Frederick seeks authority to deal with illegals


December 9, 2007


By Tom LoBianco - ANNAPOLIS — Frederick County officials have taken an unusual step to draw attention to their efforts to deal with a growing problem with illegal aliens in their community: They have asked state lawmakers to pass a measure calling for a constitutional convention.

"The convening of a constitutional convention would allow appropriate amendments to be made to the United States Constitution to enable local governments to address citizenship/immigration issues," the county's commissioners wrote in the legislative package they have submitted for state approval.

While unusual, the action by the county commissioners is not unprecedented. In October, a state senator in South Carolina issued a similar call for a constitutional convention to address illegal-alien issues.

But members of Frederick County's State House delegation — which typically approves local measures before the General Assembly votes on them as a whole — have stamped the proposal dead on arrival.

"My sense is, that thing is deader than a doornail," said Delegate Richard B. Weldon, Frederick Republican.

Commissioners who supported the measure — it passed unanimously — said they were more concerned with raising the issue of illegal aliens in Frederick County than succeeding in calling a constitutional convention.

"It was to ratchet up the noise a little bit," said Commissioner Charles A. Jenkins. He likened what Frederick leaders are doing to the efforts of other localities including Farmer's Branch, Texas; Hazelton, Pa.; and Prince William County in Virginia.

"All these places are doing what they can as they best see fit to deal with their immigration situation," he said.

Mr. Jenkins, a Republican, proposed denying services to illegal aliens in Frederick County earlier this year, but the measure failed on a 3-2 vote.

Frederick's strategy of pushing for a constitutional convention to press an issue is not new to American politics.

Thirty-three state legislatures between 1963 and 1969 petitioned Congress to hold a constitutional convention to consider determining the membership of legislative chambers by means other than population, and 32 states petitioned Congress between 1978 and 1983 to call a constitutional convention to adopt a balanced-budget amendment.

A study released last month by the District-based nonprofit Center for Immigration Studies estimated 268,000 illegal aliens reside in Maryland.

Other attempts to address the problem of illegal aliens in the state have been less ambitious.

Anne Arundel County has promoted employer verification of their workers' residency status. Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties have appointed law enforcement officers to work with federal Immigration and Custom Enforcement officials to arrest and detain illegal aliens.

And Frederick County law enforcement officials have applied for federal 287(g) training, which would allow them to identify and detain illegal aliens after completing training offered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Law enforcement from 34 localities in 15 states have completed the training, and 77 more localities have applied for the training, according to a report by Stateline.org, a national group that follows state issues.

If successful, Frederick County's commissioners would be responsible for only the second constitutional convention in U.S. history. The first one ended in 1787, with the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

The General Assembly would have to approve the call for the constitutional convention, which under Article V of the Constitution would then have to be supported by more than two-thirds, or at least 34, of the state legislatures. A constitutional amendment would need to be ratified by three-quarters, or at least 38, of the states.

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