On this day, August 22, 2002, President George W. Bush proposed to end the government's "hands-off" policy in national forests and ease logging restrictions in fire-prone areas.
Also on this day, August 22, 2014, the State of Oregon filed a $200 million suit against Oracle Corp. and several executives over the company's role in creating the troubled website for the state's online health insurance exchange.
Also on this day, August 22, 2020, demonstrators faced off in Portland with the two sides -- one aligned with a "Back the Blue" rally and the other a Black Lives Matter counter-demonstration -- reportedly largely ignoring police warnings. Ultimately, Department of Homeland Security officers deemed the gatherings unlawful and moved through the plaza, forcing the crowd to disperse.
House Democrats side with violent criminals
Oregon House Speaker, Julie Fahey (D-West Eugene and Veneta) refused to move modernization of Oregon’s Sanctuary State law
House Bill 3551 for a public hearing. House Republicans took action forcing a vote on the House Floor. The legislation would allow law enforcement agencies in Oregon to work with federal authorities to identify and remove individuals convicted of violent felonies, Class A misdemeanors, and felony sexual offenses. The motion to withdraw the bill from the Judiciary Committee failed despite receiving bipartisan votes, with a majority of House Democrats voting to shield undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes from federal law enforcement.
“Our communities should not be sanctuaries for murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals. This bill is a common-sense policy that protects Oregonians by holding the most violent criminals accountable. But common sense isn’t very common in Oregon, as my bill never even got a hearing,” said Rep. Alek Skarlatos (R-Canyonville) who introduced the bill, and made the motion. “Allowing state and local law
enforcement to work with federal authorities to identify and remove illegal immigrants and foreign terrorists who are charged with some of the most heinous crimes is too popular and pragmatic for Oregon
Democrats.”
The vote follows the announcement from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on the largest fentanyl bust in DEA history involving the arrest of a Sinaloa cartel leader, Heriberto Salazar Amaya, an illegal immigrant living in Salem. Authorities say he had been removed from the U.S. twice already.
“Today we had an opportunity to keep our communities safe by denying sanctuary protections to violent criminals, terrorist gangs, and dangerous rapists,” said House Republican Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby), a sponsor of the bill. “House Democrats blocked common sense legislation that would give law enforcement additional tools and resources to do their jobs and hold violent criminals, in the United
States illegally, accountable.”
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
Governor Tina Kotek has stated that she “won’t back down” from shielding criminal illegal immigrants operating in Oregon and Attorney General Dan Rayfield recently said that he would not use state resources to keep communities safe from undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes. Instead, Rayfield is using state resources to shield violent criminal illegal immigrants.
A statewide poll commissioned by House Republicans revealed that 69% of Oregonians support deporting undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a crime while in the United States. The statewide poll was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies between January 4–7 of this year, surveying 500 registered Oregon voters with a ±4.38% margin of error.
--Donna Bleiler| Post Date: 2025-05-11 20:44:53 | Last Update: 2025-05-12 00:46:47 |
