NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Crime by foreigners fuels sanctuary state debate in Oregon
of July 1, accord-
ing to David Olen
Cross, who vol-
untarily compiles
data and shares
his
information
with lawmakers,
law enforcement,
media and others.
All had Immi-
gration and Cus- Vargas
toms Enforcement
detainers on them, said
Cross, who compiles data
from ICE and the state cor-
rections department for his
reports.
ICE
spokeswoman
Carissa Cutrell said her
agency “only lodges detain-
ers on individuals who are
subject to removal, mean-
ing these individuals vio-
lated the terms of their
lawful status or are in the
country illegally.”
The biggest share of for-
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
SALEM — A man sus-
pected of being in the
United States illegally ran
a red light while drunk on
a street in Oregon’s state
capital and crashed into a
motorcycle carrying a man
and woman, killing them
both, authorities said.
A judge set bail for Edu-
ardo de la Lima Vargas at
$500,000 on Wednesday,
saying he’s a threat to soci-
ety and a flight risk. The
Mexican man was sent back
to the Marion County jail,
joining the hundreds behind
bars in Oregon who fed-
eral immigration authorities
believe are deportable.
Of the 14,916 inmates
in Oregon Department of
Corrections prisons, 943
were foreign nationals as
eign national pris-
oners — 229 —
resided in Marion
County,
Cross
said. The county
includes the state
capital of Salem
and many His-
panic communi-
ties and is heavily
agricultural.
Cases
such
as the one involving de la
Lima Vargas are fueling a
debate ahead of the Novem-
ber election, when voters
will decide whether Oregon
should repeal its sanctuary
state law, the nation’s old-
est. It prevents law enforce-
ment from detaining people
who are in the United States
illegally but have not bro-
ken other laws.
De la Lima Vargas was
intoxicated on Aug. 19
when he drove a pickup
truck pulling a loaded horse
trailer through a red light in
Salem and struck a motor-
cycle that Logan and Jes-
sica Wilson were riding on,
killing the Salem couple,
prosecutors said.
De la Lima Vargas is
charged with two counts of
manslaughter, driving under
the influence, reckless driv-
ing and recklessly endan-
gering another person.
“There is no question
in my mind that there is a
danger to the public if Mr.
Vargas is released,” Judge
David Leith said at Wednes-
day’s bail hearing. “Cir-
cumstances also suggest
some real risk of flight.”
Court-appointed defense
attorney Manuel Perez said
de la Lima Vargas came to
the United States 18 years
ago, and had gone back
to Jalisco, Mexico, for
six of those years. He was
self-employed,
working
construction with a friend,
Perez said.
De la Lima Vargas was
barely audible when he
agreed to waive his right to
a speedy trial.
On Aug. 23, ICE lodged
an immigration detainer on
de la Lima Vargas, saying
he is illegally residing in the
United States. But the jail
won’t accept ICE detain-
ers without a criminal war-
rant issued by a magistrate
judge, ICE officials say.
“Sanctuary policies not
only provide a refuge for
illegal aliens, but they also
shield criminal aliens who
prey on people in their own
and other communities,”
ICE said in a statement.
Advocates of Oregon’s
1987 sanctuary law accuse
its detractors of seizing upon
criminals in the country ille-
gally to push their case for
supporting a repeal of the
sanctuary state law. Most
immigrants are law-abid-
ing, fill jobs that U.S. citi-
zens often don’t want, and
contribute to society, they
say.
Those who support
the 1987 law say if it is
repealed, Latinos and others
would be subjected to racial
profiling by law enforce-
ment, and that people in the
country illegally would be
reluctant to report crimes,
fearing deportation.
Those who support
repeal, including 16 of Ore-
gon’s 36 sheriffs, say respect
for the law is paramount.
Marion County Sheriff
Jason Myers was among the
majority of sheriffs who did
not sign an open letter sup-
porting repeal.
Gov. Kate Brown, Knute Buehler eye Medicaid funding gap
state and federal govern-
ment and provides coverage
to low-income Oregonians
and other qualifying groups.
About a million Oregonians
are OHP members.
Oregon voters approved
the Legislature’s plan for
temporary funding for the
program, Measure 101, in a
special election last January.
However, many of the
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — As the state
stares down an $830 mil-
lion funding gap in the
state’s Medicaid program,
both gubernatorial candi-
dates say they want to find a
long-term funding solution.
The Oregon Health Plan
is jointly funded by the
revenue sources in that leg-
islation are expiring next
year, and even if renewed,
could not cover the entire
anticipated shortfall. The
shortfall is due to a number
of factors, including declin-
ing federal financial support
for people who gained eligi-
bility under the Affordable
Care Act.
