http://www.boston.com

Bills expose rift over illegal immigrants
By James Vaznis, Globe Staff | February 5, 2006

Believing the federal government wasn't doing enough to keep illegal immigrants out of the country, police in Hudson and New Ipswich last year cited undocumented immigrants for trespassing. They discovered them during routine traffic stops, such as for driving with a busted headlight, and in the case of one Mexican man, while he sat in a car along the side of a road talking on his cellphone.

Their efforts won praise across the country from conservative radio pundits and politicians who want tighter restrictions on immigrants' rights, but in August a New Hampshire district court judge threw out the charges against eight of the undocumented immigrants cited for trespassing, saying local police overstepped their authority in what is considered a federal enforcement matter.

Although police in these two small southern New Hampshire towns stopped issuing the trespassing citations, their desire to rid the state of illegal immigrants has spread to the state Legislature, where members are considering nearly a dozen bills that attempt to restrict the rights of undocumented immigrants, increase penalties against employers who hire them, or empower local police to enforce US immigration laws.

Leading much of the debate are two outspoken lawmakers from Hudson, Representatives Andy Renzullo and Jordan Ulery, both Republicans, who were motivated to file some of the bills by the failed effort of their local Police Department to crack down on illegal immigration. ''That was one of the driving forces, but not the only one," said Renzullo, a member of the Republican Immigration Reform Caucus. ''If you talk to anyone, they are just outraged the federal government is not doing the job."

Advocates for immigrants contend some of the bills would lead to racial or ethnic profiling or cause illegal immigrants not to seek help from homeless shelters, hospitals, or police, fearful it could lead to deportation. On a more philosophical level, the advocates worry the bills would create an image that New Hampshire, where 96 percent of residents are white, is an unwelcoming place for immigrants, particularly those with darker skin.

''There has been a rising level of unjustified fear about immigrants, especially considering the small amount of undocumented people living in New Hampshire," said Judy Elliott, director of the New Hampshire Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, a workers advocacy organization that trains many immigrant workers.

It's not known exactly how many undocumented immigrants live in New Hampshire, but the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research institute based in Washington, estimated last year that there are fewer than 10,000, and that most undocumented immigrants in the United States come from Latin America. Latinos, who number more than 20,000 in New Hampshire, are the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the Granite State, with most living in the two largest cities, Manchester and Nashua, or in the bedroom communities in southern New Hampshire.

Many immigration advocates and critics say that undocumented immigrants who work in New Hampshire can mostly be found in seasonal jobs, such as apple picking or timber cutting, or in more steady positions with hotels or restaurants. In some cases, undocumented immigrants might live in Massachusetts and travel to the Granite State each day.

So far, their advocates have won the first victory. The House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee last month essentially killed a bill that would prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving services from any agency or organization that receives state funds. But the bill could be resurrected on the House floor. Among some of the concerns raised was the possibility that homeless shelters might have to turn away people if they could not prove their citizenship or immigration status.

And advocates could score another victory. One of the few pro-immigration bills filed this session is expected to pass: a resolution that recognizes the importance of immigration in America and New Hampshire.

''I guess the point of my resolution is to reassure people that this is a state that supports and welcomes the many talents immigrants bring to us," said state Senator Martha Fuller Clark, a Portsmouth Democrat. ''It's important to recognize the state is not as white as it is perceived to be. There are over 75 different languages spoken in Nashua and Manchester schools, and we have 16 different languages in Portsmouth and the surrounding towns."

Clark filed a bill that would require interpretation services be provided to patients upon request when receiving medical treatment. The House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee is expected to vote on the bill this week, and advocates say there are rumblings of opposition because of a perception that not enough interpreters live in the state.

At times the debates over immigration in the Legislature have bordered on accusations of racism, said some lawmakers who attended the hearings, and those leading the charge for greater restrictions on US immigration policy deny that is a motive. They say they are looking out for the best interest of immigrants.

''These are not anti-immigration bills. They are pro-human rights," Ulery said. ''It's to prevent a person from getting in a situation from being abused. If they are not here legally . . . they could be forced into gangs, young women could be forced into prostitution to provide for their families, and none of that is what the American dream has to offer."