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Appeal Tribune Wednesday, February 8, 2017 3B Speaking up for immigrants, refugees Protesters call for state action at Capitol steps NATALIE PATE STATESMAN JOURNAL Hundreds of people gathered on the Capitol steps Feb. 1 urging the Oregon State Legislature to take action to pro- tect and defend immigrants and refu- gees. President Trump suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days, banned all immigrants from seven Muslim coun- tries — Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Libya — for 90 days, and or- dered his administration to develop “ex- treme vetting” measures for immi- grants from those countries to keep “radical Islamic terrorists” out of the United States. “We want actions ... That’s why we are here today,” said Francisco Lopez, politi- cal director for Voz Hispana, the immi- grant rights organization responsible for organizing the rally. It wants the legislature to agree to spend up to $20 million to pay for law- yers who would help people facing de- portation; the state to sue to stop the president’s executive order on refugees and immigration; sue to stop the feds from defunding sanctuary cities; expand state laws prohibiting local law enforce- ment from aiding deportation efforts; prohibit state law enforcement data- bases from being used in immigration in- vestigations; and assure that victims of racism and discrimination still have full access to state services. The rally coincided with the first day of the Legislative session. “What makes America great is its di- versity,” said Jorge Rodriguez via Lopez translating. “Brothers and sisters, we are not criminals; we are hard working people. We want all cities to be sanctuar- ies.” Protesters held signs Wednesday with messages in support of those al- ready in Oregon and against the Trump administration’s actions, including “To- gether, we rise,” “Oregon will not be- come a cog in the Trump machine,” “Love trumps fear, refugees are wel- come here,” and “Super callous frail rac- ist sexist nazi POTUS.” ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL Asli Ali, 39, of Woodburn, left, and Dana Bliss, 56, of Salem, attend an immigrant and refugee rights rally in response to President Trump’s ban on people entering the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on Feb. 1. Ali is an Arabic and Somali interpretor for local school districts and both women work to help resettle refugees in the Willamette Valley. The crowd listened to speakers from a handful of groups for an hour in the near- ly 40-degree weather before entering the Capitol to deliver the list of demands to representatives and senators. At one point, protesters held hands and cheered, “Sí, se puede,” Spanish for “Yes, it is possible” or “Yes, we can.” Speakers did not mention a specific bill currently facing the legislature they support. Gregory McKelvery, 23, is a law stu- dent and leader for the Portland Resis- tance, an activist group. He said some people were not ableto attend the rally, but he encouraged those who did to network and establish a com- munity for future action. He also spoke to the fear of many peo- ple they will be deported, even if they are here legally. “This is not normal,” he said. “This is not OK.” According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, more than 64,000 refugees have resettled in Oregon since 1975. Most of these refugees initially set- tle in the greater Portland metro area. Currently, the most common refugee groups arriving in Oregon are from Cu- ba, Burma, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq, and Soma- lia. As for immigrants, Oregon is home to more than 391,000 immigrants, making about 10 percent of all Oregonians “for- eign-born.” More than 11 million immigrants are estimated to be living in the United States illegally, according to the PEW Research Center and Migration Policy Institute. By comparison, in 2014, around 47 percent, or 20 million, of all U.S. immi- grants were naturalized U.S. citizens. The remaining 53 percent, or 22.4 mil- lion, included lawful permanent resi- dents, unauthorized immigrants, and le- gal residents on temporary visas, such as students and temporary workers. For more information, contact Voz Hispana by calling 503-884-2679, email- ing vozhispana.woregon@gmail.com. Contact Natalie Pate at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399- 6745, or follow her on Twitter @Natalie mpate and Facebook at www.Face book.com/nataliepatejournalist Hiring freeze: Seasonal firefighters, park rangers exempt ZACH URNESS STATESMAN JOURNAL Thousands of seasonal jobs in the Northwest could be safe after all, follow- ing a clarification of President Donald Trump’s 90-day hiring freeze of civilian federal workers. Park rangers and firefighters hired each summer to serve the nation’s public lands appear to be exempt from the freeze, according to a memo issued Jan. 31 by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. A list of exemptions to the hiring freeze included “seasonal employees and short-term temporary employees neces- sary to meet traditionally recurring sea- sonal workloads,” the statement said. A second exemption said the head of any agency can exempt any position deemed necessary to “meet public safety responsibilities, including essential ac- tivities to the extent that they protect life and property.” Officials at the U.S. Forest Service and interagency departments that hire wildland firefighters couldn’t immedi- ately comment on the clarification. The two exemptions appear to apply to the thousands of people hired each sum- mer in the Northwest by agencies such as the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Man- agement and National Park Service. Last week, Five Oregon lawmakers wrote a letter to the White House ex- pressing concern that enough seasonal workers would be hired in time to fight forest fires. “Without staff in place to prepare for the wildfire season, which is starting ear- lier and earlier every year due to climate change and years of severe drought con- ditions across the country, our forests and communities are put in harm's way,” lawmakers said in a letter to the presi- dent. “Seasonal hiring will be starting soon and uncertainty about how to pro- ceed could have serious impacts on pub- lic safety.” The Forest Service hired about 11,000 seasonal employees in 2015 — about 6,200 of whom were firefighting-related. De- partment of Interior hires "thousands" " "- # #& && '#,& /#+& "- #! VLOYHUWRQDSSHDOFRP +&" & #& /#+& ".* , more for firefighting-related jobs, but an exact number wasn't immediately avail- able, National Interagency Fire Center said. In the Pacific Northwest, the Forest Service and National Park Service previ- ously announced plans to hire 1,250 peo- ple this summer for recreation, visitor services, and engineering. Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for eight years. He is the author of the book “Hiking Southern Oregon” and can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. 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