Ordinance targeting illegal immigrants gets some support

By MICHAEL PEARSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/27/08
A public hearing on proposed changes to a Gwinnett County ordinance targeting illegal immigrants working for county contractors generated only a smattering of comments Tuesday night, most of them positive.

The changes proposed Tuesday are meant to resolve a lawsuit filed by contractor groups who argued the law violated federal law. The proposal removes a requirement that contractors use Social Security Administration records to check the employment eligibility of current employees, opting instead to require them to register with a new federal verification system that will apply only to employees on new contracts.

The changes also remove the county's power to visit job sites and question employees and limits its ability to punish contractors who fail to abide by the new rules.

But those who spoke at the hearing said something is better than nothing.

Greg McFarland of Norcross, who said his family had been in the contracting business for years, said illegal immigrants have been making things tough.

"I want to thank all of you all for what you have done," he said.

In actuality, the county hasn't done anything yet.

It has yet to enforce the ordinance the County Commission passed in June 2007 requiring contractors on county projects to verify that their employees are in the country legally and threatening sanctions against them if they failed to comply.

Two contractor groups, the Georgia Utility Contractors Association and the Georgia branch of Associated General Contractors of America sued the county in U.S. District Court in November.

In December, a federal judge indicated the groups' case had merit, saying it appeared federal law does not allow local governments to sanction employers for hiring illegal workers.

Deputy County Attorney Melinda Wells said that ruling sparked settlement discussions that produced the changes presented to the County Commission Tuesday

The only negative comments concerning the ordinance came from two residents who expressed frustration at what they said was poor work on the original version of the ordinance, which got the county into a lawsuit that didn't need to happen.

The County Commission will hold a second public hearing on the ordinance Tuesday, followed by a vote on its adoption. If approved, the law would take immediately, but would only affect contracts let after that date, according to deputy county attorney Melinda Wells.


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