http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/ ... 8342.story

Laws on illegals under debate
Immigration battles heating up in Md.



By Kelly Brewington
Sun reporter

March 5, 2006

For years, Maryland has been insulated from the polarizing battles over immigration that have troubled such immigrant-heavy states as Arizona and California.

Not anymore.

Today, some lawmakers want to make English the official language of Maryland. The Minutemen, a civilian group that has gained notoriety by patrolling border states to apprehend illegal immigrants, are in Montgomery County canvassing day labor centers. Meanwhile, immigrant advocates have stepped up their efforts to oppose state and federal legislation they call xenophobic, while continuing a steady push of proposals to extend rights to the undocumented.

What had been a relatively civilized debate in Maryland is growing more volatile.

Those seeking reform argue that Maryland has avoided confronting illegal immigration for too long, and that the state is out of step with a national push to stem the tide of illegal immigrants.

Immigrant advocates say that the urge on Capitol Hill to fix the country's broken immigration laws - as well as the divisive language that comes with it - has spilled over the Maryland border. Frustrated by a lack of action in Washington, state legislatures nationwide have taken it upon themselves to try to restrict the surge of undocumented families.

"The debate has gotten nastier because the federal debate has become nasty," said Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez, a Democrat from Montgomery County and an advocate for immigrants. "What they have done is changed the language that is acceptable in the mainstream. I think this attitude works on people's fears. It appeals to our lowest nature."

While lawmakers in Annapolis debate their fate, the college-ready students, trade workers, pregnant mothers and sick children whose lives would be helped or harmed by legislative decisions go about their lives.

Karen Salinas-Aguilar, a senior at Patterson High School in Baltimore, receives A's and B's in her classes, doesn't watch television and works evenings at a housekeeping job at a downtown hotel to help her family pay the rent and bills.

She knew no English when she left Mexico City with her mother six years ago to join her father and brother in Fells Point. Now she's ready for college but says she could afford only in-state tuition at a public university. Because she is an illegal immigrant, she is not considered a state resident and would be charged out-of-state prices.

Some lawmakers hope to pass a bill offering Maryland rates to students such as Karen, who hopes to study landscape architecture or interior design. But for now, the letters she has received from colleges hoping to woo her to their campuses will continue to stack up in her bedroom.

"I just am looking to get the opportunity," she said. "Sometimes I imagine going to college and having another life."

For some illegal immigrants, life does not improve in the United States. Last week, federal authorities detained 15 illegal workers from Indonesia, El Salvador, Nepal and China after closing down the upscale Baltimore sushi chain, Kawasaki Restaurant Group, that employed them. Authorities arrested the restaurant owners, charging them with stealing tips from the workers.

Salinas-Aguilar and the restaurant workers represent slices of a growing and diverse population in Maryland. The state's illegal immigrant population more than doubled between 2000 and 2004, swelling from 120,000 to 250,000, according to a recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Supporters of stringent immigration enforcement say those numbers show that Maryland should confront the impact illegal immigrants have on crime, schools and the health care system.


History of generosity
While the voices of immigration critics have dominated the Assembly in recent years, they haven't made much headway.

James G. Gimpel, a professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, College Park, said efforts to restrict immigration in Maryland might be fueled by a growing debate on the issue on the national level. But Maryland's blue-state political alignment isn't conducive to the push, he said.

"First of all, the Democratic Party has been historically pretty generous to immigrants, and the Democratic Party runs the legislature in Maryland," Gimpel said. "The state has not had an acute job shortage, and concern about immigration tends to rise when jobs are scarce."

When it comes to bills to clamp down on illegal immigration in Maryland, Del. Patrick L. McDonough, a Republican representing Baltimore and Harford counties, has led the charge. Fellow Republican Del. Richard K. Impallaria and a handful of others have joined him.

"It's exploded obviously as a national issue, and ordinary Americans, whether they are in Dundalk or Denver, are ticked off, to say the least, about the whole thing, and they directly lay the blame on politicians from President Bush on down," said McDonough, who held a political fundraiser last year featuring Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican considering launching a presidential bid on an anti-immigration platform. "Maryland is the most dysfunctional state in the country on this issue."

While many of McDonough's immigration bills have repeatedly failed, this year could be different, his allies say. In addition to perennial proposals such as clamping down on driver's licenses, new suggestions from other lawmakers are entering the mix.

Lawmakers are pondering efforts to penalize employers for hiring illegal immigrants such as the Kawasaki workers and to clamp down on nonprofits that operate work centers. Another proposal would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving workers' compensation insurance if injured on the job.

