Judge Prohibits Anti-Immigrant Measure from Taking Effect in Columbia County

Contacts:
Marcy Westerling, Director, Rural Organizing Project, (503) 543-8417 or (503) 543-3647
D. Michael Dale, Executive Director, Northwest Workers' Justice Project, (503) 357-8290
David Fidanque, Executive Director, ACLU of Oregon, (541) 954-7731

Judge Prohibits Measure 5-190 from Taking Effect
Anti-Immigrant Law on Hold Pending Ruling on its Legality

ST. HELENS, Ore. – Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Ted E. Grove today issued a preliminary injunction that will prevent an anti-immigrant ballot measure from taking effect on February 2.

Measure 5-190 was approved by voters in November, but was challenged in court by a coalition of Columbia County business owners and voters who are represented by attorneys for the ACLU of Oregon and the Northwest Workers’ Justice Project.

Columbia County Commissioners approved amendments to the initiative in December which are also at issue in the court challenge. Judge Grove heard arguments in the case from attorneys for more than 90 minutes on Friday morning and indicated that he was approving the injunction while he reviews the issues in more detail. He did not indicate how soon he would issue an opinion on the many legal issues that have been raised by the measure’s opponents.

The ACLU/NWJP challenge contends that Measure 1-590, which would fine employers for hiring or employing undocumented immigrants:

• Exceeds the powers of Columbia County as granted by the state of Oregon;
• Violates the Single Subject requirement of the Oregon Constitution; and
• Is preempted by existing state laws, as well as land-use statutes and regulations.

The coalition includes Rural Organizing Project, Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity, Columbia County business owner and resident Gary Liao, CAUSA Immigrant Rights Coalition and others.

“We are delighted with the court’s ruling today,” said Columbia County business owner Gary Liao, “and we are optimistic the court will make the order permanent sometime soon.”

Measure 5-190 relies on E-Verify, a federal database designed to check employees’ names against Social Security records. That database has proven to be very flawed and ineffective. One transposed digit or misspelled name could flag longtime citizens as “illegal.”

“We hope this court action will be resolved soon so that attention on the immigration issue can be re-directed where it belongs: on the federal government’s responsibility to carry out meaningful immigration reform,” said Marcy Westerling, Director of the Rural Organizing Project in Scappoose. “Having a patchwork of local laws seeking to usurp federal authority on this issue will only create more frustration with federal immigration policy.”

Similar measures in Hazelton, Pa.; Farmers Branch, Texas; Escondido, Calif; and other jurisdictions already have been struck down.

Proponent Wayne Mayo, a local building contractor, has said he modeled the measure on Arizona’s Legal Worker Act. While that law has passed some court scrutiny, it still faces continued challenges regarding its constitutionality. Already, the state there has spent more than $75,000 in legal fees defending the law and has budgeted $2.6 million this fiscal year for enforcement and notification.

Attorneys handling the case are: D. Michael Dale, Steven Goldberg and Meg Heaton for Northwest Workers' Justice Project; ACLU Cooperating Attorneys Bruce L. Campbell and Elisa J. Dozono, both of Miller Nash LLP; Stephen W. Manning of the Immigrant Law Group; and Chin See Ming, Legal Director for the ACLU of Oregon. The complaint asks the court to declare Measure 5-190 invalid and award reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

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Groups Hostile to Immigrants Attempt to pull GOP on their Sinking Ship

According to our allies over at Immigration Impact, during this week’s National Press Club, a panel from two anti-immigrant groups, Team America PAC and American Cause, discussed why they believe the GOP needs an anti-immigrant platform to save the party.

It seems they believe that because the United States is a “majority white nation”, the GOP needs to focus on winning the “white vote”. Needless to say, turn-out to the Press Club event was poor.

Apparently, as a follow-up to the Press Club event, one of the participants, Peter Brimelow will be speaking at a conference in Baltimore titled “Preserving Western Civilization” . He will tackle such issues as “Problems caused by Third-World immigration into Western Countries” and “Racial differences in intelligence, and how to deal with them.”

