About Stop Oregon Sanctuaries

Since 1987, Oregon Revised Statute 181A.820 has kept Oregon's state and local law-enforcement agencies from offering their fullest cooperation to the U.S. authorities charged with identifying and detaining illegal aliens. In doing so, the law has effectively rendered Oregon a "sanctuary" state for foreigners here illegally.

Activists affiliated with Oregonians for Immigration Reform have filed Initiative Petition 22 with the Oregon Secretary of State's Elections Division. IP 22's goal: to place a measure onto the November 2018 statewide ballot that will give Oregonians the chance to repeal ORS 181A.820. To reach the ballot, the signatures of 88,184 registered Oregon voters are needed by July 2018.

Why does ORS 181A.820 need to be repealed? It undermines the rule of law generally and U.S. immigration law specifically. It thwarts the enforcement efforts of the courageous federal agents who serve on our national-security front lines. And it gives illegal aliens yet another reason to settle in our state.

Perhaps worst of all, ORS 181A.820 endangers innocent Americans. One high-profile example: In Woodburn last summer, Bonifacio Oseguera-Gonzalez, an illegal alien who had been deported six times, shot and killed three people. ORS 181A.820 prohibits police and sheriffs' "moneys, equipment or personnel" from being used to detect or apprehend illegal aliens. If not for that, before his murders Oseguera-Gonzalez, during a contact with an Oregon law-enforcement officer, might have been identified as an illegal alien, detained and removed from the country.

Illegal aliens can and do harm the American citizens to whom Oregon owes its foremost responsibility. For this reason, enforcement of U.S. immigration law is central to the duties of Oregon's police departments and sheriff's offices. Sign Initiative Petition 22 to help give Oregonians the chance to repeal ORS 181A.820 -- and to free Oregon law enforcement to better protect Oregonians from criminal aliens.