Causa Comment on Measure 105 Defeat

Photo Credit: ACLU of Oregon

On November 6, 2018 Oregon voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure 105, an attempt to eliminate Oregon's 31 year old sanctuary law. Andrea Williams, Causa's Executive Director made the following statement.

"The overwhelming defeat of Measure 105 has made Oregon a stronger and better state than it was before.  It showed that love, fairness, and unity wins, and the politics of hate and fear ultimately lose. Oregon voters sent a loud and clear message, Trump’s radical immigration policies have no place in Oregon."

"In 2014, we faced a similar ballot measure campaign. It was brought by the same anti-immigrant hate group. It was part of their same strategy to single people out because of who they are and what they look like."

"Unfortunately, we learned the hard way just how organized and loud they can be. They beat us by a 32-point margin in 2014."

"After that loss four years ago, we were in pain, but we were resilient. We came out of that campaign stronger, more organized and more motivated than before. We promised to never let something like that happen again."

"Causa worked night and day to grow our grassroots movement through the One Oregon coalition. We knew we might have to face a similar battle again, and when we did, we were going to be ready."

"So, this time around, when immigrant rights were attacked at the ballot again, we were prepared. We were battle tested. We ran a phenomenal campaign. And we won!"

"We turned a 32-point margin of loss four years ago into a 25-point margin of victory in 2018. It shows how much of a difference we’ve made."

"We showed that when we’re under attack, we only grow stronger, we unite, and we win"

"But we still have a long way to go, there is still so much more to do to make Oregon the best, most inclusive state it can be."

"We are going to keep fighting for our rights, because immigrant families still don’t have the dignity and respect they deserve. This won’t be the last time we see an attempt to strip away our rights at the ballot.  And meanwhile, Trump is still pushing policies that break apart families and leave children detained."

"We’ll have some announcements soon about what’s next for Causa and our coalition."

"But today we celebrate. We’ve made tremendous progress, and we are only going to keep growing our movement."

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Cristina Marquez, the No on 105 Campaign Manager made the follow remarks. 

"When the anti-immigrant group qualified a measure for the ballot, the first thing I thought about was my family. Their lives were on the line with Measure 105. So were the lives of my friends, my colleagues and my immigrant community."

"Measure 105 was a statement by this hate group that people like me aren’t welcome here. That I wasn’t an Oregonian. And I know I wasn’t the only one who felt that way."

"Then I thought about how much work we had ahead of us. I remembered how difficult it was to change hearts and minds around Measure 88 and how devastating that loss was."

"I had to do something. We had to do something."

"Leading this campaign was tough — I’d never run a campaign at this scale before, and I carried the weight knowing that so many people I love and care about would have been harmed if Measure 105 passed. It was a lot of responsibility, and failure wasn’t an option."

"We were up against an anti-immigrant hate group. Then ICE stepped in last minute to drum up anti-immigrant sentiments. President Trump whipped up anti-immigrant fear, peddling conspiracy theories and fake policies."

"It was hard. We cried, we laughed, we got drenched in wind storms. We had difficult conversations with our neighbors."

"So this is what we did to win:

• We helped build one of largest and most inclusive campaign teams in Oregon history, led by people of color, women, LGBTQ folks, and immigrants and children of immigrants. 
• We grew our coalition to over 500 endorsers with everyone from law enforcement, labor, small and large businesses, advocacy organizations, and frontline communities.
• We raised money from more than 1,500 individual donors across the state.
• We filled more than 5,000 volunteer shifts 
• We knocked on nearly half a million doors through a unified strategy. 
• We organized volunteers everywhere from Hermiston to Bend to Eugene, Astoria, Ontario -- places all across the state."

"And most importantly, in this campaign we shared our stories of struggle and resilience and through them changed hearts and minds - showing the nation that in Oregon we believe in fairness and we welcome immigrants."

"What I’m most proud about is how my family and my community came forward. My mom appeared in an ad. Even my 6-year-old sister went canvassing. This victory was a community effort. We worked night and day to change the hearts and minds of Oregonians and today we succeeded!"

"We have a long way to go until immigrants have the opportunities and resources needed to thrive, but we are one big step closer, and today it makes me proud to call Oregon my home."

"Please commit to staying with us to continue this work. President Trump isn’t backing down, and we can’t either. The work we’re doing now is essential. You saw how your work made a difference. We could not have done it without you. Thank you for bringing us to victory!"

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