illegal aliens

C. Oregonians stage march for immigration reform

MADRAS, Ore. - Signs, flags, chants and drums -- the classic parts of a rally. Dozens of Central Oregonians set the beat on Sunday to begin a three-day, 42-mile walk and send a message to Rep. Greg Walden and the rest of America.

It's a march from Madras to Bend, demanding change to immigration laws.

"This is urgent, because every day, over 1,000 people are being deported," said Central Oregon Causa community organizer Greg Delgado.

For 31-year-old undocumented Bend resident Gerardo Zuniga, the message behind the walk hits close to home.

"If my family members were to be deported, that would tear the family apart," Zuniga said. "The kids, especially my little brother, would be stuck here."

It's called the "Walk for Citizenship," led by Causa, a statewide organization supporting Latino immigrant rights.

The group is headed south along Highway 97 for three days, stopping in Culver, Redmond, and finally ending the march at Walden's office in Bend.

"We need to really partner up with our Republican delegates, and make sure they are with us on this issue, because we know they're going to be important deciders for what happens, and we know he (Walden) is a key voice," said Causa Director of Civic Engagement Reyna Lopez.

Currently, Zuniga is going through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals--also known as DACA -- a memorandum signed by President Obama last year, allowing undocumented residents who came to the U.S. as children and are now pursuing education or military service to legally obtain work in the U.S.

Still. he says there's always a cloud of fear and uncertainty hanging over his family.

"My mom can't drive around," Zuniga said. "And my dad's the only one who has a license, currently. If my mom was to drive and get pulled over, she would be detained and be deported. It's a hard situation to be in."

That's the life for thousands of undocumented Central Oregonians, millions in the U.S., and a couple dozen people sporting butterflies in their walk across the High Desert.

"(Our symbol is) a migrant butterfly,"Delgado said. "The monarch butterfly is a symbol of migration -- that is natural to our human race, and it's just a beautiful symbol for us." Read more about C. Oregonians stage march for immigration reform

Marion County: Husband charged with murder, abuse of wife's corpse

A man accused of killing his wife and hiding her remains in remote Marion County was formally charged Friday with murder and abuse of a corpse.

The charges against Gustavo Villanueva Gutierrez stem from a September 2012 incident in which human remains were discovered by a Mill City hunter while he was hunting adjacent to Niagara Heights Road, about four miles east of Gates.

The remains were identified as those of Gutierrez’s wife, Maribel Gutierrez-Salinas, 39. They lived in Tualatin.

Gutierrez-Salinas was last seen in February 2011, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System website.

Gutierrez, 42, was arrested in Laredo, Texas, on Aug. 26 after a Marion County grand jury handed up a secret indictment with his charges.

The Laredo Morning Times described him as a truck driver who was operating an 18-wheeler when local authorities pulled him over near Interstate 35 in North Laredo.

He was extradited to Oregon to stand trial. He is lodged in the Marion County jail without bail and is next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 29.

Gustavo Villanueva Gutierrez - ICE HOLD

  Read more about Marion County: Husband charged with murder, abuse of wife's corpse

Legislature OK's driver's licenses for immigrants who are in the country illegally

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - After years of setbacks, Democratic lawmakers and Latino activists are on the verge of seeing immigrants who are in the country illegally granted the right to a driver's license in California. Read the full story.
  Read more about Legislature OK's driver's licenses for immigrants who are in the country illegally

Illegal alien mob disrupts Townhall meeting demanding amnesty & citizenship

Could this be coming to a Townhall meeting near you? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WADZ_...LDdM1ow3oHZY1w

The illegal alien supporters organized by Facebook and Google plan a full out assault on Congress starting tomorrow September 10, 2013 so please be ready to help counter their efforts!

The Congressional calendar is running out of time now and this weighs against them getting to the great amnesty betrayal votes because the government is out of money again and must deal with the Syria war vote.

We all need to consider helping any issue that would preoccupy Congress, slow them down, keep pushing back the time. If we can stop them from passing any immigration bills before January 1, 2014 then America will be safe from Amnesty legislation probably till 2017!

Today, there are important things happening that you might be interested in.

