Oregon's nativism

I have a friend who hates scotch broom. This is an invasive species from the east that prevents forests from being reseeded after timber harvesting, and costs Oregon $47 million per year in lost revenue.

Scotch broom is rather pretty. It was, after all, introduced to Oregon as an ornamental garden plant by early settlers from the east coast.

I am no fan of the barred owl. This is another invasive species from the east. Larger and less timid than the Northern spotted owl, the barred owl is responsible for a serious decline in Oregon's northern spotted owl. Their populations increase faster near cities than in old growth forests.

There is a similar kind of nativism underlying many of the remarks in public hearing against Oregon's migrant worker population. In testimony, one refrain that was echoed -- this level of immigration by people from a different culture is bad for Oregon's ecology.

Personal difficulties also tend to accompany opposition to immigrant rights. One woman who testified felt that immigrants were making it more difficult for her to obtain services for herself and her son, and were responsible for her divorce and for the high rate of divorce in the state.

We will be posting video from the immigration hearings throughout the next few days. The first video is of an immigrant discussing how a bill barring undocumented workers from getting driver's licenses is going to affect the state.