Halleluiah, yes yes yes, absolutely YES!!!

Yes, absolutely.

Hooray for Willamina. It should be applied nationwide.

Absolutely ridiculous and should be eliminated.

All this will do is give officers more lee-way for harrassing people of different nationalities and races.
For example, if this passes, and an officer on a routine stop takes a personal NON-PROFESSIONAL opinion that a latino is being difficult or under the influence of whatever, this will let them think "hey, i can use that new edict against this person. I'll get away with it for a long time cause its my word vs. theirs."

This will more than quadruple the caseload in corts around the county and the state in wrongful imprisonment, harrassment and other such cases.

Whoever created this idea should be professionally terminated and locked in a psycho ward!

I agree 100%, Everyone complains about illegal Immagration and really doesn't do a thing about it. This town wants to get ahead before they get behind. About the comment from JC, I truely disagree with this for the reason that this is for the safety for their town and the towns people. They are wanting to make a difference, and incourage our country to do the same. In which I beleive that we should. If you want to live here, please do make an effort and live without fear of being sent back. Make a differnece everyone for this is our country and we should make it safe.

I absolutely agree! Oregon cities should follow the example to start enforcing our laws!

I absolutely agree! Oregon cities should follow the example to start enforcing our laws!

Are you people that ignorant??!! Are you just thinking in your bigot minds that illegal immigrants are all brown??? There are illegals from Canada, Russia, France and plenty of other countries that also have fair skin!!! This means; If they just want to pull you over because they might think you are an illegal they can. What if you are on your way somewhere and now you are late because you got stopped because you voted the police can just do it. I can hear you screaming and crying already. What are you going to tell them? "Hey, I'm not black or I'm not brown, I'm white." Well you ignorant SOB's it won't matter. You are all for them pulling over ANYBODY they may deem to be illegal, not just people of color!!! Well I don't want them to be able to just pull anyone over and disrupt their lives because you bigots think it is cool they can harass people of color. You people are an embarrassment to this country and should move out yourself!!! For Shame, for shame.

Signed,

Probably Whiter than you and a better American!

Checking arrested induviduals for legal entry status is one thing. I think that should be routine. However, I can't agree with the selective
violation of induviduals' rights, which, is how I read this.

Subject: Illegal Immigrant
Date: Friday, March 28, 2008 8:48 AM

Absolutely!!! It is about time we stop giving away all of our resources. If they left, our citizens would have more job opportunities, our kids, etc. If they would make an effort to join this country and learn to speak it would be different. But it appears their intention is to take over. Deport them!
cj

Wow! I'm thinking the cast of deliverence is watching the morning news.

What ever happened to the rights of Americans? This is our country, we are willing to share our good fortune. All that is ask is that you come into this country the way our ancestors did, through the proper channels. Come to our country, learn the language, traditions, laws, and culture. We have the right to ask if you are here legally, and it should not just be a right but rather an obligation!

Yes, there is nothing wrong asking a person that.
It should be applied to every state in the union.
It's a no-brainer.

This is a joke of cosmic proportions...a nation of children of immigrants who won't allow immigrants to pursue the the same freedoms they enjoy.

No reason why officers can't ask a person if they
are legal. It should be applied in every state in
the union. It's a no-brainer.

Don't people realize that there are illegal immigrants from every country here? Of all sizes and colors? I think its a wonderful idea and if we were in another country under the same circumstances, we would have the same done to us.
Sounds like some of those against this are profiling people themselves in assuming it will only be directed to one nationality.

I understand that people want to feel secure, but immigration, legal or not, is more a target of opportunity than anthing else. There are plenty of rules being broken and crimes being committed by citizens, after all.

Imitating certain countries who were feeling insecure in the first half of the 20th century is not going to make us more secure.

"You have papers?"

Absolutely yes! Illegals bring poverty, illiteracy, crime, drugs, lower wages, drain our welfare system and over run our hospitals and schools! 20 million illegals will soon be 30 million if we don't secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws. Why would anyone want to import Mexico's poverty to America when we have our own to deal with? Illegals have no respect for our laws and cost the American tax payer 10's of billions every year, it has to stop! Lets not forget the thousands of Americans that are killed by illegals every year!
Dan Bergstrom
Seattle, Wa.

