Thread: Exploring illegal immigration's impact in the Carolinas

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 964107.htm

RICK THAMES | Editor
Exploring illegal immigration's impact in the Carolinas
RICK THAMES

Observer editorial | Crossing the border

It could be a waiter. A house painter. A construction worker.
You ask a question, and the answer comes slowly, sometimes in broken English. Or maybe just a nod.
Only then do you notice the guarded expression. They're hiding.
Right there, in plain sight.
Every day in our region, two worlds brush against one another. One legal. One not.
For most, an awkward encounter is as personal as it gets.
Yet, those moments belie the profound impact of an estimated 445,000 illegal immigrants now living in the Carolinas.
This week, the Observer and its television news partner, WCNC, launch an extended series of stories that will explore how this migration is altering the region's population, economy, government services -- even its culture.
We start today where the phenomenon starts -- just inside Mexico. That's where 71 percent of our Hispanic population in the Carolinas originates.
Observer reporters Liz Chandler and Dánica Coto, and photographer Patrick Schneider, spent several days in Altar, a small Mexican town that serves as a staging area for thousands of migrants crossing the border without authorization.
Those journalists -- joined by WCNC reporter Stuart Watson and photojournalist Bobby Rettew -- also spent time with the U.S. Border Patrol, observing efforts to intercept migrants and return them to Mexico.
The Charlotte group participated in a fellowship program at the Institute for Justice and Journalism at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication. They traveled to Altar, as well as met with scholars, policy experts and elected officials on both sides of the border.
Stories appearing today, Monday and Tuesday offer a rare glimpse at the enormous risks migrants take to enter this country. Our reporting also sheds light on why the Carolinas have become such a popular destination for those who are crossing.
It may surprise you, as it did me, that we had no problem finding travelers who were well-versed on our geography, even down to the names of small towns.
The harder task was convincing them to open up to strangers. Many fear reprisals if they are publicly identified. To further our understanding of this unseen world, it will sometimes be necessary to publish only the first names of people we interviewed.
Until now, we've known too little about that world to fully understand its effects on our society, for better and for worse.
You'll read this week about people who are so motivated to work in the Carolinas that they repeatedly risk their lives and the lives of their children for that opportunity.
But do those same immigrants drive down wages of Carolinians? And can we expect their contributions to our states to offset their costs?
We'll work to answer those questions, as well, going forward.
Never have we needed a clear-eyed view more than now. Our nation's leaders are divided on how to respond.
President Bush favors stricter border enforcement, but would allow many of the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants to work legally here for up to six years. Yet the U.S. House, led by Bush's own party, would crack down on those already here and build 698 miles of fences at the border. In March, the Senate will begin its debate.
Earlier this month, Observer Washington correspondent Tim Funk found that all four senators from the Carolinas favor the use of foreign-born workers to fill jobs that Americans don't want. But they don't agree on the details of a "guest-worker" program.
Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: "(Immigrants) are living in the shadows. We're getting the benefit of their labor, so make 'em pay taxes, make 'em follow the law, give 'em a chance to be good, hard-working, productive people in our country."
Holding a different view, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.: "I would look at the possibility of registering folks who are here -- but not provide a route to citizenship. People who are here illegally should not be rewarded."
As the debate heightens, it's important that we understand all that is at stake in the Carolinas. That's our goal. And we welcome your ideas and suggestions as we work toward it.

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Reach Rick Thames at rthames@charlotte observer.com or (704) 358-5001. You can also send questions to the editor's Q&A column on Charlotte.com.

The Charlotte group participated in a fellowship program at the Institute for Justice and Journalism at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication.

Just another Open Borders Lobby Organization hidden in a University.

They like universities. Then get tenure and can never be fired.

Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: "(Immigrants) are living in the shadows. We're getting the benefit of their labor, so make 'em pay taxes, make 'em follow the law, give 'em a chance to be good, hard-working, productive people in our country."

I'm reaaly disappointed in Senator Graham. I thought he knew better. I hope you folks in SC will remember his stance, come election time.