Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2018)
OREGON POLITICS Saturday, October 6, 2018 East Oregonian Page 9A Buehler’s record on immigration inconsistent By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Rep. Knute Buehler, Republican nominee for governor, has staked incon- sistent positions on immi- gration, a review of his pub- lic record establishes. The Republican legislator from Bend has voted against state legislation that protects immigrants, but supported tighter controls over racial profiling. His voting record shows a conservative approach toward expanding state ben- efits, such as health cover- age to children brought to the country illegally. His immigration stance is squarely in the spot- light with his support of a state measure to repeal Ore- gon’s 31-year-old sanctuary law, which bars local police from helping enforce federal immigration policy. And it puts him at odds with Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, who supports the sanctuary law. Three Republican legis- lators and Oregonians for Immigration Reform peti- tioned for Measure 105, arguing that too many state resources are used to sup- port undocumented immi- grants at the expense of cit- izens. They also assert that immigrants who come to the country illegally often vio- late the law, such as acquir- ing a fraudulent identity or driving uninsured. “I’ll be voting for Mea- sure 105,” Buehler said in a Sept. 20 interview with the Pamplin Media Group. “I’m not campaigning for it. It’s not a central part of my gubernatorial campaign.” Yet, Bueler said he opposes the racial profiling that the sanctuary law was designed to prevent. “We need to assure peo- ple that racial profiling is not going to ever be tolerated in Oregon.” He argued that Oregon’s sanctuary law is no longer necessary because the 2015 legislation, which he sup- Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian In this May 15, 2018 file photo, Republican gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler joins supporters in Wilsonville. ported, explicitly prohibited profiling. The law requires police agencies to enact prac- tices prohibiting profiling, defined as stopping someone based on characteristics such as their race, ethnicity, color, national origin, language or religion. “I think the original inten- tion of the sanctuary city legislation has been really updated and taken care of with that (2015) legislation,” Buehler said. He argued the sanctu- ary law should be repealed because it confuses police, judges and district attorneys about when they can cooper- ate with federal authorities. Without providing evi- dence, Buehler said that the law is applied inconsistently throughout the state. But the 16 sheriffs endorsing repeal of the sanc- tuary law in a joint letter two months ago didn’t state any concern that the law is applied inconsistently. “The statute undermines respect for law in signifi- cant ways,” wrote Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin, the letter’s lead author. “It tells illegal immigrants that Oregon considers immigra- tion-law violations so incon- sequential as to be unworthy of police and sheriffs’ atten- tion. In doing so, it legiti- mizes those violations and encourages more.” For instance, some immi- grants commit identity theft “to conceal their illegal pres- ence,” he wrote. Buehler “says he is going to vote for Ballot Measure 105, but then as governor, he nonetheless will follow the basic tenets of the sanc- tuary law? That’s inconsis- tent on his part,” said Rick LaMountain, a member of Oregonians for Immigration Reform and chief sponsor of a successful 2014 referen- dum to deny driver cards to undocumented immigrants. “The more he addresses (Measure 105) the more he confuses me and prob- ably a lot of other people,” LaMountain said. After winning the Repub- lican primary, Buehler announced his support for Measure 105 in a July inter- view with radio host Lars Larson. Then, in an early Sep- tember interview with Ore- gon Public Broadcasting, Buehler said he supports the tenets of the sanctuary law but wants it repealed. Those on both sides of Buehler calls for Kavanaugh replacement By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau State Rep. Knute Buehler, GOP candidate for governor, on Thursday called on Presi- dent Trump to replace Brett Kavanaugh as nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. “At this point I strongly believe President Trump should withdraw the nomi- nation and put someone for- ward that can gain bipartisan support. This is a time to heal a deeply divided nation and this is a wonderful opportu- nity to do so,” Buehler said. “I hope President Trump proceeds in that direction.” The comment, made in response to a question at a televised gubernatorial debate in Medford, marks the first time Buehler has taken an unequivocal stance on what should happen to Kavanaugh. The comment came hours before the U.S. Senate set in motion procedures to con- firm Kavanaugh. A final Sen- ate vote could come as early as Saturday. Buehler initially was reluctant to weigh in on the nomination. Following a U.S. Senate committee hearing on Christine Blasey Ford’s sex- ual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, Buehler called for the nomination to be put on hold pending an FBI investigation. “This has been a historic week for our country,” Bue- hler said in a debate Thurs- day night. “It’s opened a lot of people’s eyes and the tes- timony from Professor Bla- sey Ford and Judge Kavana- ugh has been compelling and authentic. I think it’s deeply troubling, though — the accu- sations that have come for- ward, the temperament that Judge Kavanaugh has shown, and I call out and congratu- late the moderates in both par- ties, both the Republicans and Democrats who called for the FBI investigation and slowed down the process.” His stance puts him largely on the side of Dem- ocrats who also have been calling on U.S. senators to reject Kavanaugh. Gov. Kate Brown, Bue- hler’s Democratic opponent, participated