A bill which would guarantee legal counsel to undocumented immigrants facing deportation passed the Oregon Senate on Feb. 28th on a straight party line vote of 17 to 8. This bill would appropriate $10.5 million from the general fund to a Universal Representation Fund and $4.5 million for the Oregon State Bar’s Legal Services Program. Chief sponsor of the bill is State Senator Kayse Jama (D-Portland). Other sponsors include former SEIU lobbyist Representative Andrea Salinas D-Lake Oswego a leading candidate for the newly created 6th Congressional District -- a district she helped create. Other BIPOC Caucus members are sponsors as well.

Jama’s press release states SB 1543 will create pathways to work authorization and economic participation for immigrants and refugees, allow for families to remain unified, and utilize partnerships with three Oregon law schools to incentive legal talent to stay within the state. SB 1543 now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Senator Jama represents Senate District 24, officially described as East Portland and North Clackamas. Senator Jama’s letterhead describes his District as ‘Native land of Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes that made their homes along the Columbia and Willamette Rivers’.

Senator Jama serves as the chair of the Senate Committee On Housing and Development, and the Legislature’s Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Caucus. He was the first former refugee, Muslim, and Somali-American to serve in the Oregon State Senate. Before his appointment, Senator Jama was a prominent community organizer and Executive Director of Unite Oregon.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Just who benefits from illegal immigration besides the illegal immigrants themselves? A review of those testifying in favor of this bill brings some perspective to this question. Eugene based Centro Latino Americano is one. They facilitate services to illegal immigrants. Their website lists the many sources of support for their cliental. They include: The Oregon Department of Revenue with assistance offered in Spanish at 503-378-4988, Bureau of Labor and Industries Civil Rights Division, University of Oregon Labor Research Center, U of O MECHA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Azlan), Oregon Hispanic Bar, Oregon Association of Bilingual Education Latino Administrators and Lane Community College Latino Student Union.

Public unions SEIU 503 and Oregon AFL-CIO were among those testifying in favor of SB 1543 as was Inez Pena, recently resigned member of the Newberg School Board. Banning Critical Race Theory from the classrooms in Newberg was recently upheld when Recalls failed on two board members who were backed by parent rights advocates. They were challenged with recalls for removing politics from the classroom including C.R.T. which teaches that there are only oppressors and oppressed in society.

Newberg resident David Wall offered a rare testimony opposing SB 1543. Mr. Wall feels any one in this country illegally should be deported without hesitation. He finds it repugnant that taxpayer dollars might be used for an end-run around the Public Records Act.


--Tom Hammer

Post Date: 2022-03-03 12:11:57

Last Update: 2022-03-03 12:57:52