Have IQ's dropped? I fail to see the connection to race here. This is a immigration issue which applies to ALL races and nationalities. It applies to Europeans just as much as Asians, Africans, Mexicans, and all other nationalities and races. Why are you making it a discrimination issue? I cannot understand why the media is even associating race to this and continuously connecting it. Are they trying to insite discrimination in order to spin and promote a fictional story for ratings? If you read the Department of Justice laws it clearly defines Illegal Aliens and has no implication what so ever to race, creed, or color. We have LEGAL processes for entering, residing, and working in this country and why is it so hard for people to use them? My spouse is from a foriegn country and we went through the proper legal process to bring her here and it was no problem. I think we have every right to determine who is LEGAL and ILLEGAL in our country. What part of ILLEGAL do people not understand? Nothing to do with race.

What is happening to the way the people of this country are thinking? This is the kind of thing that 1930's Germany felt was proper. We have laws in place to protect the rights of citizens. One of them is the right to unlawful searches and seizers. Giving any individual the right to indiscriminately request anything without cause is not the American way.

Yes I agree with the right to check for illegal immigrants. That is to include not only Mexicans but every nationality. The cost of having illegals entering this country is very expensive and we need to do something to slow it down or stop it. Look at the money being spent on the wall at the border. We need results!
Maybe licensing or something else to monitor citizens instead of pulling over everyone for any reason at all. Something like license tabs or registration.

WHEN THE COURTS GIVE AWAY OUR COUNTRY TO ILLEGIALS, I THINK IT'S TIME TO STAND UP
AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
MY SON IS IN A LEGAL BATTLE WITH AN ILLEGAL
HYSPANIC WOMAN OVER THEIR SON. THE COURTS
ARE NOT PROTECTING THEIR CITIZENS, THIS
WOMAN IS GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER, IN MY
OPINION. SHE LIVES IN COLORADO, HAS A OREGON
DRIVERS LICENSE, (with false infomation on it).
SHE TRIED TO TELL THE COLORADO JUDGE, THAT OREGON
WAS GIVING THE LICENSES AWAY. IT IS AMAZING THAT THIS WOMAN CAN LIE, CHEAT AND DECEIVE, AND EXPECT
THE COURT TO AWARD HER MONIES, THAT ARE OVER AND ABOVE NORMAL SUPPORT PAYMENTS. MY SON HAS BEEN THREATENED, AND HIS ATTORNEY HAS TOLD HIM TO WATCH HIS BACK. THE CLINCHER IS THAT SHE BRAGGED
TO ME THAT HISPANICS ARE TAKING OVER AND WILL RUN THE COUNTRY IN LESS THAN 15 YEARS. I THINK THAT THEY ALREADY ARE. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO WAKE UP!

So, if people of "color" are not to be targeted specifically by this law, then what"? Anyone who talks "funny"? How about that maybe? What constitutes "not right" about a person? Perhaps a dress code or arm bands for town patrons would help you tell each other apart. I know... Bar codes on your forheads. DT

One Town?

The United States needs to be free of illegal immigrants coast to coast. Round them up. Put them on a chain gang for 30 days and kick them out. Repeat offenders do 6 months on the chain gang.

I CANNOT BELEIVE MY EYES AND EARS, THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF ITSELF WITH THE LEVEL OF ANTI-MEXICAN/PRO-HATE PROPAGANDA THAT I AM SEEING.

YOU ARE HORRIBLE, VILE, AND A DISGRACEFUL BUNCH OF PEOPLE, AND GUESS WHAT, MANY OF YOUR ANSCESTORS CAME HERE ILLEGALLY TOO. YEAH, BUT YOU DO NOT LIKE TO BE REMINDED OF THAT NOW DO YOU??

WHAT DOES THAT MAKE YOU?? HATE-MONGURING, SMALL MINDED, RASCIST DEVILS AND REST ASSURE, THE LORD IS WATCHING YOU AND YOUR SINS OF HATE.

QUIT BEING ARYAN RASCIST PIGS AND HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEM VERSUS POURING GASOLINE AND MATCHES ON IT!

I think the law will never pass Judicial scrutiny. Just think about it, who do you stop? Just Mexicans? That alone will get it struck down by an Appellate Court. Are we all expected to carry our birth certificates and passports with us at all times? Because a drivers license will not be enough to prove it.

The law goes too far and cannot possibly withstand a legal challange, sorry rednecks!

The wife and I work at the hospital and 72% are illegal immigrants using your tax dollars. Dropping kids and welfare, housing, medical seems to be the way.

IT APPEARS NAZI GERMANY IS REARING ITS UGLY HEAD! FOR SHAME, WHO'S NEXT? JEWS? CATHOLICS? HANDICAPPED? DISABLED?

