HB 3464 -State Rep. Barreto explains why this legislation is bad for Oregon

Alert date: 
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Alert body: 
My Eastern Oregon

OREGON: House Bill 3464 Issued by Barreto

Posted on June 12, 2017

Representative Greg Barreto has issued a statement on House Bill 3464, The Governors sanctuary state bill.  That statement can be viewed below.

House Bill 3464, the Governor’s sanctuary state bill, had a public hearing in the House Committee on Rules. Our office has received numerous calls and emails from constituents opposing this bill, and I want to shed some light on my position, where we are in this process, and what you can do to help.

HB 3464 came about based on the Governor and other Democrat leaders’ desire to oppose federal immigration laws. As President Trump seeks to regain control over lax immigration policy, Oregon leaders have used it as an opportunity to bolster the liberal agenda by using appeals to emotion and fear about deportation in Oregon, effectively creating an environment where being in favor of immigration reform and enforcement is equated to bigotry and racial prejudice.

The mistruth of that narrative is sort of insignificant in the climate we live in here in Oregon. Daily we see emotionally driven narratives fly out of Democrat offices and they are spread as truth, and any argument against is considered uninformed or hateful. Unfortunately, these so called “truths” are often very effective calls to action.

For example, late last week our office received a press release from the House Majority (Democrat) Office about the upcoming hearing on HB 3464. In the press release it said, “the increase of ICE raids and deportations in Oregon has created an environment of fear in communities throughout the state.” We requested a list of sources from the House Majority Office to verify that fact. We received a list of five links to articles about ICE activity in Oregon and throughout the US. It was interesting to go through the articles. Many talked about increased fear, most referenced national ICE activity, and two talked specifically about the well-known Woodburn case. There was not a single article with statistics related to increased ICE activity specific to Oregon, and the statistics we’ve found point to a decrease in deportations this year. But it is loose claims like this that, regardless of verifiability, that get people mobilized.

Last night at the hearing on HB 3464, the Governor used Japanese internment camps to advocate on behalf of this bill. The rhetoric of using a horrifying piece of United States history to advance a bill that would hinder our state from enforcing federal immigration laws would lead folks to believe that those who oppose the bill are bigoted and hateful when in fact they simply have a high regard of the rule of law.  This is an unsound argument and a gross misuse of strategy in continuing to push their inflammatory agenda.

Our office has received an overwhelming number of calls and emails from constituents in opposition to this bill. I also stand in opposition to this bill, and will not be falsely shamed into voting for a bill against my values, and those constituent concerns when bills like this are undermining federal law. Without a doubt, this issue has been neglected and undealt with and there have been decades of lack of action, but that does not mean that current law should be ignored or subverted when we now have an interest at a national level in addressing the problem and working towards a solution.

The rules committee adjourned last night after testimony both in favor and against HB 3464. The committee will not vote on this bill until a work session is held, and it has not yet been scheduled. I would encourage all of you to continue to reach out to legislators on the Rules committee, the Governor, and the Attorney General and voice your opposition of this bill. My vote alone does not express nearly what your calls and emails can, and they need to hear from all of you.

http://www.myeasternoregon.com/2017/06/12/oregon-house-bill-3464-issued-by-barreto/