The usual clucking immediately ensued. ("Immigration raid pushes Oregon into thick of fight," The Oregonian, June 13, 2007. For a covey of related articles, see the links here.)
"[Portland Mayor Tom] Potter expressed anger that families were swept up in the arrests, saying the raid stemmed from a failure of Bush and Congress to craft reforms that are fair and workable for employees and business."'I certainly understand why federal officials executed criminal warrants against three individuals who stole and sold Social Security numbers,' Potter said in a statement. 'But to go after local workers who are here to support their families while filling the demands of local businesses for their labor is bad policy.'"
Like so many of our benighted public officials, Mayor Potter doesn't seem to grasp that tackling illegal immigration when it's still relatively small forestalls really big problems later. Or maybe he just figures he can get by with a kumbaya approach and leave the unpleasant duties for a successor.
You can ask him about it by email ([email protected]), or phone him at 503-823-4120, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Pacific Time. If you just want to express an opinion using his 24-hour opinion line, try 503-823-4127 (rings about four times; messages can be up to two minutes long).
