November 2, 2015
Andy Reid

The Palm Beach County Commission’s plan to weigh in on federal immigration reform is triggering backlash from critics who say local officials should stick to local issues.

Commissioners on Tuesday evening are scheduled to consider a resolution backing President Barack Obama’s executive order that limits deportations of people in the country illegally.

Now dozens of emailers are bombarding commissioners’ inboxes with messages urging them not to take an immigration stance.

“Who the hell do you people think you are representing?” one emailer wrote to commissioners.

County critics questioned why with so many local issues to tackle, from infrastructure problems to homelessness, the commission would spend time debating federal law.

Many of the emailers wrote that they opposed “amnesty” for people who came into the country illegally.

The messages come from local residents, as well as others from Broward County and near Orlando.

Some emailers also argued that some commissioners were using the immigration issue to try to woo supporters in bids for higher office.

“Leave your politicking for outside the Commission Chambers!” wrote Iris Scheibl of Palm Beach Gardens, who also leads the Palm Beach County Taxpayer Action Board, a Tea Party-spinoff.

County Mayor Shelley Vana said she proposed the resolution, which other cities and counties are also considering, at the urging of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus.

Vana has argued that because local residents are affected by immigration enforcement, county government should voice an opinion on the matter.

The proposal would show local support for president’s executive action in 2014, which aims to delay the deportation of the parents of children born in the United States to parents without U.S. citizenship. It also calls for delaying the deportation of children who have grown up in the country without U.S. citizenship.

In addition, the resolution advocates that Florida drop out of a multi-state lawsuit challenging the president’s executive order.

The County Commission has a mixed history when it comes to taking a stand on national issues.

The commission in 2009 supported the creation of a national health-care plan that guarantees coverage for people without private insurance. But in 2012 commissioners decided not support to a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at reversing the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case.

Tuesday’s County Commission meeting starts at 5 p.m. and will be held at the County Governmental Center at 301 N. Olive Avenue in downtown West Palm Beach.

It’s one of the County Commission’s rare evening meetings, scheduled to try to accommodate people who would have to skip work to make it to one of the commission’s normal 9:30 a.m. meetings.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/pa...102-story.html