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  1. #1
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    New law in Green Bay heats up immigration debate

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    New law in Green Bay heats up immigration debate

    By Tim Jones
    Tribune national correspondent
    Published June 22, 2007, 7:50 PM CDT


    The business of doing business in Green Bay is changing this weekend because of a new ordinance that would let the city yank the operating licenses of employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers.

    Proving that immigration reform is not simply a matter of congressional gridlock and talk radio shouting, Wisconsin's unofficial football capital, fueled by frustration, added its name this week to the growing number of local communities trying to address the issue that has Congress tied in political knots.



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    "Look, had Congress done their job we wouldn't have this [ordinance] in Green Bay," Mayor Jim Schmitt said Friday. "I think at this time it's the right thing to do, given what's not happening at the federal level."

    The new law, which is due to take effect Saturday, comes on the heels of similar local efforts around the country, such as in Waukegan, where the city council on Monday authorized giving the chief of police permission to apply to Washington for authority to enforce federal immigration laws.

    Many of these efforts have spawned lawsuits or questions about enforceability. A common byproduct of nearly all of these laws is friction with rapidly growing Hispanic communities, such as the one in Green Bay.

    Luis Bello, the CEO of La Uni-k Radio whose station targets Hispanic listeners, said most people in the Hispanic community "are pretty upset about it. They feel like they're being taken advantage of, doing jobs that most Americans aren't willing to do."

    Bello added: "And now they feel targeted and afraid."

    The local movement aimed at regulating immigration has generally occurred in smaller towns and cities. Hazelton, Pa., population 22,000, last year approved a law that prohibited hiring or renting to illegal immigrants. That law was challenged and is currently before a federal district court; a similar proposal in the Chicago suburb of Carpentersville has been delayed pending the outcome of the Hazelton case. The mayor of the western Wisconsin town of Arcadia last year proposed an "illegal alien task force," which was designed to prevent renting to undocumented immigrants. He backed down after a public outcry.

    Green Bay, with 102,000 people, is a larger entrant into the debate. Hispanics represent a rapidly growing segment of Green Bay's population, about 7½ percent, according to the Census Bureau. As Congress wrestled with immigration reform in Washington, support for the just-enacted law in Green Bay grew.

    Matt Hollenbeck, who chairs the mayor's Hispanic Advisory Council, said the law giving the city authority to penalizes businesses is little more than a "political statement . . . People are frustrated."

    "There are people who believe some city official is going to be patrolling the streets to pick up undocumented workers. This doesn't do that," Hollenbeck said. "And there are a lot of folks who believe this will take care of the illegal immigration problem in Green Bay —or the impression of a problem. And it won't do that, either."

    Schmitt, who is attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Los Angeles, said he regrets the ill feelings that the debate has aroused.

    "If there's any harassment, we'll shut it down right away. We won't allow that," Schmitt said. "We understand the city will be built on diversity, we've all got to work together. That's what this is all about."

    The demographics of northeast Wisconsin, which for generations has been overwhelmingly white, have changed in the past two decades. The city of Wausau, 90 miles to the west, opened its doors to Hmong refugees from Laos more than 25 years ago. The rapid growth of the Hmong community in Wausau spurred a backlash as the public school system struggled with an influx of students who had no familiarity with English.

    Hollenbeck, whose council severed its ties to the mayor's office after the ordinance was approved Tuesday, said the city passed an ordinance it can't enforce to deal with a problem that doesn't exist.

    "The schools are not overburdened with illegal immigrants . . . There's not a crime problem with the immigrant community. I just think it's a perception and a lot of ignorance and people [city council members] not doing their homework," he said.

    City Council members said they were responding to what their constituents want. Supporters of the law say the October 2005 arrest by federal customs and immigration officers of seven Hispanic gang members helps build the case for the new law.

    At the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, President Paul Jadin said there is a problem with illegal immigration. Jadin, who served for 8 years as Green Bay's mayor, estimates that as many as half of the area's immigrants are undocumented.

    "Given the demographics, we are certainly in need of that workforce," Jadin said.

    But this is a matter for Washington –not local governments—to address, he added. "Without the cooperation with the federal government, this ordinance has no teeth.

    "I think it makes a certain element of the community feel good that their local government is doing something while the federal government is not, but in the meantime this could expose some people to needless harassment," Jadin said.

    tmjones@tribune.com



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  2. #2
    Senior Member patbrunz's Avatar
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    Good old Midwestern common sense!
    All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing. -Edmund Burke

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    Senior Member sippy's Avatar
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    Matt Hollenbeck, who chairs the mayor's Hispanic Advisory Council, said the law giving the city authority to penalizes businesses is little more than a "political statement . . . People are frustrated."
    Hollenbeck, you are an idiot. This is about enforcing the law! It doesn't matter if the problem doesn't exist or not, the problem is that they are in the country ILLEGALLY! Why can't the OBL bleeding hearts understand this?
    "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results is the definition of insanity. " Albert Einstein.

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