Oregon--the “most-livable state in America”—frequently thumbs its soggy nose at conventional wisdom.
Among other departures, it inaugurated America’s first statewide bottle-return, land-use planning and physician-assisted suicide laws.
Its latest foray into uncharted territory, however, has earned it another nickname, the Republic of Oregon.
Two of its largest cities, Portland and Eugene, have refused to let their police departments assist the Federal Bureau of Investigation in questioning foreign nationals—mostly from Middle East countries—in the domestic War on Terrorism.
That’s because city ordinances prohibit racial profiling by law-enforcement officers, according to city attorneys.
Never mind that the state’s attorney general and county district attorneys find nothing untoward about the U.S. Justice Dept.’s request for cooperation. Nevermind that is really national profiling.
Oregon is home to about 300 Middle East men, aged 16-45, with student, visitor and employment visas. The other 4,700 foreign nationals under scrutiny reside, thankfully, in less-livable areas of America. (9 DECEMBER 2001)
