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Posted on Thu, Aug. 17, 2006

US Rep. Shaw in tight race, holds Lake Worth immigration hearing

LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
Hispanic Affairs Writer

LAKE WORTH, Fla. - South Florida officials Thursday blamed businesses who seek cheap labor and hire illegal immigrants of leaving cities with the extra costs associated with this growing, and often poor population.

Officials spoke at an hour-and a half Congressional hearing chaired by U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale. It was one of about two dozen to take place around the country this month as Congress continues working on immigration reform.

"I want you to understand, it isn't so much the immigrants that are the problem, it's the business that use them as cheap labor," said Lake Worth Mayor Mark Drautz. "Business has been taking advantage of those people for a long time."

Drautz said businesses leave cities and counties to foot the bill for health care, schools and crime.

Shaw's seat in South Florida's 22nd Congressional District is one of the nation's few contested Congressional races, with Democrats targeting him for defeat. If re-elected, he is hoping to become head of the Ways and Means committee. Immigration could be a swing issue in the race.

The House-sponsored hearings have sought to draw support from conservative for its immigration bill, which seeks to criminalize the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country and beef up security along the border.

But Hispanics make up about 16 percent of the South Florida coastal district according to 2005 Census data, and more comprehensive data from 2000 shows one out of five of voting-age residents is Hispanic. Democrats are hoping that House's strict immigration bill will galvanize Hispanic voters to head to the polls in November.

Speaker after speaker urged the U.S. government to take an approach to immigration that would go beyond simply tightening the border.

"We have been doing our best to assist these individuals in getting access to the community," said Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, stressing that his officers had worked hard to gain the confidence of the area's illegal immigrants, which he said are often victims of crime because of their fear of going to the police.

Alan Levine, who heads the public North Broward County Hospital District, also said that a lack of insurance from employers contributed to the region's low rate of reimbursement for services. He also cautioned that having health care providers check immigration status could keep people with communicable diseases from getting treatment, which could create a public health problem. Levine urged Congress to pressure other nations to take greater responsibility for providing medical treatment for their uninsured citizens in this country.

Pro-immigrant activists protested outside. Some had asked to be able to speak but were turned away due to time and space considerations although the meeting ended half an hour early and the Lake Worth City Hall room was not full.

U.S. Rep. Phil English, R-Pa., who also attended the meeting and struggled throughout to stay awake, said he found the hearing informative.

"This is a very interesting set of nuances that we got here today," English said, adding that attitudes about immigration appear different in Florida than in other parts of the nation. Florida has one of the nation's largest illegal immigrant population but is also home to many wealthier and politically active immigrants from Cuba and other Latin American countries.

A bipartisan bill passed earlier this year in Senate offers a chance at citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants, and Democrats have accused the Republicans of avoiding an election year vote on the immigration bills by taking the show on the road rather than hammering out a compromise with Senate leaders.

Shaw said the hearings were important because they allowed him and his colleagues to hear perspectives from leaders like Drautz and Bradshaw.

"I think we do need to work out an orderly process for temporary workers, but there's a lot of questions that haven't been addressed," he said. "I don't think anybody has really thought through how the guest worker program is going to work."

The hearing comes as the immigration issues heats up around the country at the local level. Frustrated by inaction in Washington, many cities and states have passed their own measures to restrict or punish illegal immigrants and those who do business with them. On Thursday the city of Palm Bay in Brevard County was set to vote on new ordinances to crack down on the hiring of illegal immigrants.