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English only?
Despite growing pressure from residents, Gainesville and Hall officials unlikely to follow Cherokee's lead anytime soon
By RICK LAVENDER
The Times

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Robin Michener Nathan The Times
John Zornes, a Hall County code enforcement officer, approaches a house whose residents are in violation of a city ordinance that prohibits parking vehicles in yards. The paperwork he carries is written in both English and Spanish.



Robin Michener Nathan The Times
Zornes looks for code violations as he drives through a largely Hispanic neighborhood off Flowery Branch Road.



Robin Michener Nathan The Times
John Zornes, a code enforcement officer, completes a notice, written in both English and Spanish, to let a resident know his car is parked in a yard, a violation of city code.




What others have done

A rundown of action in other local governments:


Cherokee County: Recently became Georgia's first county to force landlords to check the immigration status of tenants. As of Jan. 1, property owners who do not correct violations could lose their business license and face fines. Commissioners also made English the county's official language and joined the county with two federal programs targeting illegal immigrants. A lawsuit concerning the landlord ordinance is planned.

Hazleton, Pa.: Approved measures that impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, deny business permits to companies that give them jobs, and require tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit. In November, a federal judge extended a restraining order barring enforcement.

Escondido, Calif.: A council-approved ordinance bars landlords from renting to illegal immigrants. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the city from enforcing it.

Farmers Branch, Texas: Passed anti-illegal immigration rules in November that require property managers or owners to verify the immigration or citizenship status of apartment renters. Also approved resolutions making English the city's official language and allowing local authorities to become part of a federal program so they can enforce immigration laws. A lawsuit was recently filed claiming the council and mayor violated state open meetings laws to debate the ordinances.
Sources: The Associated Press; The San Diego Union-Tribune


Gloria Melancon can sympathize with Cherokee County.

Melancon, a 68-year-old Gainesville homeowner, contends that illegal immigrants have changed her community for the worse, running down neighborhoods and overloading public services.

But unlike in Cherokee, elected officials in Gainesville and Hall County are not taking action, although she and others have pressed them to, Melancon said.

"It's like we don't want to hear about it. It's too tricky. We're worried somebody might get upset about it."

More cities and counties are grabbing the reins on the issue, frustrated by a tide of illegal immigrants, about 12 million nationally according to the Pew Hispanic Center, and congressional stalemates over what to do.

On Tuesday, Cherokee commissioners agreed to make landlords check the immigration status of tenants, declare English the county's official language and participate in federal programs targeting illegal immigrants. The headline-making votes in the county just north of Atlanta are a first for Georgia. But not the nation.

By one media account, at least 30 cities have considered ordinances. Those that passed them include Escondido, Calif., which banned landlords from renting to illegal immigrants who moved to the southern California city after the ordinance took effect, and Hazleton, Pa., where an "Illegal Immigration Relief Ordinance" now stalled in court will penalize landlords and businesses for housing or hiring illegal immigrants.

States also have gotten into the act. About 28 have made English their official language, according to an English-only advocacy group. Georgia state Rep. Timothy Bearden, R-Villa Rica, filed a bill last week to stop the state, its cities and counties from using forms that have a language other than English.

Gainesville Mayor Bob Hamrick and Hall County commission Chairman Tom Oliver said recently they do not plan to call for anti-immigration proposals. Part of the reasoning is that a local law may not stand up in court. Another factor is that some disagree that stiff regulations on the home front are the answer.

Jose Diaz is a naturalized U.S. citizen who owns two businesses in Gainesville, Fiesta Cab Co. and Fiesta Latina, an Atlanta Highway clothing store.

Diaz said he knows there are "too many illegals" in Hall, where Latinos, the largest immigrant group, make up a quarter of the population. There are no reliable estimates of the number of illegal immigrants. Diaz is unsure what the solution to the immigration problem is, but he does not think Gainesville or the county should be a part of it.

The Mexico native points to the hardworking nature of the majority of immigrants, their contribution, mostly in cash, to the area's economy, and the number of businesses marketing to English- and Spanish-speaking customers.

"I think if something happens (here) like in Cherokee ... business is gone," he said, making a thumbs-down gesture.

Gainesville deputy marshal John Zornes does not care to weigh on that debate. But Zornes acknowledged Friday, as he worked a largely Hispanic subdivision off Old Flowery Branch Road, that not having pamphlets and flyers that explain code requirements in two languages would hamper his work.

Zornes, a 34-year-old American raised in Panama and fluent in Spanish, said his experience is that Latino newcomers want to comply. "Once I've told them, the ones that are in the Hispanic community, they've ... done what they needed to," he said.

Gainesville has tackled appearance problems often tied to immigrants with regulations that bar parking in the yard and chickens in subdivisions.

Critics contend such enforcement only scratches the surface. The crux is not what is done but whom is doing it, and whether they have a right to be in this country.

But that realm is the federal government's, even if that government regularly fouls up immigration control, argues Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.

The rush to do something is "symptomatic of a failed immigration policy," Gonzalez said.

"But the bottom line is local communities cannot take the law into their own hands."

He said Cherokee will be sued and taxpayers will foot the bill for the commission's move.

The comeback from commissioners is that the risk is moderate and residents are behind them.

Mike Wells, a University of Georgia law school professor who teaches constitutional law, said such debates will probably end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

While the Constitution gives Congress power over immigration, that does not mean local and state governments cannot pass ordinances that "have some bearing on immigrants," Wells said.

"So some laws may be valid, while others may not be."

Melancon said her desire to see Gainesville's council act grew out of ire over immigrant rallies last spring.

"It's anger as a result of (illegal immigrants) demanding rights that are not theirs," she said.

Melancon mentioned overcrowded rental houses in her neighborhood and Latinos she maintains flaunt city laws and take advantage of schools and hospitals.

"I want to see something being talked about," she said. "Are they just going to hide from it?"