legislature

Five Ways Congress Can Solve the Border Crisis

New Way Forward Act: Forget Sanctuary Cities, New Dem-Proposal Would Make America a Sanctuary Country

Sanctuary states are bad enough, but some House Democrats want to make America a sanctuary country. New Way Forward Act

Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, California Rep. Karen Bass, Illinois Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduced the “New Way Forward Act” in December. All four are non-white. Forty other congressmen are co-sponsors.

According to its supporters, the “New Way Forward Act” would “decriminalize migration” by turning illegal entry into a civil offense, rather than a federal crime. . . Read more about New Way Forward Act: Forget Sanctuary Cities, New Dem-Proposal Would Make America a Sanctuary Country

Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Sanctuary Cities

    The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's decision today that will allow the Trump Administration to withhold certain funds from jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ruling allows the Justice Department to withhold Byrne JAG federal grants from hundreds of local governments across the country if they continue to protect criminal illegal aliens.

    The ruling is a significant victory for Pres. Trump and those who oppose sanctuary policies. The Court ruled that . . . Read more about Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Sanctuary Cities

Big! States can prosecute illegal aliens for identity theft

It’s hard to believe we needed a court case, that had to go to the Supreme Court, to allow state prosecution of illegal aliens who steal identities. But, we did.

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that state governments can prosecute illegal aliens of identity theft, including aliens who use false Social Security numbers to unlawfully gain employment. . . Read more about Big! States can prosecute illegal aliens for identity theft

The Impact of Legal and Illegal Immigration on the Apportionment of Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020

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

New Oregon task force examines overlooked issue of labor trafficking

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has launched a new task force intended to address the overlooked issue of forced labor. 

In 2007, lawmakers passed a bill creating the crime of involuntary servitude, where a person forces, threatens or coerces another person into performing labor or services for little or no pay. The law also made it illegal to traffic people with the aim of forcing them into labor. 

But despite the bill's passage, there have been no prosecutions of labor trafficking anywhere in the state, according to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission.  

"Human trafficking includes both sex trafficking and labor trafficking, but almost all of our public awareness focuses on sex trafficking. What we hear so far is that labor trafficking is very real, and it is happening under the radar in all corners of the state," said Rosenblum in a statement announcing the task force. "I want this task force to dig into this terrible crime. All sources suggest we lack the tools to identify, investigate and prosecute labor trafficking in our communities. We need to change that.". . .  

  Read more about New Oregon task force examines overlooked issue of labor trafficking

Tell your legislators NO driver licenses for illegal aliens! Stop HB 2015!

Alert date: 
February 28, 2019
Alert body: 

A bill giving illegal aliens Oregon driver licenses has just been introduced in the Legislature.  House Bill 2015 would give illegal aliens state-issued PHOTO ID, in the form of an official Oregon driver license.  Every reference to LEGAL presence or citizenship would be stripped from the driver license process we all go through.

We encourage everyone to call your state senator and representative and tell them to vote NO on Measure HB 2015.

It's easy to contact your Senator and Representative in Salem.  Click here to find out who your legislators are and how to reach them: http://www.oregonir.org/how-contact-oregon-state-legislators.

Oregon legislators can refer a bill directly to citizens to vote on it.  While we oppose HB 2015 on the merits, at the very least, the Oregon legislature should allow a referral vote by citizens.

Proponents call the bill the Equal Access to Roads Act.  The official title is: “Relating to documents issued by the Department of Transportation; declaring an emergency.”

Chief sponsors of HB 2015 are:  Rep. Hernandez, Alonso Leon, Sen. Manning Jr., Rep. McLain, Sen. Roblan.  Regular sponsors are:  Representative Barker, Boshart Davis, Bynum, Clem, Doherty, Evans, Fahey, Gorsek, Greenlick, Helm, Holvey, Keny-Guyer, Kotek, Lively, Marsh, Meek, Mitchell, Nathanson, Neron, Nosse, Piluso, Power, Prusak, Rayfield, Reardon, Salinas, Sanchez, Schouten, Smith G, Smith Warner, Sollman, Wilde, Williams, Williamson, Witt, Senator Beyer, Fagan, Frederick, Gelser, Wagner.

Your call or email in opposition to this bill is encouraged.  If your elected officials don't hear from you - they think you agree with their support of HB 2015.  It only takes a moment to call or email - do it today!

Background -- In 2014 Oregonians overwhelmingly defeated Measure 88 - a similar driver license bill - by a whopping two to one margin. In the 2014 election, 35 of Oregon's 36 counties voted against driver licenses for illegal aliens.  The bad bill, through a citizens Veto Referendum, was defeated in all five of Oregon's congressional districts.  A majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents voted against issuing driver licenses to illegal aliens.

