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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2018)
Street Roots • July 6-12, 2018 News Page 11 P H O T O S B Y D IE G O D IA Z A t left, Oregon Rep. Diego Hernandez (D-EastPortland), along with other members o f Oregon Legislature, called for the abolition ofU.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement outside Portland City Hall on June 24. A t right, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) (center) and U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (DOre.) (left) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) (right) a t the Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution during a press conference on June 16. Blum enauer said the immigrant and asylum-seeking men he met inside the prison that day seemed “shell-shocked.” ICE, from page 10 branch of government was created. Blumenauer voted against the Homeland Security Act, he said, because “it was being rushed in the aftermath of 9/11, and I just didn’t think it was focused, and I didn’t think we knew what we were doing.” He said his concerns have been justified in the years since. “We’ve lurched ahead in the name of ‘national security and terrorist threats,’ doing lots of things that don’t have much to do with terrorism.” ICE has been at the receiving end of criticism from immigrants’ rights groups for the duration of fts 15-year existence, with critics taking issue with the way the agency treats immigrants as national security threats while the private prison industry profits off their incarceration. Now that the Abolish ICE movement has gone mainstream, Hernandez said it’s those organizations that should be at the forefront, directing the movement’s messaging and focus. “I’m not sure if that’s the case right now,” he said. But to address immigration in a way that factors in human rights, U.S. policies extending beyond the abolition of ICE will need to be reconsidered. Blumenauer said he’s been pointing out for years that the U.S. is partially to blame for the mass migration to its borders from Latin America in the first place. He points to U.S. interference in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and the failed War on Drugs. “We have responsibility to try and moderate it to try and make things better, he said. “It’s one of the reasons we need to reform our failed drug laws. We still have a vast black market for marijuana in this country that funds some of the cartel violence. We haven’t been as aggressive as we should have been in terms of the economic development of that region. We need to spend more on trying to strengthen civil society rather than having punitive drug policies.” While the abolition of ICE may be a goal for the future, Hernandez said there is plenty of work to do now on the local level. “We can scream at the top of our lungs about what the federal government is doing, and there is stuff here that we’re not looking at in terms of immigrant rights in this state,” he said. Given Oregon’s overwhelming rejection of Ballot Measure 88 four years ago, which would have allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers’ cards, “we know that this state is still not friendly or pro-immigrants’ rights,” said Hernandez, As ICE ramps up raids and arrests, not having the ability to drive legally in Oregon ■poses an extra threat - not to mention added fear - of detainment to undocumented immigrants who live here. He said when state and local agencies entertain contracts with ICE, such as the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections facility (NORCOR) in The Dalles and up until June 25, the Springfield jail, it sends a message to immigrant communities that “in Oregon, we do business with ICE.” He said .three main areas of local focus should be to get NORCOR to cancel their Friday, July 20 The Zodiac Klki Ball (AH ages) A portion of proceeds, from ticket sales will benefit Pueblo Unido’s legal Every evening defense fund supporting Portland- Vigil at Occupy ICE PDX metro community members facing Organizers have asked for additional community support, as they continue • deportation.Visit Eventbrite.com for tickets and more information. their mission to camp outside the 8 p.m. to 1:30 a«m. Southwest Portland fCE office until .... Portland Art Museum Portland is rid of ICE, Fred & Suzanne Fields Ballroom 1219 SW Park Ave. 4310 SW Macadam Ave. Portland, Ore. Portland, Ore. Show up: Saturday, July 28 Every Sunday Six Course Peruvian Popup Vigil near Sheridan Federal In celebration of Peruvian Correctional Institution Independence Day, a special six- Where immigrant and asylum-seeking men are being detained under U.S. - : course, plant-based dinner by Chef Ant S. A portion of the proceeds . Immigrations and Customs . . . . , ■ going to. benefit Pueblo Unidd’s legal Enforcement.. . . . . . defense fund supporting Portland- 4 to 5:30 p.m. metro community members, facing South Side Park Fishing Pond deportation. Visit eatfeastiy.com for Sheridan, Ore. more information and tickets ($60) 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, July 15 Desayuno, a Mexico City-inspired Feastly S il! Q19 SF Hawthorne Blvd. popup brunch1 . Featuring food from Ben Morris, cocktails from Justin Garcidiaz and , music from Cdast2C, AH proceeds . benefit PuebloOnido’slegal.defense * . fund supporting Portiandmietro community members facing Tzs th* lonoi Hatenoo nf refuaees9and asvlum seekers beinq deportation. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. r X X S 5 5 2 C o™ o ta ” ’ S t Jack 1610 NW 23rd Ave. Portland, Ore. Give* contract with ICE, give immigrants more opportunities to succeed - through drivers licenses and giving undocumented students the ability to pay for higher education - and defeating Initiative Petition 22, which seeks to repeal Oregon’s sanctuary-state status on the November ballot, should its proponents gather enough signatures. emi ly@streetroots. org @greenwrites To the defense of ICE-detained immigrants who live in the Portfand- metro area by donating to Pueblo Unido at Venmo.com (search for @PuebloUnido-PDX) or by mailing a check to 17405 NE Glisan St., Portland, OR 97230. Your time or donations to local organizations that support Oregon’s immigrant communities. Causa and Latino Network have been advocating for and providing services to Oregon’s Latinx communities for years. Visit causa.org and latnetorg Divest: ■11 From financial institutions that support the private prison industry that’s profiting from the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Visit enlaceintl.org to learn more about Enlace’s National Prison ■ download a campaign toolkit. ‘ ' “A B ill The One Oregon Coalition. This is a broad coalition of more than 100 Oregon organizations ail united s s ^ x sS 6afc' ,n“ su' “ -
