Undocumented Immigrants Contribute Billions in Taxes

The following article was originally posted at Immigration Impact, a project of the American Immigration Council. The American Immigration Council’s mission is to strengthen America by honoring our immigrant history and shaping how Americans think about and act towards immigration now and in the future.

Undocumented Immigrants Contribute Billions in Taxes

Written by Amy Grenier

Death and taxes, according to Benjamin Franklin, are the only things in life that are certain. And despite the prevailing myth perpetrated by nativist groups, there are plenty of undocumented immigrants facing the certainty of taxes on April 15. They pay billions in state and local taxes every year that help to fund benefits they are often unable to receive. Tax Day is a good reminder that if the House passed legislation to create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, then it would increase the amount being paid in taxes each year while also creating a more fair system for immigrants.

One way that undocumented immigrants already pay taxes is through the day-to-day taxes of living in this country. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), undocumented immigrants paid an estimated $9.4 billion in the state property and sales taxes that fund schools, police and fire stations, roads, and public services within each state. Everyone who lives in or visits our country pays these taxes when they fill up their gas tank and buy items like a car,  house, or clothes.

As people who have filed taxes know very well, income taxes require reporting income. Payroll taxes are what employers are required to pay on their employees (such as Social Security and Medicare contributions). Undocumented immigrants, and many other people who don’t have Social Security numbers, report income through their Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). Both state and federal governments receive taxes on undocumented immigrant’s income and employment. ITEP estimates that “at least half” of undocumented immigrants pay state income taxes even though they lack legal status—an amount that totaled $1.24 billion in 2010. The Center for American Progress (CAP) estimates that “one-third of unauthorized immigrants working in the formal economy” pay more than $13 billion in payroll taxes.

What is true of both income and payroll taxes is that if Congress passed immigration reform, these numbers would only increase. ITEP’s numbers estimate that state income taxes would rise to $2.8 billion if immigration reform and CAP argues that reform would add $109 billion in combined federal, state, and local taxes over a ten year period. Legal status would “provide a net contribution” to the Medicare trust fund “for the next three decades,” totaling an estimated $155 billion. Social Security’s trust fund would increase as well, to $606 billion. That number, as CAP points out, “is enough money to fund the retirement benefits of 2.4 million native-born Americans.”

These numbers are part of the reason why CBO scores for both HR 15 and S. 744 have shown such benefits for the U.S. economy. The Senate has already passed comprehensive immigration reform. If the House does as well, then the U.S. could have a working immigration system and more money in the public treasury on Tax Days to come.

Photo by Alan Cleaver.

Article Link: : http://immigrationimpact.com/2014/04/15/undocumented-immigrants-contribute-billions-in-taxes/#sthash.AsVeYaRX.dpuf

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Significant Share of Small Business Owners in Oregon and Portland Are Immigrants

This release comes from the Oregon Center for Public Policy. The Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) does in-depth research and analysis on budget, tax, and economic issues. Our goal is to improve decision making and generate more opportunities for all Oregonians. Visit http://www.ocpp.org/ for more information

June 14, 2012

Significant Share of Small Business Owners in Oregon and Portland Are ImmigrantsAbout one out of every 11 small business owners in Oregon in 2010 was born outside the U.S., according to a national report released today by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a public policy research organization based in New York.
The entrepreneurial rate was even higher in the Portland metro area, where about one of every eight small business owners was an immigrant.
"Immigrants own a significant share of small businesses, an important engine of economic growth," said Chuck Sheketoff, executive director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, who examined the report. "The report shows that our state and nation benefit greatly from the entrepreneurial activity that immigrants bring."
The study estimated that in the entire U.S., immigrant-owned small businesses -- those with fewer than 100 workers -- employed 4.7 million people and generated $776 billion in receipts in 2007, the most recent year for which data are available.

In metro areas and nationwide, on average immigrants were 10 percent more likely than U.S.-born workers to own a small business in 2010. On average the ratio of immigrant small business owners to U.S.-born small business owners is 1.1 to 1.
In both Oregon and the Portland metro area, however, foreign-born workers were less likely than U.S. born-workers to be small business owners. The ratio was 0.7 to 1 for Oregon and 0.8 to 1 for the Portland metro area.
Still, among those who owned a small business in Oregon in 2010, 9.2 percent of them -- about one out of eleven -- had been born abroad. For the Portland metro area, that share was 13 percent, or one out of eight.

