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County to see revised illegal-immigration draft
BY JEREMY HSIEH, The Beaufort Gazette
Published Monday, October 23, 2006
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BEAUFORT -- New revisions to Beaufort County's proposed illegal-immigration-relief ordinance address many of the potential pitfalls raised in committee meetings, which officials say will strengthen the measure against political and legal attack.

Several parts of the ordinance were rewritten to simplify and clarify the interaction of the county and the federal governments. County Councilwoman Starletta Hairston, who introduced the measure, which looks to bar illegal immigrants from working for county businesses, said she was optimistic about county attorney Kelly Golden's revisions and the County Council's first reading of the measure today.

"I feel confident that [Golden's] done a great job in working with the attorneys in Washington to make sure we have things legally done and worded to the point it'll hold up against any complaints that anyone might pose," Hairston said.

If the County Council passes the measure at its meeting today, two additional readings and a public hearing must be held before it is adopted.

The ordinance would amend the county's business-licensing code, making the county's business-license office a clearinghouse for complaints about illegally employed immigrant workers. It demands the firing of workers that the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement verifies as an "unauthorized alien." That federally defined term is used in the latest revision instead of "illegal alien" and "unlawful worker" for consistency and to eliminate ambiguity.

The county would suspend the license of a business employing unauthorized aliens until the county received written verification that the situation has been corrected. Repeat offenders would be subject to automatic 20-day license suspensions.

The ordinance also encourages an employer's voluntary enrollment in the free federal Basic Pilot Program, which verifies Social Security numbers and checks an employee's status with the Department of Homeland Security. Businesses must enroll in the program to be eligible for county grants and contracts of more than $10,000. Revisions more clearly state that businesses enrolled in the program will have safe haven from penalties if a violation arises with a person who had passed the program's scrutiny.

One major clarification identifies a federal code that places the burden of verifying a suspected illegal workers' immigrant status on the federal agency at the county's request.

This could limit premature action by employers who have flagged workers through the Basic Pilot Program but haven't confirmed them as unauthorized aliens, a concern Councilman Dick Stewart raised. Legitimate workers who were victims of clerical errors or identity theft could be ousted in this way.

Golden's revisions also show the deletion of a section intended to give fired workers a legal recourse if they think they were discharged unlawfully. A draft footnote states that the section was deleted "due to its questionable constitutional status," though Stewart had raised concerns that unscrupulous workers could abuse the legal process for their own ends.

The measure received another boost last week when county administrator Gary Kubic announced a major business-license enforcement move, which Hairston said will go hand in hand with her plan.

Golden had submitted the new draft to the County Council on Wednesday. The Community Services and Public Safety Committee, where the measure originated, has yet to make a recommendation on it, though county officials are trying to get the ordinance passed before a new council takes over in January.

"I hear feedback from my constituency every day encouraging me to move it along, to get it to pass, and they want other council people to support it," Hairston said.

A previous draft of the ordinance and related materials are available online at the county's Web site, bcgov.net.

If you go

• What: Beaufort County Council meeting.

• When: 4 p.m. today.

• Where: Bluffton library, 120 Palmetto Way.