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Pro/Con: Measure 105, repeal sanctuary state law initiative

Jim Ludwick: Yes to preserve our sovereignty

Every nation has the sovereign right to set its own immigration policy. Every American citizen has the constitutional right to advocate for immigration policies he feels are in America’s best interests.

Oregonians for Immigration Reform has advocated since its inception in 2000 for a return to our traditional levels of immigration. From 1776 to 1976 we averaged about 230,000 immigrants per year, and we became the most successful country in history.

What is our current level of immigration? According to the 2010 census, our population increased by more than 27 million during the first decade of the new century. To put that figure into perspective, it equals the population of Texas.

The Census Bureau determined the fertility rate of American women at 2.1, which is replacement level. That means almost all our 2.7 million a year in population growth was due to immigration.

Oregonians for Immigration Reform believes that allowing more than 2 million immigrants per year is unsustainable environmentally, socially, fiscally and politically. If that continues, we will be leaving a terrible legacy for our children and grandchildren. We need to return to our traditional level — no more than 230,000 per year.

Guest Writer

Jim Ludwick, a California transplant of European heritage, first helped found the Friends of Yamhill County land use advocacy group, then the statewide Oregonians for Immigration Reform. A zero population growth advocate, he opposes both legal and illegal immigration.

We are concerned with both legal and illegal immigration. Measure 105, of course, deals just with the illegal element.

Current Oregon law, outlined in ORS 181A.820, bars state and local police from informing federal  Immigration and Customs Enforcement when they are about to release a criminal alien from jail. As a result, criminal aliens are returned into our communities.

Last year, Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese refused a request by ICE to hold Sergio Martinez for ICE pick-up. This illegal alien had been convicted of 18 crimes and deported 12 times, but Reese let him out. And within six weeks, he went on to rape one woman and viciously assault another.

Martinez was caught and sentenced to 35 years in state prison. We taxpayers are now on the hook for more than $1 million in prison costs.
Last year, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Monica Herranz enabled an illegal alien drunk driver to evade ICE by allowing him to leave through the back door.

Where is the best place for any law enforcement officer to take a scofflaw into custody? Wouldn’t the controlled confines of a county courthouse be safer than a back alley or on the street?

Eighteen Oregon sheriffs have come out in support of Measure 105. Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin said, “I urge Oregonians … to vote yes on ballot Measure 105 and repeal the state’s illegal-immigrant sanctuary statute. … The statute undermines respect for law in significant ways. It tells illegal immigrants that Oregon considers immigration law violations so inconsequential as to be unworthy of police and sheriffs’ attention. In doing so, it legitimizes those violations and encourages more as well. The statute invites the contempt of U.S. citizens and legal residents, whom Oregon expects to abide by all laws.”

The Western State Sheriffs’ Association, representing sheriffs in sixteen states, also supports Measure 105. It said: “Opponents to Measure 105 will tell you stories about persons who were not legally in the U.S., but were arrested when they tried to report a crime or became the victim of a crime. However, there is simply no documented evidence indicating that any illegal alien has ever been deported solely as a result of reporting a crime or volunteering information to police.”

If you believe in the rule of law, American sovereignty and legal immigration, vote yes on Measure 105.

 

Miriam Corona Vargas: No to preserve our community

Local law enforcement is a highly regarded profession of integrity and service. It requires honorable character and self-sacrifice to ensure the well-being of our communities.

We residents of Yamhill County are proud to live where dedication to our community and strong local relationships are at the heart of who we are. Voting no on Measure 105 ensures these positive elements continue to mark the place we call home. 

At my child’s school, I regularly overhear parents tell teachers that friends will be picking up their child from school the next day. On crisp fall days at Joe Dancer Park, you can see fields of soccer teams coached by caring adults, passing on their love of the sport to our young ones.
If you’re new in town and want to volunteer, there are many service groups ready to welcome you with open arms into their work of giving back. 

We hold sacred this small-town feeling, living by the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” We look out for each other’s families so everyone feels part of the social fabric of our community.

Guest Writer

Miriam Corona Vargas, whose parents brought her to the U.S. as an infant, is a Linfield College graduate of Latino heritage. She serves as executive director of the Unidos Bridging Community, a local Latino advocacy group.

This is what is at stake with Measure 105. I urge you to vote no, thus standing by your neighbors and doing your part to help law enforcement ensure public safety. 

As a parent and lifelong Yamhill County resident, I, too, am concerned about keeping my children and neighborhood safe. That’s why I’m engaged in aLERT, a Law Enforcement Relations Team created by Unidos Bridging Community to foster a partnership between law enforcement and local residents in order to improve relationships and communication with the Latino immigrant community.

As a result, I have become acquainted with McMinnville Police Chief Matt Scales and Yamhill County Sheriff Tim Svenson. In fact, when I take my son to his swim lessons at the aquatic center, I often bump into the sheriff and his daughter. 

Both the chief and the sheriff have been members of aLERT for four years. They understand that developing trusting relations with immigrants is essential to effectively provide public safety and increased access to law enforcement services.

The program paves the way for positive interaction between immigrant residents and law enforcement. If you attended this year’s Sabor Latino event, you would have seen Chief Scales taking an Instagram selfie with three Latino children, and his officers sharing with a mom the driver’s view of a patrol car.

But aLERT has to fight an uphill battle, on several fronts, to create a community where immigrants feel welcome to report crimes. And by encouraging local police agencies to become an arm of federal immigration enforcement, Measure 105 threatens to undermine that.

Local law enforcement has full ability to make us responsible for our actions. It holds everyone accountable if they commit a crime, no matter their gender, race or place of birth.

Respect for authority is a Yamhill County value. But to live up to it requires more of us than just being law-abiding citizens.

We must participate in creating an environment of trust in local law enforcement. We must all be on the same team and expect everyone to contribute to the common goal of public safety. Measure 105 would divide us rather than unite us.

What kind of environment do we want for future generations — one where everyone assists law enforcement in solving local crimes or one where some will be frightened to? Will we ask law enforcement to focus on local public safety issues, or will we ask them to spread their already limited resources even thinner by also adding federal immigration responsibilities? 

I urge my neighbors to vote no on Measure 105 in the interest of keeping our community relationships and law enforcement strong. 

Comments

T.W.S.

For the edification of those against America's sovereignty and the rule of law:

https://cis.org/Report/Examination-US-Immigration-Policy-and-Serious-Crime

http://www.fairus.org/issue/illegal-immigration/examples-serious-crimes-illegal-aliens

http://www.ojjpac.org/memorial.asp

https://www.waaytv.com/content/news/Illegal-Immigrant--492898941.html (there are just too many stories like these to account for)

I can go on and on and on and on and on...

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