Brimelow is the founder of VDARE.com named after Viriginia Dare, the first white child born to English parents in the Americas. According to the article, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports that Brimlow published a book that “argues that America is historically white-dominated and should stay that way.” Go figure!

Read the full story over at Immigration Impact.

**UPDATE** An Editorial ran in Sunday's Edition of the New York Times titled "The Nativists Are Restless" discussing the National Press Club event among other aspects to those hostile to immigrants.

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Senate Passes Health Insurance for Children of Immigrant Families

Yesterday, SCHIP, or the State Children's Health Insurance Program, passed the U.S. Senate by 66 to 32 and will now be signed into law. SCHIP assists states in providing health insurance for families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to buy private health insurance.

Included in the bill was full provision for children of immigrant families. The passage of SCHIP with this provision is a great victory for immigrant families and immigrant rights advocates.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures:

“One in five children under age 18 (14 million) is either an immigrant or is a member of an immigrant family...and are more likely than those with U.S.-born parents to live in poverty and are less likely to have health insurance and to receive medical care.”

The lack of access to healthcare for the children in immigrant families means:

“that these children are " ... less likely to receive timely care for acute conditions (such as ear infections, injuries, or communicable diseases), less likely to have their chronic conditions (such as asthma or diabetes) diagnosed and appropriately managed, and less likely to receive preventive care." The lack of primary and preventive care is also potentially costly by allowing disease to become more serious and resulting in the increased use of hospital emergency rooms.”

The passage of the SCHIP bill yesterday is expected to change all that.

The bill didn’t pass without opposition from Republicans. National Public Radio reported on Tuesday that Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opposed coverage for children of immigrant families without a five year waiting period.

The bill will now go on to President Obama’s desk for signature early next week.

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Senator Gillibrand to Revisit Views on Immigration

“If Gov. David Paterson wanted to deliver a slap to immigrant New Yorkers, he effectively did so with his appointment yesterday of Representative Kirsten Gillibrand,” -- El Diario La Prensa, Spanish-language daily 1/24/2009

The criticism taken by New York's El Diario La Prensa in their Sunday edition has been a common theme around the nation in the days following Representative Kristen Gillibrand being named to fill the vacant Senate seat left by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Over the last year, Gillibrand, a Democrat representing New York’s 20th Congressional District, gained much attention over her troubling positions and voting record on immigration. On Friday, the New York Immigration Coalition issued a press release highlighting Gillibrand’s voting record and calling on her to:

“form a strong partnership with immigrant communities and fight for fairer immigration policies, so that families need not endure endless separations, and so that immigrant workers who risk everything in order to make a better life for their families are recognized for their inherent dignity and for their contributions to the U.S. economy”.

Since being sworn in on Tuesday, Senator Gillibrand has attempted to calm criticisms over her past positions on immigration. According to an article in yesterday's New York Times, Senator Gillibrand will “revisit” some of her positions on Immigration now that she “represents the whole state”. It is also being reported that she is reaching out to Hispanic elected officials and pledging to reconsider some of her positions.

As many are pointing out in the blogosphere and in the media, Senator Gillibrand needs to decide how she will best move away from her past troubling position on immigration. As Immigration Lawyer and blogger, Greg Siskind put it “Gillibrand's problem right now is that she needs to figure out how to move away from prior positions without seeming like a total flip-flopper (which is probably unavoidable)”.

We will be following this story closely in the weeks to come.

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Breakthrough Releases Two New Immigration Videos

Breakthrough (www.breakthrough.tv) has just released two powerful new immigration videos:

Juana Villegas: A Pregnant Woman Detained Watch Juana relate the trauma of being shackled and detained while giving birth. She was nine months pregnant when stopped for "careless driving”, but instead of receiving a customary citation, she was shackled and detained, and remained shackled while giving birth. All this because of agreement 287(g) between local police and federal immigration authorities.

Ali: An HIV+ Man Suffers in Detention Ali has been living in New York city for 30 years with a green card. Life changed when he spent more than a year in immigrant detention where he witnessed the worst kind of physical abuse and medical mistreatment, including constantly fighting to get his HIV medication. Despite all this, Ali reaffirms that “life is beautiful”!