In all, about 6,800 small business owners in Oregon in 2010 were immigrants, according to the study.
Immigrants with undocumented status, however, face particular obstacles to starting a business, to the detriment of the state and nation, according to Francisco Lopez, executive director of CAUSA, Oregon's immigrant rights coalition.

"Starting a business often requires access to capital, credit, insurance and other elements that are difficult to obtain for undocumented immigrants," Lopez said. "One of the many benefits of creating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would be the removal of obstacles that those with entrepreneurial aspirations face."

Besides estimating the number of immigrant-owned small businesses and share of small business owners who are foreign-born, the Fiscal Policy Institute's report also provided a detailed profile of immigrant business owners at the national level. It examined, for example, the types of businesses immigrants own, the top countries of birth for immigrant business owners and the education level of immigrant business owners.

The Oregon Center for Public Policy is a non-partisan research institute that does in-depth research and analysis on budget, tax and economic issues. The Center's goal is to improve decision making and generate more opportunities for all Oregonians.

Read the full report here: http://www.ocpp.org/media/uploads/documents/2012/immigrant-small-business-owners-FPI-20120614.pdf

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Remembering Our Immigrant Veterans

Today we honor those who have served our nation with selflessness and bravery. Included in the millions who have served are immigrants.  The article below, which originally appeared at Immigration Impact, discusses the contribution of immigrant veterans.

Remembering Our Immigrant Veterans: An Incalculable Contribution

By Wendy Sefsaf

Whenever restrictionist groups calculate the cost of an immigrant, they inevitably overlook the contributions of immigrant veterans who fight and die on behalf of Americans every single day. Immigrants have voluntarily served in all branches of the U.S. military from the beginnings of our great nation. In fact, without the contributions of immigrants, the military could not meet its recruiting goals and could not fill the need for foreign-language translators, interpreters, and cultural experts.
According to Margaret Stock:

As of June 30, 2009, there were 114,601 foreign-born individuals serving in the armed forces, representing 7.91 percent of the 1.4 million military personnel on active duty. Roughly 80.97 percent of foreign-born service members were naturalized U.S. citizens, while 12.66 percent were not U.S. citizens.

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High Court extends right to due process to immigrants

Supreme Court extends rights of immigrants to due process

Originally posted on Standing FIRM.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court made a landmark decision that upholds due process for immigrants in court. The decision means that any immigrant defendant has a right to be informed about whether or not a plea could lead to deportation.

From the Washington Post:

The severity of deportation – the equivalent of banishment or exile – only underscores how critical it is for counsel to inform her noncitizen client that he faces a risk of deportation,” said Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the opinion for the court.

The decision puts a new burden on lawyers to advise immigrant clients about the consequences of a guilty plea…”

Jose Padilla, the defendant in the case, had lived in the United States for 40 years as a legal permanent resident and was facing automatic deportation for a plea made in 2001. He was told by his lawyer that the plea would not affect his immigration status.

Yesterday’s decision ruled that:

“It is our responsibility under the Constitution to ensure that no criminal defendant – whether a citizen or not – is left to the ‘mercies of incompetent counsel.’”

This is a big victory for immigrant rights in the U.S. legal system, though it comes at the cost of thousands of deportations that should have been legally avoided.

For more on this decision check out:

National Public Radio: High Court: Lawyers Must Give Immigration Advice

The Detention Watch Network Blog

Change.org: Landmark Decision: SCOTUS Upholds Due Process for Immigrants

America’s Voice: Justice Prevails With Supreme Court Decision on Immigration Counsel

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Mayor says Immigrants are New York City’s economic engine

Last week during a speech at CUNY Graduate Center, New York City Mayor Bloomberg said that New York needs more immigrants.

“Immigrants are why New York City became America’s economic engine. In these tough times our city needs more immigrants, not fewer.”

In his bid for re-election Bloomberg outlined four priorities that he would implement in the next four years. According to the Epoch Times, the plan will maximize economic contributions of immigrants, help immigrant children achieve, integrate immigrants into neighborhoods and civic life, and protect immigrants from exploitation.

