Thread: Immigration debate divides Georgia town

Monday, April 3, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

Immigration debate divides Georgia town

By Peter Slevin
The Washington Post

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Harold Hogsed wonders how his grandchildren learn anything in school, with all the time their teachers spend instructing Hispanic immigrants on basic English. A drawling Georgia native, he cannot understand what the Spanish-accented adults are saying. He sees them as a drain on his tax dollars and he wishes they would all go home.

"How many people can this country hold?" Hogsed asked. "I don't have the solution to it, but something's got to be done."

Hogsed is not alone in struggling to wrap his mind around the tide of Latin American workers who have remade this northern Georgia town. City schools are now 55 percent Hispanic.More children arrive each day with their illegal-immigrant parents, often directly from Mexico. The Yellow Pages include 41 pages in Spanish. St. Michael Catholic church, which once drew 25 people to a monthly Spanish Mass, now has 6,000 Hispanic families on its parish registry.

Their numbers show just how rooted the predominantly Mexican immigrants have become in Gainesville and throughout the South. They have put pressure on public services while becoming essential players in the local economy. Amid anxiety on all sides, neighbors, advocates and the new residents are assessing their presence and their future in a debate that resonates nationally.

Proponents of more generous accommodations for illegal immigrants staged a one-day economic boycott on March 24 that shuttered businesses and boosted morale. Business and farming leaders declared that immigrants are keeping them solvent. At a Mass on Thursday night dedicated to the immigrants, the Rev. Fabio Sotelo urged 300 parishioners to persevere, pray and write to the governor.

Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, is considering a strong anti-immigration bill delivered last week by the Georgia legislature. Congress is considering significant federal legislation, and Gainesville's congressman, Republican Nathan Deal, is among the firmest supporters of tightened borders and toughened measures. Lawyers for American-born carpet workers will argue to the Supreme Court this month that a Georgia manufacturer conspired to drive down wages by importing illegal laborers.

Gainesville advertises itself as "the poultry capital of the world" and it is the chicken-processing plants that are driving much of the city's startling growth. Since 1990, the official population has nearly doubled to 32,000, and the number of Hispanics has quadrupled to compose nearly half the registered population — and far more when illegal immigrants are considered.

"Reality speaks, and it says that, absent Hispanic workers, we could not process chicken," said Tom Hensley, chief financial officer for Gainesville's largest chicken plant, Fieldale Farms. "There aren't enough native American people who want to work in a chicken plant at any wage. We'd be put out of business."

A dozen years ago, Fieldale employed fewer than 100 Hispanics. Today, Hispanics total 3,000 in a 4,700-person workforce. To win jobs that start at about $10 an hour, applicants must present at least two identity documents from a government list of 18.

"If the documents appear to be legitimate, we accept them," Hensley said.

St. Michael Catholic church, which once drew 25 people to a monthly Spanish Mass, now has 6,000 Hispanic families on its parish registry.

And we wonder why the Catholic Church is supporting illegal aliens.

A dozen years ago, Fieldale employed fewer than 100 Hispanics. Today, Hispanics total 3,000 in a 4,700-person workforce

Another business to add to our boycott list.