http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 346098.htm

Posted on Wed, Dec. 07, 2005

Illegal immigrant plan rejected

After party-line vote, more study encouraged

CARRIE LEVINE

clevine@charlotteobserver.com


Mecklenburg County commissioners defeated a plan that would have denied services to illegal immigrants and refused government contracts to businesses found to employ them.

But board members said illegal immigration is a growing problem for local government, and the city and county must study its effects.

The board's six Democrats said the original proposal -- authored by Republicans Bill James, Jim Puckett and Dan Bishop -- would have overstepped the county's bounds by interfering with immigration, a federal responsibility.

The immigration debate went for more than two hours Tuesday night. More than a dozen people signed up to urge against the Republican proposal, and only one spoke for it; some in the audience held up signs reading "Shame" as James, Puckett and Bishop spoke.

Most speakers said the measure would foster discrimination against all immigrants.

Republicans said the measure only ensured the county would follow federal law, and said they did not mean to single out Latinos. Bishop said he was upset that "commissioners who propose fairly modest reforms to enforce the law face signs that they should be shamed."

The county is responsible for health and social services programs. Some programs primarily federally funded -- such as food stamps -- already have rules that make illegal immigrants ineligible for services.

The Republican proposal would have affected county services such as mental health and nonprofit agencies such as homeless shelters that receive money from the county.

It also would have denied government contracts to any company that could not certify it did not employ illegal immigrants. It is against the law for companies to knowingly hire illegal immigrants, but in the Carolinas, no employer has been fined in at least two years.

Commissioners instead passed a resolution by Democrat Jennifer Roberts. That measure endorses immigration reform at the federal level, something Roberts said would send a message to the county's congressional delegation. It also says the county will support a mayoral task force studying the issue.

The debate and partisan vote were the latest skirmish between majority Democrats and Republicans, who hold three seats. Both sides said they expect the issue to come up in next year's political campaign. All nine board members have terms that expire in 2006.

"Clearly, the challenge to all of us is to find a way to deal with it responsibly," said commissioners' Chairman Parks Helms, a Democrat.

The Republican proposal came at a time of growing debate over immigration.

In the Charlotte area last month, UNC Charlotte freshman Min Chang died when his car was hit by a vehicle going the wrong way on Interstate 485. Police said the car was driven by Jorge Hernandez Soto, who has repeatedly entered the country illegally.

The Republican resolution originally contained a clause noting that "whereas, Citizens of Mecklenburg County are being killed by the reckless actions of illegal immigrants."

Bishop -- one of the commissioners who submitted the proposal -- said at the meeting that he believed the clause was offensive, and he moved to remove it before the vote.

Several speakers said they believed the Republican proposal was a "knee-jerk" response to the Chang incident. Some pointed out that Hispanics, too, are victims of drunken drivers.

"Legal status does not kill. Drinking and driving does," said Angeles Ortega-Moore, director of the Latin American Coalition.

Republicans said they do not believe illegal immigrants should be eligible for taxpayer-funded services.