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FEBRUARY 3rd, 2017
WEEK ONE
The
Legislative Session officially started Wednesday amid a whole lot of activities
that have taken center stage, although they should be secondary to our work
here. Because little has happened here in two days I thought I would
focus specifically on President Trump’s executive order on immigration and the
potential impacts for Oregon.
The reaction
to the order by the media, special interest groups and many politicians is a
perfect example of the campaign of misinformation and lies being waged against
this Administration. First, this is not a ban on Muslim immigration, in
fact there is no reference to Muslims in the order. The order names
seven countries with known ties to terrorism. Those countries are Iran,
Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The order simply states
there needs to be better vetting of people from these countries before they are
allowed in. It should also be pointed out the countries with the largest
Muslim populations are not on the list.
That is in
reality and in fact what the order does. With the increase in activity
worldwide by ISIS and other groups, it is actually a very logical move as one
of the President’s main responsibilities is to protect American citizens.
But what we are hearing in the media and social media (which now have become
basically the same thing) paints an entirely different picture. Clearly
these groups and all that oppose this Administration are not concerned about
facts and truth and they are more than willing to use lies to try and advance
their agenda. This has been very evident starting with the “Women’s
March” and the current round of protests, some of which have become violent.
What I find
absolutely shameful in this is the fact we have a lot of politicians in this
state who seem to be encouraging this lawless behavior. Many State Senators and
Representatives as well as members of our Congressional delegation and our
Governor have not only participated in these events, but they are encouraging
more of the same. In fact, Governor Brown established a Trump resistance
force. All of these people have the ability to know the real facts, but
they are choosing to “go with the crowd” rather than be the leaders they were
elected to be.
Something
most probably don’t know is the fact Oregon has been a sanctuary state since
1987. This happened the year after Reagan made his deal on amnesty at the
federal level. Clearly at that time the issues were about our southern
border and not the Middle East. As this happened well before my time in the
Legislature, I don’t know what the debate was, but I do know the results.
Very simply, law enforcement and government officials are prohibited from
asking a person if they are here legally or even ask for documentation.
It also means that any information that is discovered cannot be given to the
federal government or even acted on by state government. So if an illegal
person is arrested and convicted of a crime they cannot be turned over to the
proper federal authorities for deportation. I am not sure how such a
policy fits with one of governments primary responsibilities which is public
safety.
It is going
to be interesting to see how all of this plays out over the next few months.
Is there a risk of Oregon losing federal funds? Maybe, but we won’t know
for a while. Is there a possibility of changing our sanctuary
status? In this politically charged environment the answer is no.
One of the
difficulties we are facing in the Legislature this Session is the fact it is
going to be hard to know what changes we will be seeing on the federal level
before the time we are scheduled to be finished. My hope is we will
choose to act based on facts and not a political agenda.
Sincerely,
Senator Jeff
Kruse
PS
I don’t
remember these protests when Presidents Obama and Carter issues similar orders.
email: Sen.JeffKruse@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1701
address: 900 Court St NE, S-205, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kruse
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