Oregonian Op-Ed and Testimony opposing HB 2583

http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1113299738252820.xml&coll=7

Punishing illegal immigrants
These workers, who pay taxes, shouldn't qualify to vote, but their children should be able to pay in-state tuition
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
The Oregonian

W e Oregonians share our state with thousands of illegal immigrants. How many, no one knows for sure, but it's estimated that half or more of the 1.6 million agricultural workers in the United States are here illegally. Oregon is heavily dependent on them, too.

This "off the books" demographic is deeply distressing to many Oregonians. They wonder, rightfully, how much we should accommodate this new reality and how much we should actively discourage it. In this session, the Oregon Legislature can set some parameters. Legislators should decide:

Should illegal immigrants continue to be licensed to drive, as they are now? Should they be permitted to pay in-state tuition at Oregon universities, rather than be classified as out-of-state residents, as they are now? And should they be registered to vote? They aren't eligible now.

Many Oregonians will respond vehemently: No, no, no. But a little deeper reflection on the welfare of our state argues that we should say yes to driver's licenses, yes to in-state tuition and no to illegal immigrants registering to vote. Voter registration. Voting has been, and should always remain, a perquisite of U.S. citizenship. Nothing should be allowed to change that.

House Bill 2583 would require Oregonians to provide evidence of citizenship when registering to vote. Having to produce a birth certificate would keep many from registering, not because they aren't citizens but because their birth certificate isn't handy.

Currently, the first question you are asked when you register is whether you are a U.S. citizen. You can be liable for steep fines or a prison sentence if you answer falsely. "Right now, there's no data to suggest we have any kind of major problems with this," says John Lindback, state elections manager. Driver's licenses. Currently, you do not have to be a U.S. citizen or even a legal resident to obtain a driver's license. You only have to show proof of your Oregon address, pass a knowledge test and a behind-the-wheel test. As The Oregonian's Michelle Cole reported Monday, Oregon is one of only nine states that do not require proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residency to drive.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, driver's licenses have become the focus of a flurry of efforts to tighten national security, but we continue to believe that these licenses function mainly to set minimum standards for driving. The reality is that illegal immigrants are working here and they're going to be driving, too.

Denying licenses to them won't keep them off the road. It will ensure that more of them drive without skill, training or knowledge of state law. Illegal drivers pose far more risk to us than licensed illegal immigrants. In-state tuition. Currently, illegal immigrants' children must pay out-of-state tuition to attend Oregon universities. The difference between paying in-state and out-of-state tuition is $12,000, which might as well be $12 million if your parents work in the fields.

Senate Bill 769, which cleared the Senate Education and Workforce Committee last week, would grant in-state tuition to noncitizens if they go to an Oregon high school for three years, graduate and have plans to become citizens or legal residents. This is fair. Their parents may be illegal residents, but they do pay taxes.

This change would give more children of illegal immigrants an incentive, not only to aim for college, but also to stay in high school. When a bachelor's degree looks like a moonshot, it's difficult for teachers to persuade students to take hard subjects or work for good grades. Picking fruit looks like fate.

Forcing illegal immigrants to pay out-of-state tuition doesn't just punish illegal families by keeping them in their "place." It also punishes Oregon with depressed academic achievement and a higher dropout rate.

The Oregon Legislature shouldn't succumb to a reflexive wish to punish illegal immigrants, or a reflexive desire to accommodate them, either. The Oregon Legislature's guiding principle should be what's best for our state.

©2005 The Oregonian
© 2005 OregonLive.com All Rights Reserved.

http://www.pdx.edu/gov-relations/news/4873/

News: HB 2583 Testimony of Director of Business Affairs Dee Wendler
Author: Dee Wendler, Director of Business Affairs
Posted: March 7, 2005

Testimony by Dee Wendler on HB 2583 before the House Election and Rules Committee, March 4, 2005
Chair Kitts, members of the committee, my name is Dee Wendler and I am the director of business affairs for Portland State University. I am here today to testify about the impact House Bill 2583 would have on the institutions of the Oregon University System and to explain the federal mandates we fulfill when we register our students to vote.

As you know, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the Motor Voter Act, requires state agencies to offer voter registration. This law requires Oregon’s public universities to provide their students with a voter registration form, to offer assistance in completing that form, and to send the completed application to the county clerk. In 1998, this voter registration requirement became a part of the regular Program Participation Agreement to award federal financial aid. Schools are required to make a good faith effort to distribute voter registration materials to all students and to make this information readily available or they risk jeopardizing the federal financial aid available to their students.

We take our responsibilities under Motor Voter on our campuses very seriously because if we do not fulfill its mandates we put our students’ access to higher education at risk. To fulfill these mandates we must not only inform our students about the opportunities to register to vote but we must encourage and facilitate the registration of our students.
Universities implement Motor Voter in a variety of ways on the campuses in conjunction with students. For example, at PSU we offer the opportunity to register to vote when a student pays a bill or registers for classes. Under the current system, voter registration cards are available for students to pick up, fill out, and drop into boxes to be mailed by the University. We have created a very simple system to support voter registration on our campus.

The most important impact of HB 2583, we believe, is that it is in conflict with the intent of the Motor Voter Act. This Act was passed to encourage young people to register to vote and participate in the electoral process. HB 2583 adds a barrier for a first time voter at the time when we are mandated to encourage them to become active in the process.
Many of our students register on campus for the very first time. For most students the additional requirement that they attach proof of citizenship would, we believe, be significant enough that they would never actually complete the voter registration process. Many students simply don’t have ready access to their birth certificates or a passport. Often those documents are being held in safe keeping by a student’s parents. For students who have moved to Oregon from another state, accessing those documents may be even more difficult. We understand that the county clerk bears the burden of notifying a student who has neglected to attach proof of citizenship to his or her registration. We also know from experience, however, that tracking down a student, asking them to provide the county clerk’s office with proof of citizenship, and having that student fulfill that requirement creates many burdens for already busy students. We believe first time registration of our students will be severely limited if the process become too burdensome for them.

As stated before, Oregon’s public universities take their responsibility to register students under the Motor Voter Act very seriously. HB 2583 will have the effect of making the process of registering to vote for the first time confusing and unnecessarily burdensome.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. I would be happy to answer any questions

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