We need more help distributing the video that our activists obtained more than 10,000 views for over the weekend. This video harms their chances of passing amnesty and that is why they pulled their copy down. We need you to watch this, watch it again, share it, forward it, post it on blogs, post it on forums, post it on twitter, post it on Facebook, send it to lawmakers, send it to media, comment on it, vote on it, favorite it on your Youtube account, etc....

(Taken in part from an ALIPAC email alert.)

(ALIPAC) - Our overall message is that Congress and Obama should be focused on helping American citizens and legal immigrants instead of illegal aliens right now.

Congress should be focused on reigning in an out of control Executive Branch instead of following John McCain and Marco Rubio's efforts to help Obama pass a nation destroying amnesty bill! Read more about Illegal alien mob disrupts Townhall meeting demanding amnesty & citizenship

Return filled referendum petition signature sheets by Sept. 27

Alert date: 
September 16, 2013
Alert body: 

Volunteers have been working hard to collect the 58,142 signatures Protect Oregon Driver Licenses needs to get SB 833 on the ballot next fall.

If you have filled signature sheets, please sign them and send them in by Friday, Sept. 27 so we can begin processing them before the Secretary of State's deadline of Friday, October 4th.

Please continue to collect signatures up until the deadline.  We need all the signatures we can get.

But, please send in now, any filled sheets you have accumulated so far.

Thank you for all your hard work, your time and dedication to get the job done!  We can't do it without you!

A happy outcome is just around the corner, if we all keep working up until the deadline.

 

 

 


 

Police catch suspect in Medford murder case

An anonymous tip led to the capture of homicide suspect Jose Valencia-Gaona, who was spotted Wednesday near the railroad tracks running through central Medford.

"We received word that this individual was seen in the area of Clark Street near the railroad tracks," Medford police Chief Tim George said. "We were able to get out there in a short time and arrested the suspect without incident."

And so ended a three-day hunt for Valencia-Gaona, 45, who was lodged in the Jackson County Jail on a murder charge and $1 million bail.

George hinted that Valencia-Gaona could face additional charges for his alleged actions at the murder scene after the Jackson County District Attorney's Office has reviewed the case.

"There could be charges such as menacing, as he did threaten some witnesses with a knife that night," George said.

Investigators are still piecing together the events leading up to the murder of Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez, 38, who was brutally stabbed outside her apartment Sunday night.

"There are no happy endings to a homicide," George said. "This is a very sad case."

Police allege Valencia-Gaona of Medford jumped from a hiding spot in the bushes outside Rodriguez's apartment at 1990 Table Rock Road at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday and stabbed her several times. He also swiped at witnesses who tried to intervene and ran away before authorities arrived, police say.

George said Valencia-Gaona and Rodriguez knew each other but declined to elaborate.

"They were known to each other, but we won't go into the motive at this point," George said.

Witnesses have reported that Valencia-Gaona was seen at Rodriguez's apartment in the weeks before the murder.

Having a suspected killer on the loose prompted the Medford Police Department to call in extra manpower working overtime to comb through leads.

Officers spent hours chasing down faulty tips that had to be cleared, George said.

"We appreciate that the public was so willing to talk to us," George said. "We took every tip seriously and were fortunate that we got the one that led to this dangerous individual."

In all, the department had 30 extra people on board for the 72-hour search effort. The agency's SWAT team was scheduled for training on Tuesday and was diverted to a search team, George said.

Investigators will look into whether Valencia-Gaona had an accomplice helping him allegedly hide out from police in the days after the murder.

"We want to know what he's been doing since the murder happened," George said.

Homicide detectives were interviewing Valencia-Gaona at police headquarters Wednesday in the hours after his arrest. Following the interview, he was shipped to jail, where he will wait until his first court appearance.

A murder charge carries a minimum 25-year prison sentence upon conviction under Oregon law.

George previously said Valencia-Gaona has lived in the area for the past four or five years. Court records don't show any criminal history for him in Oregon.

Rodriguez left behind two children, a son who lives in Alaska and a daughter living in Eugene. The son is in Medford and has been in contact with police during the search for Valencia-Gaona.

"Our thoughts are with these family members," George said.

 

Jose Valencia-Gaona - ICE HOLD
  Read more about Police catch suspect in Medford murder case

Making himself at home

If one were to drop in at one of La Grande’s various advisory committee meetings, there’s a new face in town.

