OR Latinos Meet for Immigrant Action Day

January 20, 2012

OR Latinos Meet for Immigrant Action Day
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
AUDIO: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/mp3.php?f=rss-24341-1.mp3

SALEM, Ore. - It's the closest Oregon's Latino community comes to having a convention. At the annual Immigrant Action Day tomorrow in Salem, delegations from about 20 Oregon cities will meet to discuss their issues and action plans for the year.

The group says its top priorities are restoring driver's licenses and allowing in-state college tuition for all Oregon residents, no matter what their immigration status; and asking that Oregon reject the Secure Communities program, in which local law enforcement officers serve as the eyes and ears of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Francisco Lopez, executive director of Causa, says not all of their priorities will end up as bills in this legislative session - but it's an election year, and their focus will still be on getting lawmakers' attention and cooperation.

"This is the time when we will tell legislators, 'Do you want to come and ask for the Latino vote? We want to make sure that you make a commitment for those issues that are important for us - driver's license, tuition equity, and the relationship between ICE and local law enforcement.'"

Lopez says it will be 2013 before his group revives its push to restore driver's licenses to 80,000 immigrant workers, which the Oregon Legislature revoked in 2008. Until then, he says they'll ask the governor to okay temporary plans to allow them to drive and be insured. To Lopez, it is an issue of safety and economics.

"What they have done is created one more burden to the difficult economic recession - because what it does is, it limits the mobility of the economic activity of the state. People that could take their kids to school, to the doctor, to do grocery shopping."

This weekend's annual event is equal parts pep rally, live entertainment and political strategy session. Christian Baeff, who organized it this year, says people often bring their families, and they leave with new ideas and energy.

"People are excited to see what's going to happen, and always hopeful, but some people find out that this process is not as easy as they thought, too. And sometimes, it takes time for legislation to pass."

Immigrant Action Day takes place on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Chemeketa Community College, 4000 Lancaster Dr. N.E., Building 2, Salem.

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NW Immigrants' Groups Link Arms for Regional Clout

October 24, 2011

NW Immigrants' Groups Link Arms for Regional Clout
Chris Thomas
Public News Service-OR
AUDIO : http://www.publicnewsservice.org/mp3.php?f=rss-22833-1.mp3

SEATTLE - Immigrants' rights organizations in the Northwest are taking a new approach to their concerns by working on them regionally, instead of separately by group or state.

At the National Immigrant Integration Conference this week in Seattle, groups from Oregon, Washington and Idaho are pointing out that more than 1.4 million Latinos live in the Pacific Northwest. Francisco Lopez, who heads the Oregon group Causa, says working together makes sense.

"The Pacific Northwest has a regional economy. Many of our workers go between states to work in the fields. There are so many issues that are impacting our community that we need to start looking at the issues for Latinos at the regional level."

Their primary goal is to keep anti-immigrant laws out of the Northwest, explains Lopez, as well as to preserve the progress they have already made on some issues. Of the three states, for instance, only Washington allows an undocumented immigrant to have a driver's license. The groups say not allowing that is a public safety risk, and they can learn from Washington's experience as they work to change the more restrictive laws in Oregon and Idaho.

Groups in individual states have collaborated on some national issues, like comprehensive immigration reform, but not local concerns. Hilary Stern, executive director of the Washington group CASA Latina, says the Hispanic demographics in the northwestern states are similar and so are many of their priorities.

"It's a really good combination for us. It has been a little complicated because there are different state laws, but by understanding what the other states are doing, we're able to get some other ideas."

The groups say they will focus on tuition equity, access to affordable health care, jobs and wage theft by some who employ farm laborers and construction workers.

The National Immigrant Integration Conference runs through Oct. 26 at the Westin Seattle, 1900 5th Ave. Information is available at www.integrationconference.org.


Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/22833-1

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"Secure Communities"...Or Anything But?

"Secure Communities"...Or Anything But?

August 10, 2011
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
AUDIO: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/mp3.php?f=rss-21628-1.mp3

ST. HELENS, Ore. - Oregon's immigrant community is raising concerns about public safety in light of a Homeland Security Department decision that individual states cannot opt out of the "Secure Communities" program.

That program gives local sheriffs the responsibility of turning over immigrants accused of crimes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal immigration authorities. But an Oregon attorney says more than half the detainees are not criminals. Stephen Manning, with the Immigrant Law Group, says the program is alienating local police, who make the initial arrests, from those they are trying to protect.

