Members of the Northwest Immigrant Youth Alliance hold a sign that says "Undocumented and Unafraid" at the beginning of their "Coming Out of the Shadows" event.About 50 advocates for immigrant rights gathered in front of Portland City Hall on Saturday to speak out against a
, which took effect Friday.
The controversial law, similar to Arizona's immigration law passed in spring 2010, allows local police to check the immigration status of suspects without identification and to detain illegal immigrants. Parts of the law are being challenged in court.
Eliana Machuca, staff organizer of
, said the groups hoped to educate the public about how this law negatively affects immigrants' lives before the Oregon Legislature decides to take similar action.
"We can't pretend that something that happened in Georgia can't potentially happen here," said Machuca, who noted that immigrants often feel unsafe because they aren't comfortable asking for help from emergency services or law enforcement out of fear of being deported.
Faith, labor and immigration groups also addressed the impact of
, a federal immigration enforcement program geared to identify illegal immigrants who have committed crimes, according to the
.
Since the program was begun in Multnomah County in May 2010, more than 170 people have been taken into ICE custody from the county and 78 people have been deported, according to statistics compiled by Jennifer Hatton, of the
, a local organization. Thirty-nine percent of people deported in Multnomah County did not have a criminal record, according to Hatton.
An event called "Coming Out of the Shadows" planned by the Northwest Immigrant Youth Alliance followed the press conference. The tagline of this event, during which six undocumented youth speakers shared their stories, was "Undocumented, Unafraid."
"I don't want to live in fear anymore," said Omar Garcia , a 20-year-old from Gresham, during his speech. "I hate being criminalized. I hate being labeled."
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