For more on Bloomberg’s plan to support immigrants in New York City, see his office’s piece titled “Immigrants: The Lifeblood of New York City” by linking here.

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Calls still needed to ensure immigrants have access to health care

Today, the Senate Finance Committee is still considering amendments to the healthcare reform bill several of which have measures restricting immigrants’ access to healthcare.

We need to continue making calls to let Senators know they cannot keep playing politics and scapegoating immigrants.

Call the Senate switchboard now:

English Switchboard: 1-866-974-8813
Spanish Switchboard: 1-866-584-3909

TELL THEM:
Immigrants must have access to affordable health care. They work and pay taxes and are raising families; they should not be barred from accessing the health care exchange by waiting periods or other obstacles.

New verification requirements will hurt U.S. citizens and immigrants alike and are costly, unnecessary and burdensome. Undocumented immigrants are already barred from health care and Medicaid subsidies. Oppose new onerous verification measures!

MEMBERS OF THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE TO CALL:

DEMOCRATS
Chairman MAX BAUCUS, Montana
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia
KENT CONRAD, North Dakota
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas
RON WYDEN, Oregon
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
BILL NELSON, Florida
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
THOMAS CARPER, Delaware

REPUBLICANS:
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine

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Pew Hispanic Center Releases Study on Health Insurance and Hispanic Immigrants

According to a release from the Pew Hispanic Center posted on Capitol Wire PR,

Six-in-ten Hispanic adults in the U.S. who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents* lack health insurance. In contrast, 28% of Hispanic adults who are citizens or legal permanent residents and 17% of the overall U.S. adult population lack health insurance.

Read the full release with links to the research by going here.

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Fear-Mongering and Falsehoods About Health Care Reform from Anti-immigrant Group

Immigration Impact: Anti-Immigrant Group Adds to Falsehoods About Health Care Reform

Washington D.C. - In a report released by the Center for Immigration Studies today, the anti-immigrant group jumps on the bandwagon of those attempting to derail substantive health care reform through fear-mongering and falsehoods. Their baseless claim that millions of unauthorized immigrants will receive government-subsidized health care on the government's dime has already been discredited by the President, the media, and the U.S. government's own researchers. These groups, however, persist in their efforts to hijack the debate in order to demonize immigrants.

In his Immigration Impact blog post today, IPC Senior Researcher Walter Ewing writes:

"These big, scary numbers {from CIS} are based on the false premise that there are simply no mechanisms in place to prevent unauthorized immigrants from receiving coverage under the bill. But, as a report released late last month by the Congressional Research Service points out, H.R. 3200 explicitly bars unauthorized immigrants from receiving federal subsidies for the purchase of health insurance. Moreover, as Saturday's New York Times reports, the health care bills currently circulating in Congress would increase insurance coverage among low-income workers primarily through the expansion of Medicaid-which already has proof-of-citizenship requirements in place."

Click here to read the rest of the post.

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Happy Independence Day

Today the crown of the Statue of Liberty reopened to tourists after being closed since September 11, 2001.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar remarked on the reopening, "It's a proud day today because of the opening of the doors of an American icon”. He added that the new citizens' diversity illustrated the potpourri of humanity that makes the U.S. unique.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

CAUSA wishes all a safe and Happy Independence Day!

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President Bush Removes Right to Legal Counsel

In a heartless move, the Bush Administration has stripped the right to legal counsel from immigrants facing deportation.

The American Immigration Law Foundation reports that “the Attorney General (Michael Mukasey) declared that henceforth, immigrants, asylum seekers, and all others in removal (deportation) proceedings do not have any right under statute or the Constitution to representation by a lawyer before they can be ordered deported.”

This move by the Bush Administration is just one of the many last ditch efforts to create problems for the incoming Obama Administration. It is imperative for President-elect Obama to correct this at the earliest opportunity to protect families struggling to stay together, and those struggling to escape persecution in their home countries.

For more on this story, visit our allies at Imagine 2050

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Child of Immigrant Parent Elected President of the United States

The historical election of Barack Obama as the first black American to be elected president of the United States is also significant as he is the seventh child of an immigrant parent to be elected to the office. Barack Obama's father was born in the village of Nyang’oma Kogelo in Kenya and immigrated to the United States at the age of 23.

