Arrest illegal immigrants who rally at the Oregon Capitol
Monday, January 14, 2008

National studies estimate the undocumented population in Oregon is somewhere between 150,000 and 175,000. Their family members, fellow Latino supporters, "bleeding hearts" who may have appeared on site motivated by a special interest, like cheap labor and not having to heed U.S. safety and health regulations, and politicians afraid they'll not get Latino votes if they don't do their bidding, accounting for numbers turning out to protest in much higher than the guesstimated count of illegal immigrants themselves.

Between and among all parties apparently seeking to make Oregon a sanctuary for anyone south of the border, those persons, who wish to make this state their home and are here illegally, have many supporters. Supporters so large in number that reports have a count of 2,000 or more of them laying siege on the Oregon Capitol and legislators therein who are so intimidated by them they will not act to chase them off the premises. Specifically, since I am led to believe there were many illegal immigrants among those who came to call on several of the state's political leaders.

They were there protesting against the new driver's license requirements, demanding what the illegal immigrants want because "they have rights" and "we're all human." Is this interpretation of "rights" because "we're all human" the brand of logic that's taught in Latino schools? Otherwise, where do these folks come up with such porous, full-of-holes, idiotic thinking?

Of course, needing a driver's license so a worker can reach his place of employment makes sense; however, if employers are going to break the law by hiring illegal/undocumented immigrants shouldn't these employers either put them up in housing on the work location or privately bus them to work if migrant worker housing is not available on the premises? In other words, they shouldn't possess a driver's license no matter how plaintively they wail because they shouldn't need one.

Meanwhile, I wonder why we have taxes going to the federal government to pay the extraordinarily high price of a Department of Homeland Security and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), if they, and the tax monies that support the Oregon State Police, as well as other lawful and deputized authorities in Oregon's counties, the state and the nation, let these folks push us around in order to have their way. I'm not a knee-jerk authoritarian; nevertheless, I must say that what should have happened last Friday is this: Homeland Security, ICE, Oregon State Police and appropriate others should have converged on Friday's Capitol crowd before it entered the Capitol, encircled it by their own force of numbers, separated the illegal immigrants from citizens by demanding proof of identity, and taken those who can't prove they're here legally away to a holding area for deportation proceedings. Lack of space for holding them is no legitimate excuse as there are buildings as close to the Oregon State Fairgrounds that could temporarily be used, especially at this time of year.

Further, it would be a welcome sign of their willingness to fit into our society if the people who are the allies -- for one reason or another -- of those who are here illegally would put some time and effort into the ever-increasing number of Latinos who constantly commit heinous crimes, scare the dickens out of law-abiding Americans with their drug peddling, thievery, rapes and murders of once safe and secure Oregon residents, and generally break all the laws of our nation in what indisputably is argued as a "I don't give a damn attitude." This sort of activity doesn't appear to interest them at all, as they'd rather spend their time marching and protesting for the rights of those who've decided that it's okay to enter the U.S. without permission. Incidentally, no other nation permits this kind of activity and we should have enough good sense to act to imitate with them before our nation is part of Mexico in all but name only.

Whatever the case, the situation is getting worse and worse and would seem to be doing so on a nearly daily basis. We pay our taxes and nothing comes of the high cost of purported safety and security for citizens. Is it any wonder that vigilante groups, like Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, and Oregonians for Immigration Reform have sprung up in this state and around the nation, responding to the problem in ever more drastic ways and attracting more citizens to the cause in the absence of those government entities that are paid and authorized to do the job.

posted by Gene McIntyre
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pb ... 46/OPINION