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The Federalization of Oregon State Government

By Francisco Lopez

It's ironic that some State Legislators are promoting the concept that state government should take on the role of the federal government. Thelma Guerrero's article published on the Salem Statesman Journal on 1/24/08 "Real ID Act's future in state still uncertain: Legislature might address the standards to gain an extension" demonstrates the tension that this dysfunctional law is creating in the halls of the Oregon State Capitol.

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) was mandated by the 2008 "experimental" Legislative Session to provide a report to evaluate the impact of the new drivers' license requirements. The DMV staff has developed a draft outline of this report. The outline lists the customer impact of the tightened identity requirements such as the need for documents proving legal presence and difficulties obtaining legal name change documents. In the future, it is anticipated that the DMV will use electronic verification of immigration documents, and will issue "limited-term" licenses, permits and ID cards to temporary residents effective January 1, 2010.

Future legislative reports by DMV will record the impacts of state law on the number of unlicensed drivers, uninsured drivers, accidents involving injuries or fatalities to unlicensed or uninsured drivers, and multiple passenger accidents related to the transportation of laborers. The new system is expensive. The DMV s is requesting more than $10 million in the state budget to continue the implementation of their Federal duties.

Our state budget shortfall will probably reach $2 billion dollars, which has resulted in a governor's budget that would cut basic services to the elderly and the disabled. With the state unemployment rate at 9% it is outrageous that DMV is forced to ask for new state revenue for a dysfunctional program created by the Bush-Cheney administration. Hopefully President Obama will fix or eliminate all together the Real ID Act. In the meantime, state legislators should consider holding back on full state implementation of the federal act.

How we will pay for this new system? Very simple: through the Governor's proposed increase of DMV fees for titling and registering vehicles. If signed into law, according to the DMV, the proposal would raise title fees from $55.00 for a passenger vehicle to $110.00. Registration fees for passenger vehicles would increase from $27.00 a year to $81.00, mopeds from $15.00 a year to $45.00, and motorcycles from $15.00 a year to $45.00. There is also a one-time title fee that would be assessed based on the combined estimated miles per gallon of the vehicle being titled. One-time title fees would be either $50 or $100, depending on the mileage rating of the vehicle. The custom (vanity) plate fee would also increase from $25.00 to $50.00 per year.

The traditional opponents of less government intervention and red-tape, more local control, and downsizing government are doing the opposite these days by asking the State to increase their bureaucratic system by agreeing to have the state take on the role of federal agencies. If we want to fix the problem with undocumented migration we should improve our immigration system and fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy to increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.

Comprehensive immigration reform will bring people out of the shadows and support a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens. It would allow us to work with Mexico to promote economic development and to decrease undocumented immigration to the US.

Francisco Lopez is the Director of CAUSA, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Coalition.

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Author David Bacon to Discuss How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants

Tonight writer and photojournalist David Bacon will do a presentation on his book “Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants”.

In his book, Bacon explores the human side of globalization, exposing the many ways it uproots people in Latin America and Asia, driving them to migrate. At the same time, U.S. immigration policy makes the labor of those displaced people a crime in the United States. Illegal People explains why our national policy produces even more displacement, more migration, more immigration raids, and a more divided, polarized society.

ILLEGAL PEOPLE: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants

Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location:
University of Oregon Law School
1515 Agate St (Agate & 15th)
Eugene, OR 97403
MAP

David Bacon is a writer and photojournalist based in Oakland and Berkeley, California. He is an associate editor at Pacific News Service, and writes for TruthOut, The Nation, The American Prospect, The Progressive, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications. He has been a reporter and documentary photographer for 18 years, shooting for many national publications. He has exhibited his work nationally, and in Mexico, the UK and Germany.

FLYER

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Over Twelve-Hundred Pro-Immigrant Groups Sign Letter to New Administration

This release comes from our partners at the the National Immigration Forum. The National Immigration Forum is the leading immigrant advocacy organization in the country with a mission to advocate for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation.

