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Hearing set on plan to block companies with illegal workers

By BEN SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/25/07

The national debate over immigration turns local Tuesday with a public hearing and vote on a plan to block companies that hire illegal immigrants from obtaining Gwinnett County contracts.

The meeting Tuesday is the second of two public hearings on the proposal. The first, which was held during an afternoon meeting last Tuesday, didn't draw anyone to speak for or against the plan.

But county officials expect things to be different Tuesday. Opposition to the proposal is stirring in metro Atlanta's Latino Community.

"Regulating immigration is a duty of the federal government and the federal government alone," said Jerry Gonzales, director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. "States or counties should not get in the business of regulating immigration law. When they do, they often find themselves on the wrong side of the law and they face costly litigation." Gonzalez called the Gwinnett proposal "anti-business, anti-progress and anti-immigration."

But District 1 Commissioner Lorraine Green, who drafted the proposal, said local governments don't have any choice but to act on immigration.

"I think everyone in the United States would want the federal government to handle this," Green said. "But the fact is they're not, which forces state and local governments to try and take some action. The federal government thinks this is about picking onions in Vidalia. It's not. It's about how this is destroying our communities."

Green is proposing that the county law governing how local government contracts are awarded be changed. The commission is scheduled to vote on her proposal at the end of the hearing Tuesday.

Under her plan, companies bidding on county contracts must verify the immigration status of employees, including employees of their subcontractors.

County auditors and purchasing department employees would be charged with policing the verification process.

Also, county officials would be empowered to conduct periodic inspections of companies after they started work on a county project.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/g ... immig.html