A small venue to fit dozens was met with hundreds of constituents looking to have their questions answered by U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, during her first town hall meeting of the new year on Thursday, Jan. 30, in Vancouver.
A handful of big topics were brought up through written questions that Clark County Council Chair Sue Marshall read to Gluesenkamp Perez during the town hall at the Three Creeks Community Library in Salmon Creek. Gluesenkamp Perez started off the town hall expressing the small venue was not their first choice and that future town halls will be more accommodating of large crowds. Questions from those who attended included topics centering on immigration, the right to repair, the interstate bridge and more, including her involvement in a recent bible study.
Gluesenkamp Perez’s bible study participation
Gluesenkamp Perez was questioned by a community member regarding an article written by Jonathan Larsen, an independent journalist who covers Christian extremism. The article, published on Wednesday, Jan. 29, by Larsen states that Perez is helping a right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical Christian to recruit fellow members of Congress, according to an invitation she signed and sent to members of Congress.
Larsen’s article states that Perez and a dozen other members invited colleagues to join them in a weekly bible study meeting led by Ralph Drollinger. Larsen states that Drollinger is a supporter of President Donald Trump and opposes LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights and “leads a global effort to get elected officials right with Jesus.”
Gluesenkamp Perez provided clarity to the crowd about her involvement in the bible study.
“I am on a plane every three days, and my faith is really central to who I am and how I’m navigating any given choice, while upholding my beliefs,” she said. “And one of the reasons that I think it’s so important that Christians on the left are engaged in staying in the church is that, like, it cuts both ways, like, I’m there because I need more Jesus, not because I need more politics.”
Gluesenkamp Perez said that the conversations devolve into a political debate, “and when one of my colleagues says he who doesn’t work won’t eat, it’s really important for me to say, ‘Yeah, well, yes. First Corinthians say that Leviticus also says that you should leave the corners of your field …”
During her statement, an attendee from the outside, overflow area interrupted and shouted, “I don’t believe in the Bible. Skip that part.”
Gluesenkamp Perez finished her answer to the question in the town hall by expressing the importance of the separation of church and state. She also said her attendance to bible study is strictly as a Christian.
“Yes, the separation of church and state is critically important,” she said, adding that she doesn’t put her faith towards her political work and that if Larsen’s article was not written, she would not be talking about it.
Immigration
The first question from a constituent read during the town hall asked for Gluesenkamp Perez’s position on revoking temporary protected status (TPS), a temporary immigration status that allows certain foreign nationals from countries that are experiencing armed conflict to live and work in the United States.
“In some ways, I feel like TPS is a very necessary function …” Gluesenkamp Perez said, adding that the United States’ immigration system is broken. “We have not been able to pass substantive immigration reform through Congress in a long time, and we’re going to use these systems. They are an imperfect Band-Aid.”
Gluesenkamp Perez added that she believes it’s a mistake to revoke the TPS entirely as opposed to building the capacity to look at people as individuals “who should be here.”
Another person was concerned that Gluesenkamp Perez voted for the Laken Riley Act, which requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and repatriate undocumented immigrants who commit theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assault against police officers and crimes that result in serious bodily harm or death.
Gluesenkamp Perez started her answer by saying the Laken Riley Act is far from perfect legislation.
“I also think it’s pointing to a core sentiment and concern that we know who is coming into the country and that our laws here are upheld,” she said. “I also think that this bill, if I’m in a foreign country, I’m careful to follow laws. I think it’s important that our law enforcement have the resources they need to move bad actors out. And you know, I understand this bill would not have stopped the tragic murder of Laken Riley. … I think the Laken Riley Act is not perfect. I think that a lot of the questions on how it will be operationalized are still being worked out.”
She added that law enforcement officers are trying to be careful to uphold values.
“They’re not here to be the bad guys, and it’s really important that we are giving them the tools necessary to ensure that our laws are being followed,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “I understand the concerns, and I also think it’s really important that we not act ahead of what we see happening on the ground and that law enforcement has the tools they need.”
Interstate bridge funding
A question asked in the town hall stated a concern about how Gluesenkamp Perez will ensure the Interstate 5 bridge funding moves forward.
“I’ve got a letter going out to the new secretary of transportation right now inviting him to come out and see it, just like I did with Secretary Buttigieg,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “Come to the trade schools, come to the labor halls, come stand on the bridge in the rain when the trucks drive past and the whole thing shakes, and then you say, ‘Would you put your child on this bridge?’ ”
She added that she will ensure that the issues here are presented on a human scale to federal agencies and that the I-5 bridge project does not become a victim of the political process.