A number of revenue
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
MONDAY
SUNDAY
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
Sunny and
pleasant
Mostly sunny and
not as warm
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Pleasant with
some sunshine
Pleasant with
clouds and sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
80° 53°
78° 51°
73° 51°
70° 48°
71° 47°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
82° 57°
81° 53°
78° 54°
75° 52°
OREGON FORECAST
75° 53°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
65/56
73/48
78/47
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
79/55
Lewiston
71/54
83/53
Astoria
66/51
Pullman
Yakima 80/51
70/48
81/53
Portland
Hermiston
75/54
The Dalles 81/53
Salem
Corvallis
74/46
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
77/45
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
77/47
75/41
79/48
Ontario
87/51
Caldwell
Burns
92°
62°
82°
51°
101° (1955) 32° (1929)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
75/47
0.00"
0.00"
0.08"
5.15"
6.65"
6.20"
WINDS (in mph)
86/51
79/37
0.00"
0.00"
0.11"
6.52"
11.37"
8.49"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 74/43
75/49
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
78/51
78/53
89°
59°
81°
52°
100° (1932) 32° (1910)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
70/48
Aberdeen
74/50
76/53
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
71/57
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
84/51
Sun.
WSW 8-16
W 7-14
SW 6-12
WNW 4-8
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
79/38
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
options and cost-cutting
measures have been sug-
gested by a special work
group focused on financing
OHP, led by the governor’s
senior health policy adviser,
Tina Edlund.
Potential revenue sources
include a tax on ambula-
tory surgical centers, a tax
on medical claims, a tax on
employers whose workers
are on OHP, and increasing
an existing assessment on
certain large hospitals.
Although the work
group does not want to cut
eligibility or benefits for the
program, it is also looking
at ways to contain costs.
Gov. Kate Brown, a
Democrat, is fending off a
challenge this November
by State Rep. Knute Bue-
hler, R-Bend.
Brown’s health pol-
icy plan, released Friday,
makes clear, among other
priorities, that she wants
to expand access to health
insurance coverage and do
so by “optimizing federal
funds, funding the program
from a broader revenue
base and providing a lon-
ger and more stable fund-
ing timeline.”
Buehler, an orthopedic
surgeon, said in his July
health care platform that he
wanted “stable, long-term
and broad-based” funding
for the program.
“Knute believes that
providing low-income Ore-
gonians with health care
and fully funding Med-
icaid is a value that we
all share,” Monica Wro-
blewski, a spokeswoman
for Buehler, said in a state-
6:25 a.m.
7:20 p.m.
4:50 a.m.
7:08 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Sep 9
Sep 16
Sep 24
Oct 2
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 114° in Thermal, Calif. Low 29° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Capital Bureau
Both Gov. Kate Brown and her challenger Knute Bue-
hler want a broad, long-term plan to cover a $830 mil-
lion shortfall in Medicaid funding, but specifics remain
elusive.
ment Friday. “He is open to
a discussion about the best
way to accomplish this, but
any solution should be bal-
anced, equitable and perma-
nent. And we should start by
making the current hospital
assessments permanent.”
A spokeswoman for
Brown said in an email that
some of the potential rev-
enue options, laid out in a
July 13 work group presen-
tation obtained by the EO/
Pamplin Capital Bureau
this week, were mutu-
ally exclusive, so all nine
options listed in the presen-
tation are more like a menu
of options and would not
all be deployed at the same
time.
Some of the potential
revenue sources, such as a
tax on vaping, echo some of
the funding ideas floated by
opponents to Measure 101,
who sought alternative rev-
enue sources to the Legisla-
ture’s funding plan.
Measure 101 asked Ore-
gonians whether to affirm
or overturn a set of tempo-
rary assessments on health
care providers to fund the
Oregon Health Plan. Voters
affirmed the legislature’s
plan by a wide margin.
Corrections
The Westward Ho! Parade is a one-day event, on Fri-
day, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. Incorrect information on Page 69
of the Pendleton Round-Up magazine inside today’s edi-
tion incorrectly states that the parade is also on Saturday.
The church service at the Round-Up Grounds is Tues-
day, Sept. 11. Incorrect information appeared in a teaser
on Page 1A of Friday’s East Oregonian.
MCKAY CREEK ESTATES
Are you
worried
about
falling?
If you knew that there are several simple steps you can take to reduce your
risk of falling, would you do it? You can make a difference. Stay independent
longer by fall proofing your home and by getting your glasses and feet checked. Most
importantly you can energize your body with exercise. By improving your strength,
flexibility and balance you can significantly reduce your risk of a potentially serious fall.
Call (541) 704-7146 today
to schedule your
FREE FALL REDUCTION
EVALUATION.
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