According to Wiki Info, President Elect Obama joins former U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Buchanan, Chester Arthur, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover and Andrew Jackson as children of immigrants to be elected to the Nation’s highest office.

Barack Obama's election to the Presidency of The United States keeps with America's tradition as being a country of immigrants.

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Join Immigrant Rights and Latino Community Organizations in Woodburn for Election Night

MEDIA ADVISORY
November 4, 2008

Contact:
Francisco Lopez (503) 269-5694
Erik Sorensen (503) 488-0263

Immigrant Rights and Latino Community Organizations Invite the Public to Join them in Watching Historic Election Returns

Woodburn, Ore-Immigrant Rights, Labor and Latino Community Organizations including Voz Hispana Causa Chavista, PCUN (Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United) and CAUSA invite the public to join them this evening in waiting for the historic election results at PCUN Headquarters in Woodburn.

What: LET'S CELEBRATE DEMOCRACY TOGETHER!

Who: Immigrant Rights, Labor and Latino Community Organizations including Voz Hispana Causa Chavista, PCUN (Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United) and CAUSA

When: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 7:00pm

Where: PCUN at 300 Young Street, Woodburn, Oregon 97071

Last month, Voz Hispana Causa Chavista and PCUN mailed voter's guides to over 7,500 Latino voters in five Oregon cities including Woodburn, Gervais, Salem, Keizer, and Independence. Of those 7,500 Latinos receiving voters' guides, 3,500 were new voters that had been registered since December. With the explosion of new Latino Voters in Oregon, Latinos are poised to have a significant impact on tonight's election.

One important issue that will be watched closely during this evening's election returns is Ballot Measure 58. Organizations within the Latino and Immigrant rights community have been working closely with the Parents and Teachers Know Better Campaign in effort to defeat this measure.

Measure 58 would affect many families in the Latino Community as it would hinder the ability of their children to learn and grasp the English language, thereby having a detrimental impact on their future. Not to mention the costly measure would take local control away from school boards, families and educators-those who know what is best for our children-- and place it in the hands of convicted racketeer Bill Sizemore.

Members of the press are invited and encouraged to attend this evening's Election Night Celebration in Woodburn. For those media outlets not able to come to Woodburn, CAUSA will have staff available in other parts of the state for comment. Please contact Erik Sorensen, CAUSA's Communications Director at (503) 488-0236 for more information.

For more information about the Election Night Celebration in Woodburn, please contact Francisco Lopez at (503) 269-5694.

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Undocumented Immigrants Being Persecuted During Gulf Coast Storms

Democracy NOW has a story up about how increased raids and check point arrests are endangering Undocumented Immigrants Threatened by Gulf Coast Storms.

Undocumented immigrants along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast have resisted mandatory evacuation orders out of fear they could be arrested and deported at checkpoints. The climate of fear around deportation has worsened as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE, continues to step up its raids across the country, with two of the largest raids in US history taking place in the last five months. We speak to David Bacon, award-winning photojournalist, labor organizer and immigrant rights activist and author of Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Migrants.

Here is the video of the interview:


For a transcript of the complete interview, please visit Democracy Now!

Hat tip to FIRM for alerting us to this story.

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Comprehensive Immigration Reform Requires Next President's Action

According to a recent news story, that is what the former head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services believes. In an interview with the Associated Press, Emilio T. Gonzalez said the next President will need to play an active roll in order for a Comprehensive Immigration Bill to pass. He also said that such a bill would likely fail if left up to Congress

Gonzalez had this to say:

"Immigration is very difficult, and it's very complex. You've got to get dirty, and you're going to get beat up. I can't imagine somebody burning political capital in a honeymoon period tackling immigration."

"I think this will get done when it comes from on high — that is to say when a president really puts it on the line and basically crafts the bill and says: 'Congress, this is what I want.'"

When it came to the impractical solution of deporting undocumented migrants as promoted by anti-immigrant extremists, Gonzalez said that it was "logistically impossible".