For Immediate Release
January 22, 2009
Contact: Katherine Vargas (kvargas@immigrationforum.org)
(202) 383-5987 or (202) 641-5198 (mobile)

Over Twelve-Hundred Pro-Immigrant Groups Sign Letter to New Administration

President Obama, Secretary Napolitano: Welcome to D.C.
Here Are Some Things We Think You Should Do...
Washington, DC - Over 1,200 advocacy groups delivered a letter to the Obama Administration outlining priorities for immigration reform from the pro-immigrant, pro-immigration perspective. The letter stressed the urgency with which the new Administration should approach immigration reform legislatively and administratively, noting that efforts to address the many ills facing our immigration system have become the victim of gridlock in Washington for too long.

"Over the last eight years, immigrants and their families, employers and workers alike, have suffered from our nation's inability to find common ground on the issue of immigration reform," states the letter, which was signed by groups in 39 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

Noting the President's background and the new era his presidency signals, the letter says, "As the son of a Kenyan national and a woman from Kansas, you validate the American dream and we believe that your victory represents a triumph for tolerance and hope."

Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, the non-partisan advocacy group that helped coordinate the collection of signatures from groups nationwide, said he hopes the Administration acts swiftly to address the most egregious problems with the enforcement practices and last minute regulatory changes of the previous Administration, but noted there is only so much President Obama and his team can do on their own.

"While President Obama can address some matters administratively, ultimately the President must propose and the Congress must enact meaningful, broad immigration reform to bring order to the current chaos," Noorani said. "Reform that is fair, respects the rights of immigrants and non-immigrants, strengthens our economy, reduces the black market, and gets immigrants and employers playing by one set of enforceable rules should be the goal. We know what needs to be done, now we have to summon the political will and focus the President's political muscle on making it happen."

"The urgency for reform cannot be overstated," the letter says. "Unless and until we recalibrate our policies, all Americans' rights will be at risk, our communities will be divided and the power of our nation's fundamental principle of E Pluribus Unum compromised."

The letter, delivered late last week to the President's transition team, is part of a broad effort to bring together immigrants, advocacy and civil rights organizations, faith leaders, employers and trade associations, and labor unions in an effort to enact immigration reform as quickly as possible.

"In the 2008 elections, immigrant voters and their families turned out across the nation in unprecedented numbers. They were inspired by your message, including your commitment to a comprehensive reform of our nation's immigration system. The reform challenge is formidable, but so is our resolve," the letter states.

Copies of the letter are available here.

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Pro-Immigrant Advocates Call for a Moratorium on Raids and Deportations

On Wednesday, over 300 immigrant supporters and religious leaders from across the country marched on the headquarters of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in Washington D.C. Participants called on the Obama Adminsitration to declare an immediate moratorium on deportations and immigration raids. read more

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Photos from PCUN Inauguration Celebration

Over 50 people gathered at the PCUN Union Hall in Woodburn on Tuesday to watch the live-broadcast of the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

For more on, check out the article at the Salem Statesman Journal: Diverse group gathers to celebrate in Woodburn

More photos

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Inaugural Address of President Barack Obama

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Video: Barack Hussein Obama Sworn in as 44th President

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Fundraiser to Send Delegation to El Salvador

Next month, delegates from the SHARE Foundations are holding a film festival fundraiser to help fund their groups visit to El Salvador. The two movies that will be shown are "Made in L.A." and "May Justice Be Done".

All proceeds from the movie ticket sales and donations will go to send the delegation examine the impacts of CAFTA on El Salvadorians. While in El Salvador, delegation members will also act as monitors during the El Savadorian Presidential Election. Download Flyer
Saturday, February 21, 2009
10:45 AM
Film: Made in L.A.
Location: Salem Cinema, 455 High Street, Salem
Admission: $8.00


Sunday, February 22, 2009
10:45AM
Film: May Justice Be Done
Location: Salem Cinema, 455 High Street, Salem
Admission: $8.00

SHARE supports the empowerment of historically impoverished and marginalized communities, as they strive to meet both their most immediate needs and construct long-term sustainable solutions to the problems of poverty, underdevelopment and social injustice.

