Thread: Councilwoman plans personal war on illegal immigration

Councilwoman plans personal war on illegal immigration
Thompson says Clemson's failure to act forces her hand

CLEMSON -- Clemson City Councilwoman Margaret Thompson's proposed law to curb illegal immigration has been put on hold, but the retired Pickens County deputy will take matters into her own hands.

"As any good citizen would do, I will start reporting to Homeland Security," Thompson said.

It's what city attorney Kay Barrett advised when she warned the council that enacting the proposed law could invite a slew of costly lawsuits in the wake of a federal court decision on a similar law in a Pennsylvania city.

"This is the only way we are going to get anything done until we hear back from the U.S. Supreme Court," Thompson said.
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Clemson council members took a wait-and-see stance after hearing from Barrett, although some Upstate residents disagreed with her interpretation.

"If a law existed in Clemson, this decision would not have struck down other laws around the country by itself, as Barrett implied," said Seneca resident Larry Linsin, a spectator in the audience.

Thompson said she was disappointed in the outcome.

"I know there is wrongdoing in Clemson, and it upsets me that they are going to get away with it," Thompson said.

She said she's counting on ICE to do something about it.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is mandated by Congress and will continue to enforce federal immigration laws while the courts decide how to approach lawmaking by local governments, said Richard Rocha, spokesman for the agency in Washington, D.C.

The agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, has a number citizens can call to make reports: 1-866-DHS-2ICE (347-2423).

The degree of illegal immigration or enforcement in the Upstate is fuzzy.

Greg Sassi, agent-in-charge of the agency's Greenville office, referred all questions to Rocha.

So far this fiscal year, of nearly 175,000 deportations of illegal aliens, 6,656 of them were in the Carolinas and Georgia. That number reflects the activity reported by the agency's Atlanta field office, which anchors the three-state region.

Rocha had no numbers for South Carolina or the Upstate.

He also declined to say how many enforcement officers work in the Greenville office, or what area the office serves. He said the information is withheld for officer safety.

During the recent Clemson City Council discussion on Thompson's proposed law, Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon, who contacted ICE for information for the council, said the Greenville office serves 13 counties with six agents.

The council wanted to know what resources were available.

Rocha wouldn't confirm those numbers.

ICE has more than 10,000 enforcement agents worldwide, and the agency's offices share officers to assist in various operations and investigations when needed, Rocha said.

The agency also forms relationships with local law enforcement counterparts to ensure public safety, Rocha said.

The proposed Clemson law would prohibit the city from doing business with any company that knowingly employs illegal aliens.

ICE has dramatically enhanced its efforts to combat unlawful employment of illegal aliens since its creation in 2003, according to information on the ICE Web site.

Numbers on the Web site show workforce arrests of illegal-alien workers rose from 445 in fiscal 2003 to 3,667 in fiscal 2006. Criminal worksite arrests, including corporate officers, contractors and others who employed illegal aliens, rose from 72 in 2003 to 716 in 2006.

Thompson said her phone has been busy with calls from people who have information to report.

"You start burning those phone lines up," she said she tells them. "We can't depend on our government to take care of its citizens. We have to take the law in our own hands, but we're going to do it the right way."

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.d ... 004/NEWS01

YEA Margaret Thompson!!

a TRUE patriot..

you GO girl..!!

This is the kink of brave person we need in every town across America, it is time to make the people who run our towns and states to enforce our laws, start calling ice on everything and in every town.

Seriously, though, how do you report an illegal?

Has anyone done it?

While we all 'know' they are illegal - having proof is another thing. Must a person provide any proof - or are you simply asking ICE to check it out?

Has there been any reprecussions from reporting illegals? From the government, I mean.