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Oregon's sheriffs have voted overwhelmingly to oppose a ballot measure that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers cards – and by extension car insurance.
The law, passed last year by the Legislature and originally scheduled to go into effect this year,
would allow undocumented Oregonians to use the card to obtain insurance, but
not board planes, vote or buy a gun.
Republican representatives Kim Thatcher of Keizer and Sal
Esquivel of Medford joined Oregonians for Immigration Reform last spring in
launching a referendum to overturn the law. Once the necessary signatures were gathered, the new law was put on hold until voters decide on the November ballot.
Clatsop County
Sheriff Tom Bergin opposed the bill because he says it simply won't improve the
rate of undocumented people obtaining insurance
"New Mexico has
done this for 11 years and the compliance rate was almost zero," he tells WW.
"Once they allowed these cards, the insurance compliance didn't work."
WWeek 2015