The full AP article can be read by linking here

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Moyers and EXPOSÉ Examine Worker Safety in the Poultry Industry

On Friday, Bill Moyer's Journal and EXPOSÉ showed what goes on inside America's poultry industry, which employs almost a quarter million workers nationwide many of whom are immigrants. The report revealed the reality of working conditions and how official statistics showing a drop in workplace injuries may have been the result of deceptive reporting.

Injury rates reported at America's poultry plants have dropped dramatically in recent years, and so have workplace safety inspections. Are regulators rewarding companies for inaccurate reporting of injuries? Bill Moyers Journal and Expose: America's Investigative Reports take a look at America’s Poultry Industry.



The video can be viewed by linking here and the transcript here. A podcast of the report can be downloaded here.

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IRCO to Hold Event This Evening Marking World Refugee Day

Portland, OR--This evening, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) is holding a fundraiser titled “Jazz for Peace” to mark World Refugee Day. The fundraiser will begin at 6:30 at the World Trade Center in Downtown Portland.

IRCO was founded 32 years ago by refugees to help incoming refugees. The mission of the IRCO is to promote the integration of refugees, immigrants, and the community at large into a self-sufficient, healthy, and inclusive multiethnic society. Among the services the organization provides includes employment preparation and placement, and networks of culturally specific continuums of social services

On Wednesday, KATU news interviewed Rowanne Haley and Sheila Garcia from the organization. That interview can be watched by linking here.

In 2000, The United Nations General Assembly designated June 20th as World Refugee Day to recognize and celebrate the contribution of refugees throughout the world.

For more details on how to get involved with IRCO or information about tickets for the Jazz for Peace event taking place this evening, please call their central office at 503 234-1541

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Immigration Office Cancels Planned Move to West Linn

News Brief: Immigration agency calls off West Linn move

by Ryan Frank, The Oregonian
Friday June 13, 2008, 1:32 PM

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will not move to West Linn after all.

The immigration agency and the U.S. General Services Administration, the federal government's landlord, came under pressure from Portland politicians and Oregon's congressional delegation for pursuing the West Linn move. The move would have taken the immigration out of downtown Portland -- the hub of the region's transit system -- to one of the most difficult suburbs to reach by bus. >>continue

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Advocates to Call Attention to Unfair Working Conditions and Broken Immigration System

MEDIA ADVISORY
June 11, 2008

Contacts:
DeEtte Waleed, (503) 550-3510
Marco Mejia, AFSC Portland, (503) 740-8035
Robert Brown (503) 267-9346
Erik Sorensen, CAUSA (503) 488-0263

Immigrant Rights Advocates to Call Attention to Unfair Working Conditions and Broken Immigration System
Portland, Ore. — Today, the Oregon New Sanctuary Movement, Oregon immigration rights and labor groups, and immigrant families will hold a press conference calling attention to unfair working conditions and our broken immigration system that terrorizes innocent people.

What: VIGIL AND PRESS CONFERENCE

Who: Immigrants, social justice advocates, people of faith and labor unions

When: Wednesday, June 11th, 2008, 10:30 am

Where: Del Monte plant, 9243 N Rivergate Blvd, Portland OR

This morning's press conference and vigil is part of the week of action and prayer for the families torn apart by Fresh Del Monte ICE Raid that occurred one year ago today. On June 11th, 2007, the Fresh Del Monte Produce fruit and vegetable processing plant in North Portland was raided by agents from the Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 167 immigrant workers were torn from their livelihood and their families. Many were taken to a private prison near Tacoma and deported. A small number of women who were pregnant or had very young children were put under house arrest. Today the families are still struggling to rebuild their lives.

Last year, community leaders, elected officials, faith communities and community organizations came together to denounce the raids in a press conference at Fresh Del Monte in North Portland. Portland Mayor Tom Potter at the time denounced such actions by The Department of Homeland Security saying that “Our nation would be better served if this kind of energy was focused on creating a comprehensive approach to immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship; addresses the immigration backlog that keeps families apart.”

