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Debate rages over illegals
• Immigrant issues: Local governments look to take action in the controversy

By Gloria Carr
STAFF WRITER

CARPENTERSVILLE — People on both sides of the immigration issue can agree on a basic fact. The system is irrecoverably flawed.

How to reform the immigration system is where the emotionally-charged debate starts.

The debate has grown increasingly frustrating for some now seeking action on a local level.

A growing number of cities, towns and villages across the country have begun taking the matter into their own hands with local ordinances targeting landlords and employers who "aid and abet" illegal immigrants.

Carpentersville may join the fray, if one local politician finds enough support for a such an ordinance.

"The inaction of the federal government is forcing local government to take action on their own because we are the ones having to deal with it (illegal immigration) on a daily basis," Village Trustee Paul Humpfer said.

Immigration is a federal issue, but the frustration boils down to how it affects local governments, said Craig Kaplowitz, a professor of history at Judson College, in Elgin. Immigration has an impact on schools, property taxes, local job competition and other issues, he said.

Historically, American politics focused on local government, he said. Issues were addressed by local governments until a shift occurred with the Civil Rights movement. Politics shifted to a national level because blacks' constitutional rights were being denied by local officials, he said. A national policy was the only way to remedy that, he said.

Because immigration is a federal issue, "the proper place for policy action" is on the national level, he said.

Enacting local laws maybe a "slippery slope," that could backfire, Kaplowitz said. A potential problem is having a law that targets a specific group or creating a situation that damages the local economy, he said.

Kaplowitz, who teaches a course titled "The Minority Experience in America," spent his summer researching the 1986 immigration reform at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. His class will study that legislation and trace the immigrant experience through history.

Immigration is "an issue that is not going away," he said. "It is an issue that really splits most of the coalitions we think about. It is not an obvious liberal or conservative issue. There are a combination of interested parties on both sides about what to do."

"It is an interesting issue," Kaplowitz said. "What do we define as American and what is our legacy?"



Idea for law is 'ridiculous'


Kristin Kumpf, of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, heard about the possibility of Carpentersville considering an ordinance addressing illegal immigration. She finds the idea "ridiculous." She said she finds it morally wrong and logistically impossible to enforce.
"A local government cannot decide who is in and who is out," Kumpf said. "Their job is to treat all residents fairly and justly."

She said, "by going off on these tangents. We are missing the real issue, we need immigration reform."

Humpfer feels immigration reform should begin on the local level since, he said, the federal government has not taken action. He is considering proposing an ordinance modeled after a Hazelton, Pa., law passed earlier this month declaring English as the official language and an "aiding and abetting" clause to the books.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the town. Hazelton has delayed enforcing the law due to the lawsuit. Threats of legal action have not stopped dozens of cities, towns and villages across the country to follow Hazelton's example. The latest is St. Louis, Mo., suburb Valley Park.

Municipalities are looking at the amount of money spend to deal with illegal immigration and saying enough is enough, he said. He used the arguments of crime by illegal immigrants increasing in recent months, the cost of providing emergency services and overcrowding as reasons why Carpentersville should consider implementing an ordinance.

Local law targets abettors

Humpfer said an illegal immigrant was recently charged in a fatal hit and run accident involving a 41-year-old man on Illinois 25. The defendant did not have a valid driver's license. Another illegal immigrant caught speeding on Lincoln Avenue had a fake driver's license with his birth year listed as 1928. Illegal immigrants also make up a large percentage of Carpentersville's gang members, he added.
Illegal immigration has created an entire sub-culture within the village, Humpfer said. While the village can not enforce federal immigration laws, it can establish a new, local law geared at people aiding and abetting those living in the country illegally, Humpfer said.

Humpfer is seeking input from Carpentersville citizens but, he feels, "we need to put it on the table and consider it as a village."

Village President Bill Sarto said he does not see a whole lot local governments can do about immigration.

"We do not control the borders, we have no control over immigration," he said.

The ordinances towns like Hazelton adopted have not been upheld by the courts, Sarto said. Nor have supporters of such ordinance thought the whole matter through. Laws aimed at illegal immigration may create economic problems, he said.

Sarto supports passing a resolution asking the federal government provide funding for the programs and additional costs illegal immigration creates for the village, he said.

A resolution is an idea municipal officials have discussed as a response to immigration, village manager Craig Anderson said. He recently attended a national conference where the topic was discussed. Approving a resolution may be a better idea than passing an ordinance to avoid creating other problems, he said, like adding another level of government and hiring staff to enforce the law.

Additionally, Anderson sees a village government's purpose is to provide vital public services to resident, like infrastructure and garbage.

"We've got our traditional activities which take all our resources," he said. "To add another level of immigration enforcement on a local level would cost a lot of money and staff. It's not a function of local government."

09/24/06