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July 26, 2007 El Hispanic News www.elhispanicnews.com Noticias Locales Local News Page 2 St. Helens says no to ‘illegal worker free zone’ signs Richard Jones El Hispanic News Writer St. Helens, OR — The prospect of posting "Illegal Worker Free Zone" signs was briefly raised in St. Helens twice last week — and twice the Columbia County Commissioners and the St. Helens City Council shot it down. This pleasant city downriver from Portland is home to 12,000 residents, more than 90 percent Anglo. Hispanics constitute about 3 or 4 percent of the population, with African Americans at roughly .5 percent. The older part of the city, nestled on the south bank of the Columbia River, could easily serve as a movie location to fill in for an upstate New York village. Last Wednesday evening, Wayne Mayo, a St. Helens contractor, told St. Helens’ mayor and four councilmen, "Our youth need jobs — more than flipping burgers — and that is being denied them by illegal workers — who may be working off the books." That, he reasoned, called for posting of 4-foot by 8-foot "Illegal Worker Free Zone" signs around St. Helens. A phoned in complaint should be sufficient to initiate an investigation, Mayo said. "This is a matter of national security." Ron Peterson supported Mayo in asking for posting of signs. "Jobs are being taken from me by firms from Hillsboro using illegal workers," he said. "My former workers now work at WalMart or other dead-end jobs." "If we wait for Washington [D.C.] to do something, for Salem to do something — it's never going to happen," he added, predicting that if the St. Helens City Council did not act, they could expect "tagging" — graffiti — to increase. He proposed $500 to $5,000 penalties for any employer who hires undocumented workers. "There's a lot of identity theft going on. There's probably a lot of money going into Social Security that won't be coming out," another speaker said. "We should ensure that Social Security numbers match up with [workers' identification]. It's about maintaining the integrity of the Social Security system." Eight citizens spoke against Mayo's request. Marcy Westerling, chair of the Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity, put the "illegal" shoe on another foot. "There are minimum wage laws [in Oregon]," she told the city council. "Anyone who pays $4 an hour is illegal." In a previous press release, Westerling stated, “Columbia County is not a snitch county. We are a hate-free zone that welcomes all of our neighbors regardless of race, ethnicity, or citizenship status. We do not support an anti-immigrant zone that scapegoats immigrants rather than looking at the big picture of why immigrants come here and what we can do to fix our immigration system and create fair policy at a national and global level.” One woman said that Mayo's proposed signs would create a climate of fear among people with brown skin. Drawing a historical parallel, Jeff Rogers, a retired Chief Master Sergeant, recounted a similar situation in Germany in the 1980s. For decades Germans had been hiring Turks to perform unskilled labor. When the Russians withdrew from East Germany they left behind thousands of unskilled Germans who went looking for work in West Germany. When they found few jobs open, Rogers said, the Germans used the Turks as scapegoats. Rogers said the prevailing attitude was, "These damned dirty Turks! They've taken all our jobs!" "We have to be careful when we talk about exclusion [of people]," Rogers warned. "I don't think this is a message we want to send to our community, to our country, to people." "I agree with you wholeheartedly," St. Helens Mayor Randy Peterson responded. Councilman Charles Grant didn't buy into the "lack of jobs" argument. "Unemployment [in Columbia County] is about as low as it's been in four years," he said. "I'm absolutely against putting up [Mayo's] signs." Moreover, Grant noted, "Immigration laws are federal and we're a city. We shouldn't have to enforce federal laws." He added that federal officers don't enforce St. Helens traffic laws. In a comment outside City Hall after the meeting, using drugs as an example, Ron Peterson countered Grant's point. "They enforce federal laws all the time," he said, "but this is the one they won't do." A Portland resident with property in St. Helens summed up the issue concisely. "Frankly," Carolyn Skinner said, "I think [Mayo's proposal] is very un-Christian." The four councilmen and the mayor, to differing degrees, expressed opposition to Mayo's proposal, but did not put the question to a formal vote. Earlier in the day, the Columbia County Commission, according to Commissioner Tony Hyde, took no action on Mayo's proposal. To Return to the Immigrant Rights page, CLICK HERE
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