Now proponents of HB 2015 want to overrule the majority!  Don’t let them!

This Saturday, Feb. 16 - OFIR membership meeting

Alert date: 
February 14, 2018
Alert body: 

The election is over and, unfortuantely, Measure 105 was soundly defeated. We'll review those election results.

Now, it's time to re-set the OFIR sails, strengthen our resolve and move on.

The immigration issue is front and center - so much is happening here in Oregon and all across the country!

The Oregon Legislature is now in session and things are changing daily on the national scene, as well.

You are invited to share your ideas about what OFIR might focus on, moving forward.

Bring your ideas to the meeting and let's talk. There's lots of work to do!

Are you an OFIR member that would like to be considered for a position on our OFIR Board? New ideas, new perspectives and new energy are always welcome.

Plan to join us -

THIS Saturday, Feb. 16th from 2 – 4pm at the Best Western Mill Creek Inn across the from Costco, in Salem.

If you have any questions, please call 503.435.0141

See you there!

Information on candidates' immigration positions available now

Alert date: 
August 11, 2018
Alert body: 

For several years now, in election seasons, OFIR has provided information on Oregon candidates’ positions on immigration issues.  See the Elections section in Immigration Topics.

For 2018, OFIR has posted an Overview of the General Election which includes pertinent information.

Collection of information on candidates’ immigration positions is becoming easier now since the Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Survey has begun including several good questions on immigration policy in its compilations of candidate positions on a variety of current issues. 

NumbersUSA also collects information on Congressional candidates’ positions, and with its large database of incumbents’ voting records on immigration issues, NumbersUSA is a valuable source for voters to know about.  Their current listing for Oregon can be viewed here.

With immigration so much in the news today, it’s advisable to check the views of candidates in one’s voting district.  If you don’t find any public information on their views, that’s useful to know also, because candidates should be well-versed on immigration issues to serve their constituents adequately now.  A reluctance to state their positions publicly is a red caution flag for voters.

“Immigration has risen to the top of the list when Americans are asked to name the most important problem facing the nation …”, according to a new Gallup poll.  

Voters can email their candidates and ask them, please, to reply to the Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Survey questions on immigration which are posted here.  Email addresses for candidates are usually on the candidates’ websites, and the OAAVEP survey includes link to candidate websites in most cases.  If you have a problem contacting candidates in your voting districts, you can email OFIR and we’ll send you contact information.

If you wish, you can cite these references to your candidates:

1.  FAIR has issued a good report specifically about what states and local governments can do to help immigration enforcement; see it here.  The full report is a pdf document:  https://fairus.org/sites/default/files/2017-08/2016_State_and_Local_Agenda.pdf

2.  A CIS analyst presented testimony to Congress summing up current needs very well; view her report, “Restoring enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws,” here.  

3.  Informative discussions of what constitutes good immigration policy are available on the websites of NumbersUSAFederation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), Center for Immigration Studies

IRLI Files Brief in U.S. Supreme Court in Support of Arizona's Right to Refuse Benefits to Illegal Aliens

(Washington, D.C.) - Today, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a friend-of-the-court brief (attached here) in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the State of Arizona which was sued by an illegal alien pressure group to force the state into granting eligibility for driver's licenses to millions of illegal aliens falling under the Obama Administration's lawless Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In the case of Brewer v. Arizona Dream Act Coalition (Civil Action No. 16-1180), Arizona is asking the Supreme Court to hear the case and reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which ruled last year that Arizona's policy is preempted by federal law.

In its brief, IRLI argued that the Ninth Circuit erred because the Supremacy Clause makes "laws" supreme, not executive branch deferral of the enforcement of such laws, such as DACA. Second, IRLI argued that the court erred by relying on the false proposition that the Executive Branch, on its own authority, has the power to alter or redraft the terms of the statutes it is charged with enforcing. Lastly, IRLI argued that the court erred by finding that Arizona created its own immigration categories by treating DACA beneficiaries differently than special applicants for Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status. The latter enjoy a statutory pathway to citizenship, albeit an uncertain one, unlike DACA recipients who have no such statutory path and are simply unlawfully present.

Dale L. Wilcox, IRLI's Executive Director, commented, "The Ninth Circuit's decision that Obama's controversial DACA policy can preempt Arizona's driver's license rules violates basic preemption and federalism principles." Wilcox further commented, "In its brief, IRLI urges the Supreme Court to hear the case to clarify that the Executive Branch acting outside of congressional intent cannot preempt state law. We will continue the fight for federalism and states' rights and defend the rule of law." Read more about IRLI Files Brief in U.S. Supreme Court in Support of Arizona's Right to Refuse Benefits to Illegal Aliens

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