The League of Women Voters of Lane County extends our appreciation for the Rural Organizing Project, Cottage Grove Friends of Democracy and those elected officials that signed onto a statement of alarm about reported actions carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week in Lane County.

We want to give a special shoutout to every individual that showed up in any of a multitude of ways, and to local media that covered what occurred. This is democracy in action here at home. 

No matter how you feel about people being in this country without authorization, people have rights under our Constitution. Intimidation, violence and hiding behind masks is intolerable. Detainment without due process is illegal. The Fifth and 14th amendments’ due process clauses protect every person within U.S. borders, regardless of immigration status.

“Immigration policies should promote the reunification of immediate families, meet economic, business, and employment needs, and be responsive to those facing political persecution or humanitarian crises” is the stance of the national League of Women Voters. Apparently it is just too much to ask that Congress take immediate action to pass common-sense, fair immigration policies that end the crisis at our border, stop the separation of families and provide a path to citizenship.

Thank you for stepping up and out.

Terry Parker
Board President, League of Women Voters of Lane County
Eugene