"Those individuals, if they end up getting booked into the jail, they will be deported, they will be detained; they will be sucked into this very nebulous system. And the police take the blame for that - and it's not the police's doing. It's ICE's doing, and it's the sheriff's doing."

In rural areas, where local law enforcement is often focused on building relationships, Secure Communities has put police and sheriffs' departments at cross-purposes, according to Amanda Aguilar Shank, Columbia County organizer for the Rural Organizing Project, who says the result is less security.

"As we're in this budget crisis, it becomes even more important to have a level of trust and community-building in the community. When you're targeting one minority and making the community unsafe for them, that means that more crimes go unreported."

Manning says a simple traffic stop can throw a person into jail - and that person's family into turmoil.

"People call us in crisis all the time. They don't understand what's happening; it's a completely opaque process. And people call us frequently because people have disappeared - 'We don't know where this person is. They were coming home from work, and then suddenly, we get a phone call and they're now in this detention facility in Texas. How did that happen?' "

ICE sees Secure Communities as an effective partnership that has increased deportations. But three states - Illinois, Massachusetts and New York - have refused to be part of it. Oregon has not taken a stand on it, although Gov. John Kitzhaber has said he sees the need for clear boundaries between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement.

Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/21628-1

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Immigrant Action Day Unites Oregon Latinos

Immigrant Action Day Unites Oregon Latinos
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
January 21, 2011
Audio Download

SALEM, Ore. - The ability to get a driver's license or get health care for a child are things most Oregonians take for granted. But for undocumented immigrants, they are barriers to success and eventual citizenship. At Saturday's Immigrant Action Day, the Latino community will outline its plans to seek legislation to restore drivers' license access for all Oregonians.

Aeryca Steinbauer with CAUSA, the immigrant rights coalition, says the current state law was designed to keep undocumented immigrants from driving.

"We are going to be working to make sure that all Oregon drivers can be licensed and insured, regardless of their ability to prove legal status. We believe that's a key issue of public safety and economic prosperity for our state."

Those who disagree say licensing undocumented people poses a security risk by allowing them an official form of identification. However, CAUSA says studies show that licensing all drivers prevents accidents because they are tested and registered and must be insured. CAUSA estimates more than 120,000 undocumented immigrants live in Oregon.

At this year's event, Latinos also will reach out to the gay and lesbian members of their community. And they want the state to make good on its promise to "cover all kids" with health care, by extending the Oregon Healthy Kids program to children of immigrant families.

Steinbauer says they're counting on state lawmakers to help.

"There are absolutely supporters and champions on both issues, of health equity for the Latino community and drivers license access - and we're grateful for all the support we've gotten so far."

Immigrant Action Day is a way to build community and get organized for the new state legislative session, she adds. The event takes place Saturday at Chemeketa Community College, 4000 Lancaster Dr., N.E., Salem, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/18000-1

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A Dose of Harsh Reality for DREAM Act

A Dose of Harsh Reality for DREAM Act
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
December 20, 2010
Audio (MP3)

Salem, Ore. - Oregon's two U.S. senators voted for the DREAM Act, but that wasn't enough to save it from a Republican filibuster over the weekend. There were 55 yes votes, but 60 were needed to pass the bill that would have allowed young people brought to the U.S. by undocumented immigrant parents to gain citizenship for enrolling in college or enlisting in the military.

Francisco Lopez, executive director of CAUSA, Oregon's immigrant rights coalition, says his group will now ask the state legislature to at least allow in-state tuition for students of immigrant parents living in Oregon.

"If you are an undocumented immigrant, if you want to go to college, you need to pay foreign student tuition - and that's thousands of dollars. If we change that to in-state tuition, they can pay tuition like everyone else."

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May Day in Oregon: A Plea, a Protest, a Celebration

May Day in OR: A Plea, a Protest, a Celebration
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
April 30, 2010

SALEM, Ore. - Oregon's annual International Workers' Day event in Salem is typically a celebration for the immigrant community--but this year, a more serious tone is expected for Saturday's gathering. The tough new immigration law passed in Arizona has cast a shadow over the entire Latino community.

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Oregonians Help Turn Up the Heat on Immigration Reform

Oregonians Help Turn Up the Heat on Immigration Reform

March 19, 2010
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR

PORTLAND, Ore. - More than 50 Oregonians are traveling to Washington, D.C. for Sunday's March for America, a national attempt to kick-start the stalled push for immigration reform. David Leslie, executive director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, is one of them. He says people need a clear and fair path to U.S. citizenship, and he blames the lack of progress on a lack of political will in Congress. Leslie hopes the size and scope of the national event energizes the immigrant community and other supporters.

