Thread: Gaston: We have no funds for illegal residents

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Gaston: No funds for illegal residents
AMY RAINEY AND FRANCO ORDOÑEZ

arainey@charlotteobserver.comfordonez@charlotteobserver.com
Q&A: Ask questions on immigration

Gaston County commissioners have directed county officials to stop funding programs for undocumented immigrants in what marks the Charlotte region's most aggressive measure against illegal immigration.

The resolution, passed Thursday by the all-Republican board, blames people living here illegally for a variety of social ills, and also orders county officials to limit their ability to live and work in the county.

Some officials charged with enacting the resolution say it would have little effect, but commissioner John Torbett, who introduced the measure, said it was necessary to protect taxpayers.

"Is it right for people that are not citizens of this country to receive tax dollars through services that have been paid for by people that are citizens of this country?" he said. "If we can determine that taxpayer dollars in Gaston County are going to provide services for illegal residents, then we need to stop as much of that as humanly possible."

Critics say the resolution only encourages hysteria over the immigration issue.

The resolution also directs county departments not to contract with companies that hire illegal immigrants, and it calls for a limit on the number of people who can live in rental homes.

Gaston County has joined a small group of local governments, such as those in Hazelton, Pa., and Valley Park, Mo., that have passed measures aimed at discouraging illegal immigrants from staying in their communities. Last year Mecklenburg commissioners defeated a proposal to deny some county services to illegal immigrants, and another measure that would have denied county contracts to employers found to have hired undocumented workers.

Such laws challenge Supreme Court precedents that say immigration law falls under federal authority.

"It's responding to a legitimate set of concerns and frustration, but the solutions are misguided," said Jeanne Butterfield executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington.

More than half of the estimated 600,000 Hispanics in the North Carolina are believed to be in the country illegally. According to 2005 Census Bureau figures, about 9,500 Hispanics live in Gaston County, which has a population of about 196,000.

The resolution cites the growing illegal immigration for contributing to overcrowded schools, highway deaths and increasing crime. It also says communities are impacted by illegal immigrants' "lack of social and personal health care standards."

Angeles Ortega-Moore, executive director of the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, called the resolution insensitive and said it created an "us vs. them sentiment."

Ortega-Moore said the resolution fails to mention the billions of dollars that illegal immigrants contribute to the economy.

"Proposals like this are not serving any purpose other than creating a hysteria in our community and feeding into the fires of this hotly debated issue around immigration," she said.

Torbett said he didn't intend the language to be harsh, but to convey how serious illegal immigration is. Torbett said he did not know how much money is spent providing services to illegal immigrants in the county. He cited the hiring of additional bilingual employees as an example of services that should be funded through state and federal money, not county tax dollars.

This resolution will have a small impact on services offered through the county health department, said department director Colleen Bridger.

"That's (the commissioners') way of expressing their opinion, but it's going to have relatively little effect on the county bottom line," Bridger said.

Most of the health department's services are federally mandated and must be provided regardless of a person's immigration status, Bridger said. Additionally, she said the department is prohibited from asking people about their immigration status.

Dani Martinez-Moore of the N.C. Justice Center in Raleigh said most county services are already unavailable to illegal immigrants. Services like emergency medical care and public education are federally mandated.

"I think many people believe that undocumented immigrants are eligible for welfare cash benefits," she said. "And that is not true."

How the county will implement this resolution is not clear. Torbett said he plans to meet with department directors to identify areas where they are exceeding federally and state-mandated guidelines.

The resolution directs police officers to check immigration status, but providing patrol officers the equipment and access to check that status would have to be approved by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sheriff Alan Cloninger said.

The resolution's lone dissenting vote came from commissioner Pearl Burris Floyd, who says she agreed with most of it but wanted to amend or delete two items. The commissioners rushed to vote on the resolution, Floyd said.

She said updating the minimum housing requirements to address how many people can live in a rental home could hurt legal residents with large or multigenerational families. Floyd also fears requiring police to check immigration status could lead to racial profiling, she said.

"I can just envision our Latino Americans or Hispanic Americans who are legal residents having to go through being questioned about their citizenship," she said. "To me, that's wrong."

Resolution Provisions

The resolution, which passed 5-1, directs county officials to:

• Stop funding the portion of local services that go to illegal immigrants.

• Stop nonmandated or federally and state-funded programs that serve illegal immigrants.

• Stop contracting with companies that employ illegal immigrants.

• Update minimum housing requirements to limit the number of people who can live in rental homes.

The resolution directs the Gaston County Sheriff's Office and Police Department to:

• Check the immigration status of undocumented immigrants upon arrest.

• Check immigration status during any infraction, such as a traffic stop.

American is waking up!

Sure is, CC!

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