13-19, 2016
E d it o r ia l
Anti-immigration proposals unworthy of Oregon
Page
Write in
if you would like
to have
ate speech has always been a part of
citizenry, it’s an issue of voter suppression.
our public discourse, but this year it
And it vilifies immigrants as culprits in a
seems to swell with added oomph,
virtually nonexistent crime.
energized by a foul whiff of validation from But perhaps the most nefarious measure
our national electoral debates.
is the one requiring all businesses to use the
I t gets tempered for the more liberal
federal program E-Verify to determine a
and dog-whistled worker’s employment eligibility. It’s basically
H
EDITORIAL
a massive list of every eligible worker in the
“
' b u tit's
United States, along with their personal
This year, as in
information, such as Social Security number,
years past, immigration address, work history, etc. Run by the
is the boogeyman of choice.
federal government, it’s a bureaucratic
Oregon is no exception when it comes to
behemoth and a hacker’s wet dream
the rash of efforts to freeze out immigrants,
Moreover, E-Verify is a cumbersome
particularly those who are undocumented -
program that would be a burden on small
which is a lowly civil offense, by
businesses. And with its
the way; not a crime.
reported rate of error, it could
There are three such
be a devastating obstacle for an
initiatives trying to make their
"These proposals otherwise eligible worker if their
way toward the November
name comes up as a
are the latest
ballot They span voting rights,
attempts to use “nonconfirmation.”
employment opportunities and
Regardless, an additional hoop
government communications.
the politics of
won’t mean anything for the
' You will probably be hearing
hate and fear
businesses already not following
more about them on the streets
mongering to pit laws and hiring undocumented
of Portland as the petition
workers.
Oregonian
season ramps up.
Across the state, organizations
against
While anti-immigrant
have come together to speak out
Oregonian."
measures are unlikely to pass
against these measures,
in Multnomah County, if they
? - D A V iO R O G E R S
including the American Civil
make it to the ballot they will
E X E C U T IV E D IR E C T O R
Liberties Union of Oregon.
QF A C LU OF O REGO N
be voted on by all Oregonians.
X
In 2014, Oregon voters killed
Measure 88, with 66 percent
voting to deny undocumented
immigrants drivers licenses.
Listen carefully to what the pitch is really
about.
Let’s start with the issue of ;.
communication. One initiative proposal
would allow Oregon governments to use only
English in thèir communications. Currently
there are local, state and federal
requirements surrounding language usage by
government. We live in a vibrant multi
national city, made all the better for its mix
of cultures and diversity, and language is one
of the purest forms of culture. Learning a
new one can take years.
This language proposal addresses n a
problem. Rather it is designed to shut out
people from civic affairs. It seeks to foster
division, confusion and alienation among
Oregonians. But they probably won’t say that
when they ask for your signature.
Equally nonsensical is an initiative
proposal to make voters prove their
citizenship before casting their ballots, with
the idea of preventing voter fraud.
It’s well documented that what voter fraud
actually does exist isn’t being perpetrated by
individuals - the voters - but by people in
power. Voters hàve been purged from the
rolls wholesale in recent elections,most
recently in Brooklyn, where hundreds had
their votes dropped from the count
This initiative isn’t just an issue of
“These proposals are the
latest attempts to use the
politics of hate and fear
m ongering to pi t Oregonian again s t
Oregonian,” said David Rogers, executive
director of ACLU of Oregon.
Our cover story features the people who
are getting their U.S. citizenship - many
after decades of living and working in the
United States. There are many reasons for :
the delay, but this year, they’re seeing ’
another reason to push forward. Instead of
being frozen out, they are working to use
politics against fear.
One out of 10 Oregonians are foreign-born
immigrants, and more than one-third of
them are already naturalized citizens,
according to the American Immigration
Council.
Like any selection of our population they
are an economic powerhouse with billions of
dollars worth of consumer muscle and
business enterprise.
Let’s stop treating people - friends,
neighbors and coworkers - like they are the
enemy. That goes for people who are in
poverty, for people who are struggling, for
people who are breaking the molds and
challenging the status quo.
“Embracing the values on inclusivity and
diversity are an essential ingredient to
ensuring Oregon can thrive,” said Rogers.
We all know this. So let’s dispense with
the anti-immigration platform. It is, after all,
fundamentally anti-American.
Poverty
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