"The real work is not going to be in Washington, D.C. - it's coming back home where you work your district, you're working with members of congregations, you're working with your community. I think a march like this provides a real boost of energy, to take some of that back home and further the cause."

Marchers will include members of faith, and business and labor groups, all of whom say immigrants deserve a fair shot at becoming U.S. citizens. Greg Delgado, Oregon coordinator for the Bend office of Jobs With Justice, will be there. He says the current system creates unnecessary hassles - and hostilities.

"We're a small community, maybe of 11,000 Latinos, here in Central Oregon. We still, on a daily basis, hear complaints - of worker violations, racial profiling with the police - that we're trying to clarify for the community as well."

Those who want tougher immigration laws say the country can't afford an influx of new citizens. Supporters of reform believe it's a human rights issue, and that people working in the U.S., even illegally, are contributing to the economy and often paying taxes. On Sunday, tens of thousands of people are expected for a rally at the Lincoln Memorial starting at 2:00 PM (EDT), followed by a march to RFK Stadium.

Oregon marchers will meet Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 3211 Pine St. NW, Washington, D.C.

Visit this link to get the audio for this news report: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/13079-1

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Oregon News Service: Oregon's Immigration Reform Groups "Go Visiting"

Oregon's Immigration Reform Groups "Go Visiting"

January 7, 2010
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
AUDIO

PORTLAND, Ore. - Only one member of Oregon's congressional delegation has endorsed the latest Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill submitted a month ago, and members of the immigrant community say they'll be urging the others along in the coming weeks. Today, they're stopping by Rep. Earl Blumenauer's office to say 'thanks' for co-sponsoring the bill.

Francisco Lopez with Oregon's immigrant rights coalition, CAUSA, says it's a start.

"We are going to take this whole legalization process and keep pushing and pushing, and we are not going to stop. We'll be visiting our congressional offices in Oregon until we have all the votes that we need. Oregon has two in the Senate and five in the House, so we need seven votes. Now, we have one."

Lopez says about 400,000 immigrants live in Oregon, and about one-third are undocumented.

The bill (HR 4321) was introduced last month by Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez. It would outline a path to citizenship, revamp the guest worker program and border security policies, and promote keeping families together.

The office visit coincides with the release of a report that says immigration reform would boost the U.S. economy by more than $1.5 trillion in the next 10 years, while other proposals that focus only on deportation would cost more than $2 trillion. Lopez says allowing people who are already in the United States to become citizens makes financial sense.

"These people will start becoming stable, and they will start buying homes, get better jobs, and some of them that want to start businesses will be able to. Kids will be able to go to college, and the economy will begin to improve."

The bill is the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security & Prosperity Act of 2009." CAUSA meets with Rep. Blumenauer at noon at his Portland office, 729 N.E. Oregon St.

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/12120-1

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Oregon Faith Groups "Welcome the Stranger"

AUDIO: Oregon Faith Groups "Welcome the Stranger"

by Chris Thomas
Public News Service - OR December 10, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. - On International Human Rights Day, some in Oregon can see the possibility of immigration reform in Congress, including the faith community. At interfaith candlelight vigils this evening in Portland and across the country, religious leaders will make the point that it makes more sense to welcome people who are already here and contributing to the economy than it does to arrest them.

It's a controversial issue for some, admits John Munson, director of the Oregon Farm Worker Ministry.

"I think it's because we have a very, very divided population right now. I think because we operate with a lot of fear, and because there are people in the community who exploit that fear for their own purposes."

Munson says the immigrants he talks with want a fair system for becoming U.S. citizens and an end to the intimidating workplace raids and deportation threats they now face, although opponents of those ideas believe immigrants take jobs needed by current citizens.

Right now, says Munson, up to 70 percent of the 150,000 agricultural workers in the state are undocumented and therefore, can easily be taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers who can short their pay, ignore safety considerations and more.

"It gives them an additional vulnerability. Anytime they try to exercise their rights, they're putting themselves out there in the public, and that means, potentially, they could be deported."

Not all employers treat undocumented workers poorly, he admits. Some in Oregon are advocates for immigration reform to keep their workforce intact and allow them to become taxpaying citizens. The Portland event begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Edith Green Federal Building, 1220 S.W. Third Ave.; a celebration follows at 5:30 p.m. at the First Christian Church, S.W. Columbia & Broadway.

Tonight's candlelight vigils are part of a week of activities focused on the religious and compassionate reasons for immigration reform.

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