Worry about real problems like higher gas prices that are strangling this country to death that your beloved White House will NEVER EVER speak against!

Wake up, its not illegals ruining this country, its the criminals in the White House!

Willamina Oregon, Oregon Jobs, City of Willamina Welcomes you to our city, make this your next official vacation spot for you fishing, boating, sports event, ...

Incorporated 1903, named after Willamina Williams, the first White woman to cross the creek bearing the same name...

The first line is from the first link on Yahoo when you search for this town. The next line is the only comment on their website. Go figure! Why not just post a banner saying "foreigners, Don't let the sun set on you in this town"
Now I'm just as prejudiced as the next inbred redneck living in a small town in Oregon, but I don't think even I could live with a bunch of paranoind xenophobes setting policy for me. Sorry for your luck, Willamaniacs.

URGENT UPDATE! THE MEASURE WENT DOWN IN FLAMES! NO NEED TO DEBATE IT ANYMORE, AGAIN SORRY REDNECKS, TRY AGAIN, WHICH WE KNOW YOU WILL!!

Fabulous! The mere fact the word 'illegal' is used clearly gives them the right. If they believe someone is using 'illegal' drugs or otherwise committing an 'illegal' act, I would expect my tax dollars used to stop the ILLEGAL activities - including people illegally entering the country.

There are legal ways for people to enter and apply for citizenship. Time for illegals to take advantage of the laws America has in place.

Signed - a die hard Democrat but one who won't put up with turning a blind eye.

Having lived on the California/Arizona border I seem to have a broader view of what really goes on, than you northerners. You are in for a rude awakening, true not one race is at fault for all crimes, just like on president can't be at fault for all of the problems with our country(some but not all). When I brought my children to their bus stop every morning, I was stopped by the border patrol and asked to prove my citizenship, remember we are talking about the AZ/CA border not the AZ/Mexico border. I am the farthest thing from looking hispanic I might add. When I relocated to the northwest, my neighbors became aquaintances and told us they were here from Mexico illegally and didn't seem a bit worried about stating it.But yet, we recieved notification by mail in November of 2007 we had to prove that we were US citizens, we were forced to bring all of our documents for us & our children to the Department of Citizenship in person. Even though we are all natural born Americans. Do you think our neighbors ever received a letter? No way, why would they be hassled? If the American citizens can be hassled this much why can't an officer who is supposed to be enforcing the law ask for the same that is asked from us? Again, officers enforce the LAW, isn't being here illegally breaking the LAW? Hello people.

Would like to add: If anyone read the facts, this can only be asked if the person no matter what color of their skin was pulled over for a legitimate reason. This law applies to everyone.

As I stated in my first post, I have no problem with legal status checks in the course of a legitimate traffic stop or other probable cause type scenerio. Even rednecks win in that case. I am not a bleeding heart. dt

Wow!!! totally blown away by the amount of ignorant people that contribute to this blog. I agree that someone should be screened for citizenship if they do something illegal, but random street checks is what this proposal is offering. They can be stopped if the officer believes the person is in the country illegal, the same way they can pull over a teen or even a minority in a luxury vehicle because they don't look like they can afford it. The proposal is worded like the seatbelt laws in washington, when they first came out you could only get a ticket if you were pulled over without your seatbelt on, now you can be pulled over simply because you aren't wearing a seatbelt. I am an American, but This isn't about giving jobs back to Americans. We already had a chance to have those jobs and we said we would rather pay cheaper prices for apples, onions and every other piece of hand-picked goods. This is the way it works. We aren't gonna be paying 99cents a pound for apples if the pickers are making minimum wage and have health care. We are the reason that illegal aliens enter this country. If there weren't jobs they wouldn't risk their lives trying to enter. Aside from that, this would give excessive power to law enforcement officials which would ultimately lead to increased harassment charges and more pressure on the already overloaded court system. Let us not forget that a driver's license is not a citizenship card which means that each of us are now a target by the system. What would happen if you accidentally left your wallet at home when heading to work? This would carry over into implementation of a standard citizenship identification program which would cost us a bunch more in taxes while making some friend of a high-seated official very rich.

If this is about Illegal aliens, stop hiring them.
If this is about American jobs, round up the low-life scum that would rather shake a cup than put in a day of hard work and ship them to the fields to harvest crops. After all, there isn't a job shortage in America, there is a shortage of people willing to perform those jobs. That is the price you pay to be an industrialized nation.

