Thread: Immigration Impact

http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp? ... 0&nav=0qq6

Click Here to Watch Video

04/28/06
Immigration Impact--Part II

More and more people are in the United States illegally. Some say it's out of control. Police say it's having an impact on the crime rate. From Chatham County to Evans County, Beaufort to Garden City, law enforcement officers throughout the Coastal Empire and Low Country are seeing more crimes involving illegals--both as suspects and as victims.

There have been several pretty high-profile cases in the news so far this year. A few of them, very serious.

Several immigrants have been the targets of home invasions, one man was shot in March during a robbery attempt in Savannah's English Oaks apartment complex, and Evans County is investigating a roadside crash and beating death from a couple of weeks ago where the the victim and the suspects are here illegally.

And there was a big fire on Ogeechee Road in January which raged out of control. Tito Vega, an illegal immigrant, is charged with setting the Yellow Tire store on fire and killing the man inside. Those are just a few examples.

We rode around with Chief David Lyons of the Garden City Police Department to see for ourselves the immigration impact on his city.

Garden City police help keep the peace for the 11,000 people who live there. And for the additional 6,000 to 8,000 thousand they estimate who live there illegally.

"They are already here," said Chief Lyons. "I have to figure out a way to get along with them."

Garden City police have four Spanish-speaking officers. Officer Lee Rodriguez is half Cuban, half Puerto Rican. One of his responsibilities is to build a relationship with Garden City's Hispanic immigrant population.

"I've been to several meetings with them in the past," said Mexican immigrant Marco Alvarez. "It's important so these guys know what's going on."

Local police say they've seen an increase in crimes against the Hispanic population, specifically break-ins, home invasions and robberies.

"They get paid in cash, they don't have a social security card, so they can't open a bank account," explained Chief Lyons. "So everything they do is in cash."

Which makes them prime targets.

Crimes where illegals are at fault are also on the rise. "Where we do have a serious problem is traffic offenses," said Chief Lyons. "Driving offenses, DUI, no driver's license, no insurance, seatbelts, child safety seats."

In February, two illegal immigrants were charged with killing 21-year-old Latoya Holloway in a drunk driving accident on Ogeechee Road in Garden City. While Felix Maldonado and Jesus Perez are awaiting trial, taxpayers are housing and feeding them in the Chatham County jail.

"If, by some stroke of luck, the federal government got involved and said, 'We are going to kick them out of the country and deport them,' within two weeks they'd be back in the country again and could very likely be in Chatham County again," said Chief Lyons. "At least, them being in jail, I don't have to worry about those two ripping up and down the highways drunk, killing someone."

Evans County deputies recently learned that lesson. Earlier this month, they say Jose Ayala was one of three men who killed Juan Salas when they ran him off the road and beat him to death near US 208.

"He's been in our jail a couple of times," said Randall Tippins with the Evans County Sheriff's Department. "He's been deported back in December, 2004, immigration picked him up then. Then we had him in jail on misdemeanor charges, even under a different name."

Local law enforcement agencies all over the Coastal Empire and Low Country are burdened with trying to figure out how to handle the ever-increasing illegal immigrant population.

Officers recognize not all illegal immigrants are criminals. They need the trust of the entire illegal population to help them solve crimes, identify the bad guys and keep our communities safe.

American taxpayers are footing the bill in more ways than they realize when it comes to illegal immigrants. We are also paying to educate their children and cover their emergency medical costs.

But does failing to educate or care for them make the situation worse? We'll have some answers to those questions tonight on THE News at 6 as we go inside a local school with a growing immigrant student population.

Reported by: Michelle Paynter, mpaynter@wtoc.com

http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp? ... 8&nav=0qq6


Click Here to Watch Video

04/27/06
Immigration Impact--Part I


There are more than 300,000 illegal immigrants living and working in Georgia and another 55,000 living in South Carolina. They farm our crops, build our homes, landscape our lawns.

The immigration issue is creating a lot of debate. We've seen hundreds of thousands of Hispanics rallying for fair immigration reform, while new immigration laws are brewing at the state and federal level.

Illegal immigrants are having an impact on our community in many ways. They are dominating some of our labor forces, filling our schools with their children, and affecting our crime rate.

From local politicians to police, advocates to educators and the average American, to some illegal immigrants themselves, they are all talking about the immigration impact.

From the onion fields of Wayne and Tattnall Counties to the construction sites in Chatham County, the faces of Hispanic migrant men dominate the landscape.

Should we send them home? Does our economy need them? Are they taking jobs away from Americans? Depends whom you talk to.

"I think it's unfair to the small contractors and subcontractors like myself for people to come in and do the work that we're doing for half the price that we're doing," said American worker Paul Ambrose. "It's drawing our pay rate down."

"We're forking out welfare every day," noted Michael Holbrook. "Those jobs are available to those people, they're too lazy to work. Others come into the county, they may be illegal but at least they are willing to work and put their money back in society."

The debate rages on in the news, on Capitol Hill, in our neighborhoods. Georgia and South Carolina have some of the highest illegal immigrant populations in the nation.

US Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA Dist. 1) is fighting for immigration reform. "The current system has given us 11 million illegals, that's the estimate," he said. "We know if we stay on the current path, that's going to get higher and higher."

Alonso is one of those illegal immigrants. He's 22 years old. Alonso walked across the United States-Mexican border four years ago. He's afraid of being deported, but he's not afraid to tell us why he's here.

He came to savannah to work construction. "Normally between ten to 12 and more hours a day, five to seven days a week," said Diego Torres of the Latin American Service Organization--or LASO--helping to translate for us.

He says Alonso pours concrete and lays cement slabs for new homes. "It's known for a fact that Latinos, Hispanics, especially people who come here to work and send money home, are working very hard," Alonso said through Torres. "They'll give more than 100 percent for very low wages."

Alonso makes $10 an hour, with no overtime and no benefits. That's about $5 to $7 less than American subcontractors get for doing the same work.

Whether it's working construction or harvesting onions, many migrant workers say they are doing jobs that American workers don't want. There may be a lot of truth in that.

This is hard, dirty work. "Last night, we worked until almost twelve o'clock," said Delbert Bland of Bland Farms in Reidsville, the largest grower of sweet Vidalia onions. "And I promise you, if you go get 300 local people who want to work till 11:30 on Saturday, if you find that I'll eat your hat, your lunch--all at one time. I promise you won't find it."

Bland hires more than 300 migrant workers and brings them here legally from Mexico with work visas. He pays them about $7 an hour. Bland's migrant field workers, working in teams of six, will fill 60 large crates a day.

"They are willing to work long and hard hours," said Rep. Kingston. "Employers tell me these are the best workers that they've ever had. I think Americans have to get their work ethic back for one thing, but if you pull the rug out from under the employers, you are going to have an economic push back and chaos we don't want to deal with. You have to have a system to get these people legalized, but not give them amnesty."

Until that happens, Alonso hopes to lay low and earn money. "Please stop thinking of us as criminals," he said. "What are we doing? Just working like everyone else who comes to this nation."

He pays for his food and rent. The rest goes to his family in Mexico. "He's been sending money home so his mother and family can have a better life," Torres told us.

That's his American dream.

We see the illegal immigrant workers in the fields, and we've also been seeing them more and more on the news as victims of crime or accused of committing crimes.

Tonight on THE News at 11, we'll ride along with Garden City police. They estimate that there are 6,000 to 8,000 illegals in their town. We'll show you some of the problems they've encountered, from deadly DUIs to break-ins, and hear how they are handling the immigration impact.

Reported by: Michelle Paynter, mpaynter@wtoc.com