Thread: Town to employers: No green cards, no contracts

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/447840.html

Published: Jun 07, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: Jun 07, 2006 02:51 AM

Town to employers: No green cards, no contracts


Kristin Collins, Staff Writer
A small town in Guilford County is weighing in on the national immigration debate.

The town council of Summerfield, home to about 7,200 people, was set to pass a resolution Tuesday evening vowing not to do business with companies that employ illegal immigrants.

"If local leaders don't stand up and say, 'We want to do the right thing,' how can you expect your businesses to do it?" said Dwayne Crawford, a Summerfield councilman who pushed for the resolution.

The town, a booming suburb just north of Greensboro, will ask every company it hires -- whether to mow grass, clean bathrooms or build parks -- to sign an affidavit verifying that it does not employ illegal immigrants. If a company breaks that promise, it could lose its contract with the town.

The town won't be checking green cards. Summerfield doesn't even have its own police force, and it has no authority to enforce federal immigration laws, officials say. They say they're relying mostly on the honor system.

Town leaders say the main goal of the resolution, first reported by the Northwest Observer of Oak Ridge, is to send a message to federal lawmakers.

"To me, cocaine is illegal, marijuana is illegal and illegal aliens are illegal," said Mayor Mark Brown, a retired sheriff's deputy.

Brown said the resolution came out of discontent with the way the U.S. Senate is handling the issue. The Senate recently passed a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to work toward legal status. It is at odds with a House bill that would crack down on illegal immigrants and provide no path to legal residency.

Town administrator Michael Brandt said he has gotten mostly positive feedback from residents about the resolution.

Brandt says he doesn't know whether any of the town's contractors have used illegal immigrants. He said its largest contractor, Bar Construction in Greensboro, which is building a town park, has said it would sign an affidavit.

But Brandt said he worries that the town may have trouble hiring contractors for other jobs. He said companies could refuse to sign the affidavit or submit higher bids to cover the higher salaries of legal employees.

Crawford said he's willing to deal with the consequences -- and he's not worried that the town's grass will go unmowed or its parks unbuilt.

"You always hear, 'They do the jobs that other people won't do,'" Crawford said. "Well, that's baloney. The job will get done. It just may cost more."

Staff writer Kristin Collins can be reached at 829-4881 or kcollins@newsobserver.com.

This IS good news!

It is really good news, only thing is, we know how that honor system really works don't we?I refuse to be so trusting any more, it has got me no where in life!

Thanks for the great post...sent a thank you email to Kristin Collins. I'll send thanks to others as well.

I agree that is already the law that is in place that no one enforces. Telling them to sign an affidavit does not do anything if they are not spot checking as well to enforce the fact that contractors will lose the contracts if found to hire illegals.