in a demonstra- tion Sept. 24 against Kava- naugh’s confirmation. On Thursday, she repeated her position. “I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. I believe all the survivors out there,” she said. She noted that as gover- nor, she has appointed about 50 Oregon trial and appellate judges. She said she seeks judges who are honest, care about people and have a calm and collected temperament. MCKAY CREEK ESTATES Are you worried about falling? McKay Creek Estates 1601 Southgate Pl. • Pendleton, OR 97801 www.PrestigeCare.com to misdemeanors crimes for possessing personal use amounts of six drugs. The legislation was driven by findings that Oregon blacks were disproportionately con- victed of drug felonies for having small amounts. Last month, a state report found the law was working and that there was a decreased disproportionality in drug convictions between black and white Oregonians. He opposed legisla- tion that provides Oregon Health Plan benefits to chil- dren brought to the country illegally. Earlier this year, he opposed allowing those whose participation as Deferred Action for Child- hood Arrivals had expired to nonetheless renew or replace their driver’s license. Brown, meantime, has moved to fortify Oregon’s sanctuary status in response to immigration policies proposed by the Trump administration. In early 2017, she issued an executive order to pro- hibit state employees from participating in a Mus- lim registry, an idea Trump floated but never advanced. Under her administra- tion, the state has sued the federal government several times over immigration pol- icies. Lawsuits have chal- lenged the Trump admin- istration for separating families that enter the coun- try illegally, the elimina- tion of the executive order creating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that made it easier for immi- grants brought to the coun- try illegally as children to stay in the country, and the travel ban for visitors from certain countries. The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld Trump’s travel ban. The family separation and DACA cases are still pending, but Oregon and other states won a prelim- inary injunction in Febru- ary leaving the program in place. WE HEAR YOU! Phonak Virto™ B Phonak Virto B are the world’s fi rst hearing aids with Biometric Calibration and are precisely calibrated to your individual ear anatomy for better hearing performance. The smallest Phonak custom hearing aid is now even more discreet. Made from medical grade titanium, it is durable and light weight. LOCAL, INDEPENDENT AUDIOLOGIST Working within the community of Pendleton, our clinic provides a variety of hearing healthcare services including hearing assessments and rehabilitation, education, and counseling. 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. the issue took note of Bue- hler’s equivocation. “I think he is probably trying to have it both ways,” LaMountain said. “He got a lot of pushback when he came out on Measure 105 and now is trying to back- track on that.” Sushma Raghavan, field director at Unite Oregon — a pro-immigrant advocacy organization that helped draft the state’s profiling leg- islation — agreed that Bue- hler “is trying to say what- ever he can to get elected.” “Immigrant rights are under attack, and we need to make sure our leadership is protecting all Oregonians regardless of their back- ground,” said Kayse Jama, executive director of Unite Oregon. “This is not the right time to repeal this law.” Monica Wroblewski, spokeswoman for Buehler’s campaign, said Tuesday that his position “has been con- sistent from the beginning.” “Clearly, Knute’s reasons for supporting the measure are not the same as those that wrote the letter,” she said. “That doesn’t mean that his concerns about the inconsis- tent application of the cur- rent law are not valid.” The state sanctuary law outlines when local authori- ties can cooperate with fed- eral Immigration and Cus- toms Enforcement. Police may share infor- mation to verify the immi- gration status and the crim- inal background of someone they’ve arrested or to arrest a suspect for whom a federal criminal warrant has been issued. Some law enforcement officials, including Mult- nomah County Sheriff Mike Reese and Deschutes County District Attorney John Hum- mel, oppose Measure 105. Oregon’s law allows police to “appropriately share information with our federal partners” when an immigrant commits a fel- ony or serious misdemeanor crime, Reese said in July. “It keeps our local police focused on solving crimes by letting victims and wit- nesses know that they can report crime to us without fear of their immigration sta- tus,” he said. Buehler said he opposes using local police for “routine federal immigration activi- ties, meaning that if you are a victim or a witness of a crime you should feel safe approaching law enforce- ment, especially if you are undocumented, and be assured that that information is not going to be shared or be used in any way to enforce federal immigration policy.” Between 2015 and 2018, Buehler opposed a series of pro-immigrant legislation that nonetheless passed the Oregon Legislature. In 2015, he opposed expanding financial aid, called the Oregon Opportu- nity Grant, to Oregon grad- uates who were unable to prove legal U.S. residency. In 2017, he opposed leg- islation that prohibited state employees from asking about immigration status or disclosing that information to other government author- ities without a court order or warrant. Buehler also opposed a bill to reduce from felonies SERVICE YOU CAN RELY ON! You can trust Renata to provide a complete hearing evaluation and a professional diagnosis of your specifi c hearing loss. Call for an appointment with Renata today and start hearing what you’ve been missing. STEP INTO SAVINGS! Take posession of your apartment by August 31, 2018 and receive your 2nd and 4th month rent FREE. 2237 SW Court, Pendleton Renata Anderson, MA Pam Wagenaar, 541-276-5053 Administrative Assistant www.renataanderson.com
