Letter to the Editor: On Arrest and Deportation

Deportation of undocumented persons who have been here for a period of time seemingly may not affect the security of the United States, but the agency in charge of enforcement of deportations was established to meet the security needs of our country and it seems the powers to be felt our immigration policies do affect the security of the U.S.

The President amended the policy regarding deportations last March, but the amended policy hasn’t kicked in, or so it seems. What may skew our view may be that the statistics for the latest fiscal year include only six months since the President and his Secretary of Homeland Security declared the “new policy,” even less since the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued his amended policy. Also, the President, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security land the Director of (ICE) have openly declared that the new policy should not be viewed as permission to remain in the United States in violation of its law. Sufficient time for the policy to be put into effect and a proper budget implementing the policy to fully be effective should be allowed. But in the meantime, ICE has announced its intention to deport 400,000 criminals and undocumented persons from the country this fiscal year. Close to this number were deported last year. ICE indicated that 55% of the deportees last year were criminals. Ice seems to place arrest as equal to criminal conviction. That means over 45% of the deportees during the last fiscal year were not guilty of a crime. CAUSA, an activist group, estimates 28% of the undocumented persons deported during the last fiscal year were not guilty of any criminal activity and did not have a criminal record. This agency further avers that a full 79% of those undocumented persons deported were at the most guilty of only minor infractions such as traffic violations. The remaining 21% were criminals falling under the new guidelines for deportation of having been convicted of a felony or convicted of two misdemeanors. We should note, arrests are not convictions, but it appears the administration is considering them as such. Why must we wait for the Federal Government to correct its bungling while people in our communities suffer?

In order to perform its function ICE maintains a Law Enforcement Support Center which processed over one million information requests for information pertaining to customs matters or aliens from courts and other law enforcement agencies during the past fiscal year. The center maintains over 100 million records. Its communication center is capable of confirming data within 10 minutes of the inquiry. The system operates in conjunction with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System operated by the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Investigation by screening the immigration status of foreign-born non citizens. The center also provides training assistance to other law enforcement personnel.

In reviewing the international news, it appears that people have migrated throughout the world long before the recent economic downturn. In many instances these people were welcomed into their new surroundings. Many melted into their new surroundings well. But, now that times are difficult, governments are seeking solutions as to what they should do with them. Stopping new migrants at the border or before, seems to be a universal solution. But, for those who have been in the locality for some time the solution does not seem as easy as the conditions and problems are varied and not universal, Migration is a local dilemma found in localities here and worldwide. Localities and their national governments struggle with a problem that is difficult to fix because no one really cared whether or not the immigrant was “legal” in good economic times. However, today the struggle creates discomfort not only to the migrants and their families, but also those in the community who are not related.

In the United States, we have taken a tact of deportation to the extent we have removed over a million aliens in the past few years. The statutes seem to deal with the problem in the same manner we deal with most civil incidents. However, our administration of the statutes seem to be conducted in the same fascist manner we claim to despise. In instances we suspect an undocumented person of a crime appropriate to criminal proceedings we act accordingly applying our laws. In instances where it is seemingly to our advantage we move these persons into our civil procedure of deportation without formally prosecuting them for their criminal activity. In many instances these persons are guilty of criminal activity, but are given a “break.”

In other instances an undocumented person is guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The person set up for deportation for being an undocumented person was stopped by the police for whatever reason, and arrested for whatever reason which can range from they were overly nervous, or they gave the officer an inconsequential reason to suspect they had committed a crime. They do not always know their rights and cooperated with the arresting authority offering information as to their birthplace when asked. Having no immigration information on them ICE may place a detainer on them and request their removal to an ICE facility maybe several hundred miles from their home. No one who knows them knows what happened to them. The first indication may be a telephone call several days later advising they are leaving the country. Those who have family or friends may be more fortunate if a family member or friend makes local inquiry immediately after their disappearance and has the financial resources and personal knowledge to enable them to pursue legal help some distance from home. Ice does maintain detainee locator offices. The nearest facilities to Lincoln County are in Seattle, Salt Lake City or San Francisco. Other ICE facilities are scattered in a like manner. An undocumented person arrested for the most minor reason without specific knowledge as to what is going on is like a person lost in a forest.

I am concerned for a very selfish reason. To me, the present administrative procedures applied to most undocumented persons appear to be unusually harsh for the type of civil violation. They are applied to hard working members of my community, not someone crawling out of a cave in the hills. I fear my government will treat me in the same manner if the people in power think they can get away with it. Intimidate, isolate and incarcerate for the minimal reason if I protest their actions. If you think I’m overly concerned, look around you as to what is happening. Most “terrorists” die or are arrested at a place they have a legal right to be. Most people are easy prey for those who have the knowhow and ability to separate them from their environment with or without a just cause. Is what is happening to many of my neighbors fair, correct or in accordance with human rights and justice?

Don Searcy, Newport

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County Receives Emergency Food Grant

Lincoln County will receive $7,277 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs for the calendar year 2011 from the National Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Board. The funds, appropriated by Congress, are used to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas around the country. A local board will determine how to allocate the funds among local non-profit emergency food and shelter programs. Agencies interested in applying for the funds can find an application links on the local United Way website at www.unitedwayblc.org, or call 541-757-7717. The application deadline is 5:00 p.m. Monday, December 5. To be eligible, local agencies must be private voluntary non-profits or units of government, have an accounting system, practice nondiscrimination, and have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs. The FEMA board is made up of representatives of the Salvation Army; American Red Cross; Council of Jewish Federations; Catholic Charities, USA National Council of Churches and United Way of America. United Way of Benton & Lincoln Counties provides the administrative staff and functions as fiscal agent for the National FEMA Board.