Del. Nancy R. Stocksdale, a Carroll County Republican who introduced the workers' compensation bill, said that Maryland employers are knowingly violating federal immigration laws by allowing illegal immigrants to receive the benefits.

The measure is a response to a case decided last fall by the Maryland Court of Appeals, which ruled that Diego Lagos, a manual laborer from Argentina who injured his hand on the job, was entitled to benefits even though he was working illegally.

Del. Luiz R.S. Simmons, a Montgomery County Democrat and attorney who represented Lagos, said efforts to remove coverage would encourage employers to take advantage of the illegal work force.

"People think this is somehow going to discourage illegal immigration, but all you are going to do is give unscrupulous employers - from the very biggest companies in the U.S. to the smallest contractor - the incentive to hire them," he said.

Simmons said that abuse of illegal workers is common, and that every employee should be entitled to compensation benefits.

"The undocumented worker is almost always the one who is placed in the hazardous or life-threatening jobs," he said. "If a trench caves in, nine times out of 10 the guy on the bottom doesn't have a green card."

Gaithersburg resident Steve Schreiman, who directs the Minutemen chapter in Maryland, said part of his effort is to crack down on people and companies who employ illegal workers.

"We're setting up procedures to document contractors who hire illegals," said Schreiman, describing how his group conducts surveillance and investigates tips about overcrowded apartments. "We intend to find those people and turn them over to the federal government. As far as state and county law, there's nothing we can do."


'At a stalemate'
While many Democrats in the legislature might want to boost protections and benefits for immigrants, advocates acknowledge that their effort has been hindered by an aggressive push from the other side.

"We're at a stalemate right now," said Del. Victor R. Ramirez, a Democrat from Prince George's County who sponsored a bill that would help students such as Salina-Aguilar by allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition to Maryland universities. "It's a sensitive issue right now. We just need to refocus and re-strategize how we turn this around."

As they fight for their own initiatives, immigrant advocates are keeping a close eye on legislation offered by critics. Some bills, the advocates say, are intended to make Maryland less hospitable to foreign-born residents, regardless of their immigration status.

A pair of proposals that would establish English as the official language of Baltimore County and Maryland have caught the attention of national groups such as U.S. English.

In 1994, the General Assembly passed legislation to make English Maryland's official language, but it was vetoed by Gov. William Donald Schaefer - who two years ago criticized immigrants for failing to speak English.

"Organizationally, we were the driving force when it passed previously but was vetoed," said Tim Schultz, director of government relations at U.S. English Inc., who stated that translation services take away the incentive of new arrivals to learn English.

"The default policy should not be 'Let's translate for you,'" he said. "The default policy should be 'We want immigrants to learn English as soon as possible.'"

As Maryland grows more diverse, some lawmakers are hopeful that such proposals will wither when exposed to voter scrutiny.

Del. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam, a Democrat from Baltimore County and a Jamaica native, said she was thankful last week when the county delegation rejected the English proposal that would have applied to that jurisdiction.

Nathan-Pulliam, who said legal immigrants are becoming an electoral force, told her fellow lawmakers that a significant portion of the immigrant population are citizens.

"I told them, this is an election year, and you'd be out of your minds to vote for this," she said.

Indeed, election-year politics could sway the immigration debate in Annapolis.

While Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has not articulated a detailed immigration policy, his rivals in the race for governor say his actions show he is no friend to immigrants - legal or illegal.

Last summer, the Ehrlich administration eliminated a $7 million health care program for low-income pregnant women and children who are legal permanent residents. Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, both vying for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, roundly criticized Ehrlich for the decision.

Immigrant advocates have sued the Ehrlich administration, calling the cuts discriminatory, while Ramirez and other lawmakers have pushed legislation that would require the governor to allocate at least $7 million for the program in future budgets.

Without the coverage, Pamela Nkahinjo of New Carrollton said she has been unable to take her 3-year-old, Gabriel Ntitebem, to visit a doctor for chronic constipation. She first learned that Gabriel's health benefits were cut last summer, when she took him to the emergency room for a persistent fever and was charged $500 for lab work.

Nkahinjo earns $8.40 an hour working at a group home while her husband takes classes to become a mechanic.

"I'm suffering a lot for these children," said Nkahinjo, who arrived in Maryland from Cameroon in 2004 with her husband and three sons. "They are my greatest worries. If it were just myself, I can persevere, but with the kids, it's just too hard. I really need them to see a good doctor."

kelly.brewington@baltsun.com