He’s been at City Council meetings, the big Main Street meeting, even an Urban Renewal Advisory Commission meeting.

Eddie Garcia moved to La Grande in June — and it hasn’t taken him long to get to work for his new home. He was appointed to the city’s parking, traffic safety and street maintenance advisory commission earlier this summer and will launch a radio talk show Thursday.

“It’s just an opportunity to invigorate people to have a discussion,” Garcia said of the show, “Speak Your Mind,” which airs from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays on 1450 AM in Union County and 1490 AM in Baker County.

“I’m asking questions because if I’m going to be here and be productive, let’s bring in business,” Garcia said.

Business and moving La Grande forward will be a broad topic Garcia plans to cover on his show. But stemming from that is the parking issue raised at the August public meeting for La Grande Main Street, the presence of Eastern Oregon University,and the Blue Mountain Humane Association.

“I just hope I can be a part and do something,” Garcia said.

Already Garcia has met with the sheriff, police chief, other community leaders and residents.

“There’s a bunch of folks I’ve met that have good ideas,” he said.

But not all of them are willing to go on the air to voice them.

Garcia’s civic involvement isn’t necessarily new.

“I do political consulting for a living,” he says.

He moved to La Grande from Nashville, Tenn., where he was a consultant and wrote Christian music.

“I was able to balance music with politics,” he said.

And fortunately, he can work from wherever there’s Internet, making him flexible to make it to afternoon meetings of the Urban Renewal Advisory Commission. As he continues working on races in Florida and Tennessee, he says he’s pulling from those experiences.

“If I learn something about the mayoral race there, could that apply here?” he asks.

The flexibility also provides some time to plan his show.

The first topic for the Thursday show is the new law that will allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s cards in Oregon. Jim Ludwick, with Oregonians for Immigration Reform, will be Garcia’s first guest.

Immigration is a hot topic nationwide, but for Garcia, it’s personal. He and his parents immigrated to the United States when he was 2 years old. But Garcia isn’t convinced that undocumented people should be granted driver’s cards.

Garcia’s hope is for “Speak Your Mind” to become a place of discussion for the community about the topics that matter to the community — be they La Grande Main Street, parking, immigration, law enforcement or whatever else may come up.

His new home is getting better as each day passes.

“It’s growing on me as I meet new people,” he said.

And he understands that people may not always see eye to eye.

“In the end we may agree to disagree,” he said. Read more about Making himself at home

Volunteers make the world go 'round

OFIR and PODL extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers working so hard all over the state gathering signatures for the SB 833 referendum petition campaign.  We certainly couldn't get the job done without YOU!

Please, don't let up for even a minute!  Keep up the good work and know that the end is near and victory is in sight. 

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
  Read more about Volunteers make the world go 'round

Kingpin of mid-valley drug operation gets 18 years

Rogelio Gonzalez-Martinez bragged to his cohorts that he was an elk, and when it came to catching drug dealers, cops could only snare the deer.

During testimony at Gonzalez-Martinez’s sentencing in Benton County Circuit Court on Friday, Special Agent Mike Wells of the Oregon Department of Justice described the defendant’s two wire-tapped phone calls on Feb. 22, 2012.

“During the conversation, he’s laughing; he’s referring to himself as the elk and that he always gets away,” Wells said.

Less than a month later, Gonzalez-Martinez and 26 others were arrested after investigators served more than three dozen search warrants in Benton, Linn and Marion counties and seized cash, firearms and drugs. Pounds of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine were discovered buried at rural sites and in homes — including Gonzalez-Martinez’s — in what local and state investigating agencies referred to as “Operation Icebreaker 2.”

Characterized as the leader of the sophisticated operation, which imported drugs from Mexico and distributed them throughout the mid-valley, Gonzalez-Martinez was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison and three years’ post-prison supervision.

In his testimony, Wells said that intercepted phone calls revealed that Gonzalez-Martinez was at the top of the drug network. He worked closely with his brother Abel Gonzalez-Martinez, who worked mostly with Juventino Santibanez-Castro. Identified as the second and third in command, the two each were sentenced last December to 10 years in prison.

The months-long investigation revealed that Rogelio Gonzalez-Martinez knew where the drugs were hidden and that he was alerted whenever drugs were running low or related problems were encountered, Wells said.