Alas, an immigrant-free zone could be helpful to eliminate some crime but it will inevitably cost the tax payers more and the cost of goods would skyrocket.

No, I think it's time to take a stand for our right to privacy....

In our town of Falls City there is another serious issue taking place...our public access to the waterfall (from whence the city got it's name) is being threatened on the shorter side. This will definitely result in injuries to foolishly brave swimmers who will now be forced to scale the much more dangerous side in order to swim...Whether private or public, this access has been open to the public for decades and this town is affectionately visited by college goers and mountain bikers...how can this happen. Someone help us out!!!!!!!!!!! Let's prevent injury or death and see if we can keep lands that should be open to the public....PUBLIC. No one has a right to own waterfall access...this is our God given right....what is wrong with our Mayor!!!! see fallscity.org and brmba.org

I am now proud to say i live in sheridan (7 miles away from Willamina) go for it!!!

I don't care if there is any requirement for citizens of this country to have to carry ID all the time, whether to prove citizenship or any other reason -- I simply won't comply, and that's the end of it. I intentionally leave my ID at home unless I am driving. Society has no authority to demand to know who am I, or anything else from me for that matter. I was born in Washington State, and all my grandparents were born in the US. But I don't feel any obligation to prove it to your stupid police. I don't care what the law says. As with every law, I'll comply if I only if I feel a moral obligation to comply, and in this case I certainly don't.

What most people don't realize is that when economic times are good, no one gives a care about illegals. When economic times are bad, the white American public, led by it's white elite, start turning red in the face, have a hard time breathing, and force their hearts into palpatations over the issue of jobs and state/federal monies spent on anyone who isn't white, educated, and, in some ways in the particular, male. It also means, that the white blue collar labor class is having a hard time finding jobs and are looking for ways to move up the ladder which is a threat to those in the upper classes. In order to prevent people that belong to the labor class moving up the corporate and class ladder, an uprising of indignation occurs.

If you think the issue of immigration is really about immigration issues you're wrong. The illegal immigrant issue is about keeping those in the lower classes where they belong and where they were bred to live and work. This is a historical proven fact, gents and ladies. We in America have this cycle and inclination of bias and scape goating. We never seem to learn from the past and keep repeating it over and over and over and over and over again, every freaking chance we get. Americans have always been narrow minded, small hearted, and prejudiced. They can't help it, won't help it, refuse to help it.

And btw, I am white, male, educated, and an American purely by the accident of birth. If you'd care to get your eyes opened to how America has historically worked, read "A Different Mirror".

I agree. We have had 8 years of Republican disasters. This country is in far, far worse shape than when these fools took over. Con-menservatives do not want you questioning their actions and inactions, but rather, would prefer to throw their bible-thumping flock off the trail by stirring up Illegal alien and gay marriage issues to get the pulpits talking about those insignificant items versus the ineptitude in the White House and the lowsy state of the economy on their watch. You will NEVER hear Bush or Cheney talking about the high gas prices, why? BIG OIL ARE REPUBLICANS!! Condolezza Rice was on Chevrons Board for 10 years prior to working at the White House...hmmmmm...

Hey Candy, we strongly doubt your story. We have been all through that area and saw many, many citizenship patrols in Arizona, and they always, always, stop Mexicans ONLY. Never white folks. In fact, I stopped just to ask them what their story was, and they said they only stop those looking "suspicious." So, that must sum you up!
You, nor your rascist family cannot expect our citizens to carry birth certificates and passports 24/7 when outside or in a particular town. That is going too far, and I am glad to see the Town of Willamina realize that and shoot down this discriminatory practice. I am sure you small minded people will try again though.

Without a strong border, this law, or anything like it will be POINTLESS because kicking them out today, will only cause them to return tomorrow, so what is the point, other than to discriminate?? Ouch!

YEA!!!! Another "American" official payed by our tax dollars pulled it's head halfway out of it's a*s.
Continue the mediocre enforcement work!
JBG

this is an excellent idea! far too often do aliens live in our neighborhoods, our communities, and violatw our laws but no one reports them. if citizens can not be responsible enough to report illegal activity (which by the way isnt so conveniant nor easy to do)then it should be up to the force that are taxes pay for to ENFORCE THE LAW~! immigration is a code of law that needs to be respected wheather agreed with or not. therefore seeing as though it is part of the law then our officers should have the right to investigate those they suspect of breaking the law.