For more information on this event or about the SHARE Foundation, contact Bryn at 503.949.8182 or visit www.share-elsalvador.org

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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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Bush Warns GOP about appearing Anti-immigrant

The New York Times reports that during an interview with Brit Hume for Fox News Sunday, President Bush warned his fellow Republicans against appearing “anti-immigrant” while admitting his party got "whipped in 2008".

“Look, obviously we got whipped in 2008, and there will be a new wave of leadership arriving on the scene,” Mr. Bush said. “But it’s very important for our party not to narrow its focus, not to become so inward-looking that we drive people away from a philosophy that is compassionate and decent.”

“We should be open-minded about big issues like immigration reform, because if we’re viewed as anti-somebody — in other words, if the party is viewed as anti-immigrant — then another fellow may say, well, if they’re against the immigrant, they may be against me.”

President Bush along with allies from his party warned time and again that those within the Republican Party opposed to comprehensive immigration reform ran the risk of alienating immigrants. Exited polls from November's election shows that President Bush's fears were correct with a large majority of Latinos turning out to support Democrats.

For more on the story, link here.

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Anti-undocumented Immigration Activist Speaks Against Racism

Hat tip to "I am a Shadow", a self described “undocumented university student”.

Rob Pearson, founder of the Pro-America Society, gives a glimpse into the world of those that promote hate towards undocumented immigrants. Pearson organized the ProAmerica Rally that took place in Morristown New Jersey in July 2007. Pearson has since taken down his website and now speaks up for those he once railed against.

Listen to his story on the two part video series below.

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E-Verify is Bye-bye for Now

January 15th was supposed to be the deadline for government contractors to have to start using E-Verify to check the eligibility of employees to work in the United States. According to Federal Times and Portland Business Journal, the requirement has been postponed until February 20th due to a lawsuit filed by the United States Chamber of Commerce and four other business groups.

E-Verify has come under scrutiny by those on both sides of the aisle. Studies have shown that U.S. citizens and/or legal U.S. workers could be denied employment and a paycheck because the government database contains an error.

For more on the suspension of the program, visit Federal Times and Portland Business Journal.

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Immigration Reform is Doable, A Key Symbol of Change

This release comes from our partners at the National Immigration Forum. The National Immigration Forum is the nation’s premier immigrant rights organization. The Forum is dedicated to embracing and upholding America’s tradition as a nation of immigrants. The Forum advocates and builds public support for public policies that welcome immigrants and refugees and are fair to and supportive of newcomers to our country. For more information visit www.immigrationforum.org.

For Immediate Release
January 8, 2009

Contact:
Douglas Rivlin
(202) 383-5989 or
(202) 441-0680 (mobile)

Immigration Reform is Doable, A Key Symbol of Change, Say Religious, Labor, Latino, and Immigrant Advocacy Leaders

Washington, DC – Key leaders who will be pushing the new Administration and Congress to enact immigration reform expressed optimism that broad reforms thwarted in recent years in Congress can and will be passed this year. Speaking on a conference call for reporters organized by the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington, the speakers, representing a diverse spectrum of constituencies engaged in immigration reform efforts, said comprehensive immigration reform remains an important priority for the country and that they were encouraged by early indications coming from the President-elect and Congressional leadership that reform was achievable.

The speakers included Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who has been an outspoken advocate for immigration reform that includes legal status for undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria and a critic of immigration raids which split up families. He was joined by John Wilhelm, President/Hospitality Industry, UNITE HERE!, a union that has lead others in labor in supporting immigration reform and which represents garment workers, hotel and restaurant employees, and other workers in heavily immigrant industries. Latino civil rights leader Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, a leading Latino civil rights organization, also spoke; as did long-time pro-immigrant leader Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, an advocacy organization supporting comprehensive immigration reform. The call was moderated by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum.

“Our current immigration policies—intermittent worksite raids, local law enforcement involvement, and a wall along our southern border, among other enforcement actions---have lead to the separation of immigrant families, an increase in fear and mistrust of law enforcement in immigrant communities, and discord and violence along our southern border,” said Cardinal Mahony.

