Oregon Respect for Law Act:
A First Step Toward Real Immigration Reform
By Shahriyar Smith

The debate over immigration in America has primarily taken two forms. The first has been over policy such as whether we should build a border fence, relax or tighten criteria for admission, allow amnesty and so forth. The second has been over the problems that result from a system badly in need of reform such as voter fraud, id theft, crime, and non-enforcement.

On issues of immigration policy, people disagree in many ways, often fiercely. When it comes to the problems we face from a lack of reform, the debate is not really all that hot. In fact, there is great deal of ground for cooperation and common solutions.

The problem has been that these two aspects of immigration reform are constantly treated as one issue. Hence, people have not come together to solve some basic problems because they disagree on matters of complex and contentious policy. This is a backward formula that has mired the immigration debate in partisanship and inaction.

The first step toward immigration reform must be based on people coming together to address an issue of common concern. In Oregon, the Respect for Law Act has emerged as a cooperative effort to address the problems we face as a state and form a positive and constructive basis for the debate over immigration policy.

The measure would require proof of U.S. Citizenship for first time voter registration, proof of “˜legal presence’ for Driver’s License and State Identification documents, and would allow, but not require, state cooperation on immigration.

First, it stops the disenfranchisement of Oregon voters. Disenfranchisement occurs when invalid votes are counted as well as when valid votes are not counted. The right to vote is the right to a full vote, and in Oregon the full weight of an individual’s vote is continually diluted. Currently, Oregon does not require proof of citizenship to vote. Voters of every belief and political orientation are continually disenfranchised as thousands of invalid votes are counted every election cycle. Requiring citizenship proof the first time one registers to vote ensures the integrity of our democratic process, that every vote will be fully counted.

The rights and privileges of citizenship, as well as the safety and security of the public, are managed through state identification documents. Oregon currently requires no proof of “˜legal presence’ to obtain state ID. This shortchanges every Oregonian and puts every neighborhood across the state at risk. Requiring effective proof that someone is here legally to obtain a Drivers License or ID document prevents abuse of state resources, minimizes security risks, reduces identity theft, and promotes the most basic principle of social organization: the rule of law.

The Respect for Law Act also allows, but does not require, state cooperation on immigration. Law enforcement authorities in Oregon are currently prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. In 2002, Victor Louis Batres was caught twice by border patrol agents in New Mexico and released, despite a criminal history spanning 15 years in the U.S. He returned later that year to Oregon to rape two nuns, killing one of them. The Respect for Law Act would allow the proper channels of communication to ensure that this never happens again.

Immigration is supposed to be the source of our greatest strength as a nation, not a liability that threatens the integrity of our democratic process, the safety of the public, and the rule of law.

No matter what an individual’s opinions on immigration policy are, the Respect for Law Act is something that everyone can come together around and rally behind.

A positive, community based effort to tackle these tough problems will have a lasting impact on the immigration debate and remind people of the important place immigration has in our past, our present, and our future.