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Newport Food Pantry Throws Christmas Coffee Classic

The first annual Christmas Coffee Classic to benefit the new Newport Food Pantry is Saturday and Sunday November 26 and 27 at Hallmark Oceanfront Resort in Newport. The Newport Food Pantry opened this summer. Although it partners with Lincoln County Food Share, it is an independent organization. The Christmas Coffee Classic features local and regional independent coffee roasters and chocolatiers who will offer samples and have packaged producdt for sale in time for holiday gift giving. Admission is $10 ($5 for students 12-17). Hours are 9:00 – 5:00 Saturday November 26 and 9:00 – 4:00 Sunday November 27

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Letter to the Editor from Michelle Amberg: On Local Tax Revenue

November is the time of year when property tax bills are mailed from your local county assessor’s office. It is not unusual to hear complaints regarding property taxes and to receive inquiries as to why taxes keep going up even though property values have gone down. I would be happy to meet with anyone and explain how Measures 5 and 50 govern property taxes here in Oregon; however, that is not my focus today.

Historically, property taxes were seen as a way for people who live in a community to contribute to the health, safety and maintenance of their community. I regularly hear from people who believe that the available property tax dollars are more than sufficient to provide the basic city services such as public safety, health and welfare. You might be surprised though. In October I conducted a survey of Oregon cities to see if other cities were in the same upside down situation regarding public safety costs versus revenue received from property taxes. The survey results are shown in the following table:

City Public Safety Spending as a Percentage of Property Tax Revenue
Gresham	175.65%
Forest Grove	107.80%
Klamath Falls	103.11%
Fairview	153.33%
Independence	123.53%
Hood River	242.94%
Wood Village	105.17%
Aumsville	136.73%
Toledo	126.37%
Bandon	623.38%
Shady Cove	107.31
Lakeview	126.88%
Stanfield	275.97%

Additional research conducted by the League of Oregon Cities yielded the following information:

City Public Safety Spending as a Percentage of Property Tax Revenue
Myrtle Point	192%
Gresham	169%
Bend	156%
Salem	114%
Corvallis	111%
Albany	106%
Portland	95%

As you can see from these tables, throughout the state property tax revenues are not covering the costs of public safety let alone all the other public services local government provides. A League of Oregon Cities report entitled “Fiscal Challenged for Oregon’s Cities” states that property tax revenues when compared to personal income have dropped from almost 5% in the late 1980’s to about 3% currently. It is also interesting to note that in Toledo property taxes account for roughly a third of our annual General Fund revenue.

Clearly cities are relying on other forms of revenue to make up shortfalls. In Toledo we rely on fees, state revenue sharing, rates for utilities such as water and sewer, franchise fees, licenses, permits, grants, and service contracts (police, library, fire) to make up the difference so that we can continue to offer a variety of services such as police, fire, library, pool, streets and street lighting, support for special events, lighting at Memorial Field, water, sewer, storm drainage as well as all the maintenance and administrative activities that support these services. Other local governments use various local taxes (transient room tax, gas tax, etc.) and local levies to help span the revenue gap.

I am sharing this information with you so that as we enter into our budget planning season you can be well-informed regarding the revenue streams which provide public services. It takes a considerable amount of planning and effort on the part of your local government officials to assure that police and fire services are available when you need them, that streets are maintained, that you have recreational opportunities, that you can check the latest best seller from the local library, that clean safe water flows from the tap and wastewater is simply flushed down the drain. It is a paradox that good stewardship and fiscal policy are often criticized when in reality they make running a city seem effortless.

Michelle Amberg, Toledo City Manager

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Toledo Begins Earthquake Readiness Planning

Toledo Fire Chief Will Ewing takes disaster planning seriously. And he laid out a sober assessment of the area’s readiness for a major earthquake for City Council members at their November 8 work session. Geologists agree the region is fairly close to an extreme earthquake and tsunami. The wake-up call was the Japanese disaster earlier this year. His assessment – Toledo is not ready, but is ahead of many surrounding communities in its preparation, and in its local government’s willingness to get ready. “We have to start planning for it falling in on our watch,” he said, or at the very least, leaving the next generation ready. Experts believe a major subduction earthquake happens in the Pacific Northwest every 300 to 500 years. The last one was known to have occurred in 1700, thanks to Japanese records of a damaging tsunami that year.

Ewing explained the eventual earthquake will likely leave coastal communities severely damaged, and cut off from substantial outside assistance for up to three weeks. Major search and rescue and relief efforts will be concentrated first in heavily populated areas. Local emergency services and supplies “are going to be the only resources we are going to have for a very long time,” Ewing said, adding it will be important for local residents to be as prepared as possible to take care of themselves, with three weeks of food and at least 72 hours of drinking water.

Public education efforts will continue, as will continued training for area Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). Toledo re-certified its first CERT class earlier this year. Ewing said the more training the better because most Oregon construction is “ill-prepared” for the four or five minutes of intense shaking the earthquake will provide. Toledo may also be subjected to tsunami effects even though it is 12 river miles from the ocean, “and the earthquake will be the warning device for the tsunami,” Ewing said.

He admitted to council members it was a difficult message to deliver, but a necessary one. “People do not like to hear this stuff. It is a once in a 300 to 500 year event – who wants to talk about it?” However, he said the community should take a tip from CERT itself. “The mission of CERT is to do the most good for the most people, and that has to be the mantra for something like this,” he said.

(Editor’s note: This is part of a Wavelength “Signature Issue” series that will continue into 2012). Read other stories in the series here)

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