Among those to speak today include David Leslie, Executive Director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Margaret Butler, Executive Director of Portland Jobs with Justice, Alice Perry, Immigrant Rights Specialist of American Friends Service Committee, and Rev. Kate Lore, Social Justice Ministry Director of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Portland

Organizations co-sponsoring the week of prayer and action include: Oregon New Sanctuary Movement, with Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, Comite de Solidaridad y Apoyo Mutuo, Jobs with Justice, American Friends Service Committee, Portland Central America Solidarity Committee, Witness for Peace NW, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Bridgeport UCC, Zion UCC, the Jobs with Justice Faith-Labor Committee, CAUSA, Ascension Catholic Church, Peace and Social Concerns Committee of the Multnomah Friends Meeting, the Social Justice Council of the First Unitarian Church, Justice Commission of Ainsworth UCC, and the Justice Witness Ministry Team of the Central Pacific Conference of the UCC.

For more information on the Oregon New Sanctuary Movement, visit www.oregonsanctuary.org or call (503) 550-3510 or email portlandsanctuary@gmail.com.

# # #

Resources:
Let My People Stay Calendar of Events

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Respect for law is founded on a respect for truth

in the news

In an op-ed titled, "Illegal Immigration and Crime" appearing in Sunday's Oregonian yesterday, community volunteer and former attorney, Susheela Jayapal took on the false claims of Richard LaMountain. Last week, in our piece titled, Myths of Illegal Immigration and Crime, we reported on LaMountain's op-ed pointing out his false claims and anti-immigrant agenda.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND CRIME

SUSHEELA JAYAPAL

In his op-ed last Sunday ("Enable state's officers to aid federal enforcement efforts"), Richard LaMountain urged support for a proposed ballot measure beguilingly titled the Respect for Law Act. Among other things, this measure would repeal current Oregon law that prohibits using state law enforcement resources for activities focused solely on enforcing federal immigration law.

To make his case, LaMountain cites an array of statistics that purport to show that we're facing a tidal wave of crime committed by illegal immigrants. Therefore, he argues, local police should make the enforcement of immigration law part of their job. Police departments and organizations (including the Major Cities Chiefs Association, comprising the police chiefs of the 64 largest cities in the country) have strongly opposed measures such as this one, and for good reason.

First, they are unnecessary: Even assuming LaMountain's statistics are correct, local law enforcement agencies already have the authority and the tools to fight crime. Second, requiring local police to enforce immigration law would seriously erode public safety, not improve it. It would divert resources away from traditional police responsibilities, and it would destroy the relationships that urban police departments have built with their immigrant communities, deterring those communities from reporting crime or cooperating with police.

As for those statistics: They're either unsubstantiated or so taken out of context as to have been wrenched from any mooring in the truth.

Take, for example, the claim that illegal immigrants driving drunk kill 13 Americans a day. This claim is apparently based on another statistic frequently cited by U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, and other anti-immigrant zealots -- that 28 percent of all prison and jail inmates in the country are illegal immigrants. This percentage is applied to a federal count of the number of alcohol-related accidents reported in 2004, yielding 13 such accidents a day.

The problem is, that 28 percent number is just plain wrong. In 2005, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that fewer than 7 percent of inmates in federal, state and local prisons and jails were immigrants of any kind, legal or illegal. So that estimate of the number of people killed by drunken illegal immigrants? Also wrong.

One more example: LaMountain cites The Oregonian as reporting last summer that 1,000 of Oregon's prisoners were foreigners. That's true. He neglects to mention, however, that the article in question actually contradicts his position: The headline is "Illegal immigrants aren't filling local jails" (Aug. 19, 2007), and the general thrust of the piece is that crime rates for illegal immigrants "are on a par with the general population."

Respect for the law is founded on respect for the truth. LaMountain's argument in support of the Respect for Law Act is based not on truth, but on rank fear-mongering -- and as such, it deserves no respect.

Susheela Jayapal is a community volunteer and a self-described recovering lawyer. She lives in Northeast Portland.

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Federal judge strikes down immigration-related rental ban

in the news

Judge strikes down suburb's immigration-related rental ban

By ANABELLE GARAY Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — A federal judge found Wednesday that a Dallas suburb's rule prohibiting apartment rentals to illegal immigrants was unconstitutional and could not be enforced.

In his decision, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay concluded only the federal government can regulate immigration. Farmers Branch didn't defer to the federal government in immigration matters. Instead, the city tried to create its own classification to determine which noncitizens could rent in Farmers Branch, the judge said. read on

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