County goes solo in immigration enforcement

Published Sun, Sep 30, 2007

By GINNY SKALSKI

843-706-8144

BLUFFTON -- Enforcing Beaufort County's new illegal immigration ordinance will be an army of one.

Nearly a year after the County Council made national news for debating, and later passing, the "lawful employment ordinance," none of the area's municipalities has joined the effort.

So, when the ordinance goes into effect Jan. 1, it will only apply to companies that do business in unincorporated areas of the county.

"To be more effective, it would be an initiative that the towns would need to participate in," said county council chairman Weston Newton.

But leaders on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton don't plan to debate the issue any time soon.

Hilton Head mayor Tom Peeples says it's the federal government's responsibility to regulate illegal immigration. He might support a statewide initiative, he said, but he won't bring the county's proposal before Town Council.

"I see no appetite for that at the town level," Peeples said.

Bluffton mayor Hank Johnston agrees federal leaders should handle immigration initiatives. He doesn't plan to address the issue with the Bluffton Town Council, he said, unless the county's ordinance proves to be effective. Even then, the town may not be able to hire the staff it would need to enforce the law.

"In my opinion, protection of the May River is a higher priority than this particular issue," Johnston said. "So we've got to balance staffing needs with priorities as they come up."

Hardeeville mayor Rodney Cannon recently said he may consider taking up the issue, but wants to see first whether Beaufort County's ordinance is effective.

The ordinance is aimed at deterring businesses from employing illegal immigrants by threatening to suspend and possibly revoke their county business licenses if they're caught using undocumented workers. Without the license, a company cannot legally operate in the unincorporated county.

Some in the Hispanic community are concerned about what effect the county's ordinance will have on the job market, said Luis Bell, executive director of the Hilton Head-based Latin American Council of South Carolina.

"What I have perceived is that there will be some effect, of course, in manpower," Bell said. "But the effect won't be that big as if (the ordinance) were applied to the whole area."

The county will randomly audit businesses' employment verification forms called I-9s. If the forms show employees don't meet federal employment standards, the county can then suspend a company's business license. The council would then decide whether the license should be revoked.

Several South Carolina counties have passed some form of an illegal immigration ordinance, including Dorchester and Aiken counties.

"We don't encourage the cities to get involved in this debate because we don't think it's a municipality's responsibility," said Howard Duvall, executive director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina. "If the federal government has a problem with illegal immigration, the federal government should be taking care of it."

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