“As a nation, we cannot have it both ways,” he continued. “We cannot accept the toil and taxes of immigrants while relegating them to a permanent underclass subject to abuse and exploitation. The issue of immigration is an economic and social issue, for sure, but ultimately is a humanitarian one and should be viewed through that lens.”

“The American people have embraced the proposition that has always been true about our country: that we will succeed as a nation if we put our divisions aside and work together,” said John Wilhelm, President Hospitality Industry, UNITE HERE! “As we work to rebuild this country, it is important that all workers and all employers are on an even playing field. We will not fix this country if we are not all in this together.”

“The face of America has always had immigrant features and the way we treat immigrants and approach their integration into U.S. society holds important implications for the future progress of the country,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (www.nclr.org), a Latino civil rights organization. “Reform it not only possible, we as a nation are ready to do it.”

“The nation’s dysfunctional immigration system is a symbol of how our leaders have failed to tackle and solve tough problems,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice. “We are hopeful and confident that this year immigration reform will become a symbol of a new commitment to delivering on the promise of change.”

“Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is reportedly already talking to his caucus about immigration reform. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) included an immigration bill as one of his first ten bills; a traditional sign from Senate leadership that it sees the issue as a top priority,” said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum. “Immigration is shaping up as an issue on which the new President and the new Congress can come to agreement in a bipartisan manner and actually accomplish something.”

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New Portland Hire Site Video Released Today

Portland Voz Workers' Rights Education Project came out with this new video advertisement for their Day Labor Hire Site located in NE Portland. Link here to watch.

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Vote To Pass the DREAM Act

Today begins the first day of the final round of voting at change.org to pass the Dream Act and support higher education for ALL students. The last day to cast your vote is January 15 by no later than 5:00pm ET. Change.org will present its top 10 "ideas for change" to the Obama administration on January 16th at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The fact is many American students graduate from college and high school each year, and face a roadblock to their dreams: they can't drive, can't work legally, can't further their education, and can't pay taxes to contribute to the economy just because they were brought to this country illegally by their parents or lost legal status along the way.

Utah's Senior Republican Senator Orrin Hatch had this to say about the situation affecting these students:

“In short, although these children have built their lives here, they have no possibility of achieving and living the American dream. What a tremendous loss for them, and what a tremendous loss to our society.”

The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), is a bipartisan legislation that would permit these students conditional legal status and eventual citizenship granted that they meet ALL the following requirements:

--if they were brought to the United States before they turned 16, are below the age of 30,
--have lived here continuously for five years,
--graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained a GED
--have good moral character with no criminal record and
--attend college or enlist in the military.

For more on the DREAM Act and to cast your vote, visit change.org at this link

Hat tip to Jennifer McFadyen at About.com for letting us know about the DREAM Act vote at change.org. Read more from Jennifer at her Immigration Issues Blog at www. immigration.about.com

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Join CAUSA for Presidential Inauguration Festivities

CAUSA, PCUN, and VOZ HISPANA invite the public and media to join them in being a part of history and celebrate the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, the son of an immigrant from Africa and a white woman from Kansas.

Hope is very much alive among the people of civil society organizations in Oregon and the United States. This is a great inspiration. The movement that President-elect Obama started is an opportunity for deep racial reconciliation and social justice for all. It is an opportunity to welcome the immigrant in our midst and a time to reject the culture of hate. The time to build a lasting culture of hospitality and reconciliation is now.

Presidential Inauguration Festivities at PCUN
Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Time: All Day starting at 8:30AM
Location: PCUN Union Hall, 300 Young Street, Woodburn, Oregon

This opportunity demands strong leadership from all of us. We stand committed to assist our new President to work on a Comprehensive Immigration Reform program that will help 12 million of undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and start the path to citizenship.

Schedule of Activities:

8:30 am-- Witness Broadcast of Inaugural Ceremony and join in conversation with other members of the Latino Community. We will have a large TV, Mexican pastries and Coffee.

5:30 pm—FIESTA with delicious Mexican food from the Woodburn area and Latin American music.

For more information please call: (503) 982-0243 or (503) 269-5694

¡SI SE PUEDE! Yes We Can!

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