“There were 604 drug-related conversations that Rogelio had with other individuals (during the investigation),” Wells said.

Investigators listened to calls in real time, as the drug deals were unfolding.

‘More sophisticated’

Gonzalez-Martinez used code when he referred to business, he and others changed out their phones, and they performed counter-surveillance, such as driving in loops to make sure no one was following them. They hid drugs in rural locations, in some cases burying them in Linn and Benton county locations.

“They were better and more sophisticated than other cases that we investigated,” Wells said. “… Rogelio was very disciplined in what he did.”

Under the direction of Icebreaker 2 investigators, Oregon State Police pulled over and arrested Gonzalez-Martinez in March 2012 as he was driving north on Interstate 5 in Josephine County, Wells recounted. Based on intercepted phone calls, investigators suspected that he was running drugs — but they couldn’t find them, even after towing, dismantling and X-raying his vehicle.

Finally, after authorities agreed to release his wife — who was in custody in Linn County — Gonzalez-Martinez agreed to tell them where the drugs were. Heroin was stashed inside hollowed-out wooden legs of a wicker laundry basket in the trunk of his vehicle.

However, Gonzalez-Martinez’s attorney, Paul Ferder, argued that the drug operation was no more sophisticated than other drug rings, noting that the use of code words, stashing drugs in safe houses, changing out phones and other methods used in the operation are common practice in the drug-dealing business.

Ferder also questioned the investigators’ method of performing controlled drug purchases, which increased in quantity each time. The practice, he said, developed a position of trust that made a person sell more than he normally would.

“Then you use that substantial quantity to justify (a higher sentence),” he said. “I refer to that as sentencing entrapment.“

Ferder added that his client had no prior criminal history, and that that he was not being accused of carrying out violence related to drug dealing.

Prosecuting attorney Shannon Kmetic of the Department of Justice said that the defendant didn’t deserve a break.

“Mr. Gonzalez — he doesn’t use; he’s not an addict that we should feel sorry for,” she said. “He is a businessman who gets other people to become addicts that take a toll on this community.”

Gonzalez-Martinez didn’t speak during the proceeding. Members of his family were among the few who attended.

Judge Matthew Donohue gave Gonzalez-Martinez 10 years for a racketeering charge and eight years for the additional five charges related to dealing methamphetamine and heroin.

“This was an extensive organization that moved an exceptionally large quantity of drugs — both heroin and meth and cocaine, highly addictive drugs — into our community,” Donohue said as he delivered the sentence. “The defendant was basically the instrument. Without the defendant, I don’t see this organization being as successful as it could be because he was the main supplier.”

Woman sentenced for role in drug ring

A woman arrested last year in connection with the Icebreaker 2 drug bust was sentenced in Benton County Circuit Court on Friday to 31 months in prison and three years’ post-prison supervision for her part in the mid-valley drug operation.

Kim Cheryl Zib, 54, entered a no-contest plea to one count of racketeering as part of the agreement with prosecutors.

Zib had seven prior felony convictions and was recorded through a wiretap “accepting large amounts of drugs,” Benton County Chief Deputy District Attorney Christian Stringer said at her arraignment hearing last year.

Zib, who has a mailing address in Philomath, was arrested in July 2012 at her family’s residence in the Waterloo area outside of Lebanon, four months after a warrant for her arrest was issued.

Dozens of people were arrested in Benton, Linn and Marion counties as part of the drug bust. With Friday’s sentencing of Zib and the kingpin of the large-scale drug operation, Rogelio Gonzalez-Martinez, out of the way, the Benton County District Attorney’s Office has only one Icebreaker 2 case left to prosecute, Stringer said.

Stringer didn’t know the status of cases in Linn and Marion counties.

Rogelio Gonzalez-Martinez - ICE HOLD

  Read more about Kingpin of mid-valley drug operation gets 18 years

PODL hosts a booth at the Oregon State Fair

Alert date: 
August 30, 2013
Alert body: 

Be sure to stop by our booth at the Oregon State Fair. Sign the referendum petition, if you haven't already, through Labor Day.

You will find our booth just outside the Columbia Exhibit Hall under the red and white striped awnings.

See you there!  Visit our Photo Gallery.


 

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