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Phony Farm Labor Shortage: We Need to Talk About It

John Carney

CNBC.com

September 20, 2012

Tags:

agriculture, national legislation, Oregon legislation

A couple of weeks ago, I pointed out that despite all the talk of a farm labor shortage last summer, American farms had an amazingly profitable year.

Net cash income rose from the record high in 2010 of $99.4 billion to a new record high of $134.7 billion. That’s an eye-popping 35.5 percent profit growth! (Read more:More Data on The Phony Farm Labor Crisis)

I pointed out that in some of the states that had been repeatedly said to be facing a labor shortage—California and Washington, for example—profit growth was even higher. Washington farms saw profits grow by 58...

Limits Placed on Immigrants in Health Care Law

Robert Pear

The New York Times

September 17, 2012

Tags:

deferred action, taxes

WASHINGTON — The White House has ruled that young immigrants who will be allowed to stay in the United States as part of a new federal policy will not be eligible for health insurance coverage under President Obama’s health care overhaul.

The decision — disclosed last month, to little notice — has infuriated many advocates for Hispanic Americans and immigrants. They say the restrictions are at odds with Mr. Obama’s recent praise of the young immigrants.

In June, the president announced that hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the United States as...

Congress extends E-Verify for 3 more years with near-unanimous support

Chris Chmielenski

NumbersUSA

September 15, 2012

Tags:

economy, jobs, enforcement, Congress, Oregon legislation

Oh, how things have changed in just a few years.

It was just 3 years ago that an E-Verify extension was in doubt, making Thursday's near-unanimous House approval so significant.

To be clear, neither action was about mandating E-Verify for all employers. But for the government to even be allowed to offer E-Verify for voluntary use, the extensions had to be passed in 2009 and again this month.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved, with almost unanimous support, a bill that extends E-Verify for another 3 years. The electronic employment verification program,...

Rule bars non-citizens from youth volunteer jobs

Immigrants rights group protests at Keizer City Council meeting

Saerom Yoo

StatesmanJournal.com

September 11, 2012

Tags:

deferred action, Dream act, education

An Oregon immigrant rights organization and its supporters testified at Keizer City Hall on Monday in hopes of stopping a new rule that would bar non-U.S. citizens from serving as youth councilors.

Supporters of the new rule also testified, saying participating in the government process should be a benefit of citizenship.

On Aug. 20, the Keizer council approved an update in the volunteer program for youths, indicating that candidates for the position must be eligible to vote if they are 18 years old.

The rule would keep non-citizen immigrants, regardless of legal...

Supporters, opponents of rule affecting non-citizens speak out

JASON COX

Keizertimes

September 11, 2012

Tags:

jobs, voter registration, illegal immigration, deferred action, Dream act

Testimony on a provision banning non-citizens from serving as the City of Keizer’s youth councilor ranged from blasting the group for lost opportunities to support for the rule of law.

A work session Monday night at the Keizer Civic Center drew more than 50 people for what might ordinarily be a little-discussed topic: Rules and procedures for the city council.

Of course, this was no ordinary meeting: It was held at the behest of CAUSA, an immigrant rights group who requested to speak with Mayor Lore Christopher.

Francisco Lopez, executive director of CAUSA, questioned...

Police arrest home robbery suspect in Welches

Kate Cagle

FOX12

September 9, 2012

Tags:

crime, illegal immigration

Clackamas County sheriff's deputies are starting to unravel a bizarre robbery spree in Welches.

Saturday they arrested 20-year-old Sergio Cruz-Hernandez for robbing a home on East Twinberry Loop early that morning. Neighbors say the homeowner was stabbed twice during the robbery and was taken to Emanuel Hospital to recover.

Jeff Harum said he woke up to screaming around 4 a.m. as his neighbor's wife came running down the street pleading for help.

"She was yelling 'they've come back. They're back again. They have my husband,'" Harum said.

The same house had been...

Report cites I-5 as major drug corridor

Interstate's uninterrupted course between Canada, Mexico ideal for traffickers

Laura Fosmire

StatesmanJournal.com

September 9, 2012

Tags:

border, Mexico, crime, drugs, driver's license, state legislation

Illegal drugs continue to be a major problem for the state of Oregon — the manufacture of them, the use of them, the illicit sale of them and even their transportation, according to a report from the Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

Between January 2008 and the end of March 2012, authorities traced nearly $10 million in drug money seizures back to Oregon.

The connection to the state was determined through certain conditions: either the vehicle used for drug transportation or the driver’s license was registered to an Oregon address.

According to the...

Philomath man pleads guilty in double murder

Joce DeWitt

Corvallis Gazette-Times

September 8, 2012

Tags:

crime, national legislation

A 22-year-old Philomath man pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of aggravated murder in the 2011 killings of his girlfriend and their infant child.

Gustavo David Martinez-Aquepucho faces two potential life sentences in the deaths of Kelsey Rozetta Baker, 19, and their 1-year-old son, Theo, on April 29 of last year.

Martinez-Aquepucho, in shackles and black-and-white-striped jail uniform, sat silently in a Corvallis courtroom with about 20 people looking on while prosecutors and defense attorneys met behind closed doors.

After several minutes of deliberation, the...

Report: County is near top for drug abuse

It's No. 1 and 2 for prescription drugs and meth statewide

Chris Conrad

Southern Oregon's News Source - The Mail Tribune

September 7, 2012

Tags:

border, Mexico, drugs, driver's license

It came as no surprise to Jackson County's narcotics officers and addiction treatment specialists that the region ranks high in Oregon in meth and prescription drug abuse.

The numbers come from a report released this week by the Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, or HIDTA.

The report noted that Jackson County has most people per capita who seek treatment for prescription medication abuse. The county also ranks second, behind Umatilla County, in the number of people per 10,000 who are treated for methamphetamine addiction.

"This number is both good...

OSP Traffic Stop Leads to Seizure of 2 lbs of Heroin, Arrests of 3 People in Douglas and Yamhill Counties

Oregon State Police

September 6, 2012

Tags:

crime, drugs, ICE, driver's license

A traffic stop Saturday morning by Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers on Interstate 5 north of Canyonville led to the arrest of two men after the discovery of approximately 2 pounds of heroin concealed in their vehicle. Follow up investigation by OSP Drug Enforcement Section detectives and troopers also led to the arrest of a wanted person in Newberg.

On September 1, 2012 at approximately 7:09 a.m. an OSP trooper stopped a 2004 Chevrolet Impala displaying Washington license plates northbound on Interstate 5 near milepost 102 for a speed violation. The two occupants were identified...

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