Thread: Illegal alien crackdown draws local opposition in Newton

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09/8/06 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom

Illegal alien crackdown draws local opposition
Morris officials skeptical a Newton ordinance would hold up in court

BY TIEN-SHUN LEE
DAILY RECORD


A proposed ordinance in Newton that would fine business owners who hire undocumented immigrants and landlords who rent to them drew some skepticism from politicians and business people in Morris County, who don't think such a law will hold up in court.

The ordinance targeting undocumented immigrants was proposed by Newton Councilman Philip Diglio at a council meeting last week, and is undergoing review by other council members and their municipal attorney. If the ordinance is adopted, Newton would become one of about 40 municipalities nationwide to deal with illegal immigration by levying fines on landlords and businesses.

Riverside in Burlington County already passed a similar ordinance in July.

Politicians and business people in Morris County were skeptical that the Newton proposal would hold up in court if challenged, and some business people also criticized the proposal as the wrong way to attack a federal problem.

Both Dover Mayor Jim Dodd and Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello said they were unwilling to risk spending municipal dollars on enforcing something that they might not have the authority to enforce.

"I think there's definitely a constitutionality issue, and I'm quite sure it's going to be challenged," Dodd said of the proposal.

Cresitello agreed that the proposal would be challenged.

"I just don't think that those ordinances are going to stand up in court, and it would generate a million dollars in legal fees as the process is challenged," he said.

Dodd said that he would not risk spending taxpayer dollars on enforcing something that the federal government won't take responsibility for.

"At this point, I don't think the federal government has addressed the immigration issue, and I don't think as a small municipality that we have the revenue and resources available to us to defend that type of ordinance in court. I don't know if it's even legal for a municipality to do that," Dodd said.

'We're not the INS'

Diglio pointed out that his proposed ordinance, which is modeled after one adopted last month in Hazleton, Pa., does not call for town officials to deport illegal immigrants, or for them to barge into homes to check documentation.

"We're not the INS, but people who rent and lease apartments to illegals, as well as those who employ them, are basically aiding and abetting,"Diglio said. "My proposal is that if there's a fire in a building, or a code inspector sees something, and those people can't provide documentation, then they just can't rent or work in the town. They're going to have to find some place else to work or live."

Diglio said he proposed the ordinance partly because of an increase in stacking problems and crime in his town. Stacking tends to go hand-in-hand with illegal immigrants, he said, and though crime in Newton was not particularly related to immigrants, a number high-profile incidents this year did involve illegals.

Diglio's proposed ordinance would also make English the official language of Newton, the county seat of Sussex County.

The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders has promised to sue Newton if Diglio's ordinance passes. The coalition has already sued Riverside -- the first municipality in the state to pass such an ordinance.

The Rev. Miguel Rivera, the president of the coalition, which represents 15,000 churches in 32 states, said that 70 percent of businesses in Riverside have experienced a decline in revenue since the ordinance was passed.

"A lot of people have left the township, and they don't want to go into Riverside because they're scared," Rivera said. "Even Home Depot and major supermarkets are expressing their concern because many families have left Riverside."

Florence Reichenberg, the president of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, said that penalizing businesses that hire illegal immigrants would hurt businesses, and would not address the root problem, which is the presence of undocumented people in the work force who will take jobs for less.

"To address the root problem, they need to facilitate the legalization of all the work force, and to make it an evenly competitive job market," Reichenberg said. "Perhaps instead of being fined, businesses should be given incentives to direct workers to become legalized. They should spend resources on expediting the legalization, rather than reacting to issues."

Esperanza Fields, the founder of the Morris County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said a plan like Diglio's would dismantle businesses in the county because the Morris County labor force is largely composed of immigrants, both legal and illegal.

"The majority of the people cutting grass, babysitting, cleaning offices -- they're immigrants," she said. "Probably you would have to raise salaries if such an (ordinance) were passed."

Sergio Ferrari, the owner of Barry's restaurant in Dover, who has been appointed by Dodd to a committee that serves as a liaison between local businesses and the town, said that if an ordinance like Diglio's were passed in Dover, Dover would become a ghost town.

"Seventy percent of the businesses in Dover are Hispanic, and almost 100 percent of those are run with illegal aliens," he said. "I can't run my business without illegal aliens. They are doing the jobs that Americans don't want to do."

Ferrari added that the federal government should be responsible for laws regarding immigration.

"This is a federal government problem," he said. "I think amnesty and closing the borders is the only solution."

Both Dodd and Cresitello said that undocumented immigrants pose a serious problem that needs to be addressed. But they said they do not, as municipalities, have the tools to enforce immigration laws.

"If Congress gave states the right to enforce immigration, the way that they do other federal laws like drug laws and IRS laws, the state of New Jersey could then assign the authority to the local communities and state police to enforce the law. I can tell you, we would do it in the morning," Cresitello said.

Lacking fed support

Dodd also said that with the support of the federal government, he also would enforce immigration laws.

"When the federal government can say to me, 'You have the authority to enforce X, Y, and Z,' I will do that," Dodd said. "But I need to know that we have the support of our government."

If the federal government allowed municipalities to enforce immigration laws, then maybe towns could take some housing inspectors and police and train them in where to identify immigration issues and problems, and how to deal with them accordingly, Dodd added.

Diglio acknowledged that enforcing the ordinance he is proposing would require municipal funds and resources, but he said spending money on dealing with the problem of undocumented immigrants one way would cut down on other related costs.

"Let's say somebody is here illegally and they go to a hospital emergency room, and it costs $20,000," he said. "You're going to pay for it one way or another."

Diglio said that it is "disappointing" that elected federal officials are not insisting that immigration laws be enforced.

"All elected officials take an oath of office whereas they solemnly swear to uphold all the laws of this country," he said. By not enforcing immigration laws, federal officials are "in violation of their respective oaths of office," he added.

The federal government's inaction on immigration issues has forced municipalities to try to deal with them on their own, Diglio said.

"I hope this is going to force the federal government to finally make a decision and do something," he said.

Rivera said that although he does not support Diglio's proposed ordinance, he commends local governments for trying to tackle the difficult matter of immigration.

Rivera's coalition supports giving undocumented immigrants who are already in the country a temporary legal working status of six to nine years, during which they can organize their life and decide whether they want to apply for residency, or to just save money and then go back to their country.

In addition, the coalition is pushing for reforms to the visa system so that it allows for people who are needed to come to the country to work.


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Tien-Shun Lee can be reached at (973) 989-0652 or tslee@gannett.com.

"All elected officials take an oath of office whereas they solemnly swear to uphold all the laws of this country," he said. By not enforcing immigration laws, federal officials are "in violation of their respective oaths of office," he added.

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