear utter rage from their constituents now, the next move will be drivers licenses for all...legal, illegal...who cares!

Find out what happened in Tennessee and New Mexico when they started giving driver licenses to illegal aliens. It wasn't pretty!

  Read more about Played like a fiddle

There comes a point in life when what one thinks just doesn't line up with what's actually happening. 

In all my years of striving to be a responsible citizen, a good, honest person and a strong parent, I thought that our elected officials were working for the best interests of, if not me and my family specifically, our country as a whole.

I thought that, even though I didn't always agree, ultimately our sovereignty as a nation would prevail and that our lawmakers would work to make our country even stronger.

I confess...I have been an idiot! 

It seems that if you were born and raised here in the U.S., or, if you emigrated here through the proper channels, work hard, pay your taxes, never break a rule...let alone a law, your entire life, then you are a chump! 

Elected officials want nothing to do with you and will dismiss your comments about impending legislation regarding illegal immigration as vehement opposition.

Apparently, a far better way to capture the attention of our lawmakers is to sneak into this country, steal an American citizen's identity, drive without a license or insurance, work without permission and perhaps even commit multiple other crimes like selling drugs, drunk driving, assault, rape and even murder.  Then, and only then, will you garner the full, positive attention and time of the people elected to protect the United States and her citizens.

What I see now are pathetic, gutless politicians being led around by their noses by illegal alien advocates and businesses that prey on an undocumented workforce.  It's actually quite shameful and I feel embarrassed for them. 

Other industrialized nations have already realized that excessive immigration (legal or illegal) does not work and results in high unemployment, depressed wages, flooded entitlement programs, poor working conditions and more.  I would hope that our elected officials would realize that they are encouraging a culture of corruption right here in Oregon and now, they are inviting it right into our Capitol.

OFIR has posted two recent letters in the Oregon section of our website.  One letter is from Oregon Senator Chuck Thomsen and the other letter is from Congressman Kurt Schrader.

If you have received correspondence from your elected officials, please share it with OFIR and we will post it on our website for everyone to see. Read more about Who represents us? Clearly, it's not these two gentlemen!

Over 200 people attended the 49th annual Dorchester Conference in Seaside, Oregon March 8, 9 and 10th.  The conference is great opportunity for conservatives to get together, talk politics and have some fun.  Check out our photos. Read more about Dorchester Conference 2013