Greg Walden town hall gets testy in northern Oregon

THE DALLES, Ore. (KOIN/CNN) – Before scheduled appearances in southern Oregon, Congressman Greg Walden visited northern Oregon to hold a town hall meeting with local residents.

The Republican lawmaker spent 2 hours fielding mostly complaints and concerns.

Orchardist Ian Chandler, who is a Republican himself, said he wants the congressman to protect the area’s immigrant population.

“People are afraid,” Chandler said. “There’s genuine fear of what’s going to happen with immigration crackdowns. There’s fear of families being broken apart.”

Immigration reform and building a border wall–just one of the forum’s hot-button issues.

Another was Walden’s support of the Republican healthcare bill that he helped write to replace Obamacare.

Oregonian Jim Foote said, “He’s been there for eight years obstructing everything Obama put forth.”

“Last year in America, there were 225 counties where people had one insurance choice. One.” Walden said.

The crowd of 500 frequently shouted down Walden when they disagreed with his answers, or lack of answers.

Walden told the crowd, “I would rather have all of you here, doing what you’re doing, speaking up even if you’re challenging me–which I get and appreciate–than people who sit at home and never speak.”