Cities take on immigration themselves

The Associated Press |
Posted July 10, 2006





Some Florida cities are not waiting for a national answer on what to do about illegal immigration and are planning to vote this month on proposed local laws dealing with undocumented immigrants.

In Brevard County, the Palm Bay Council will consider a fine for businesses that hire workers without legal residency status.

In Highlands County, officials in Avon Park are considering banning illegal immigrants from renting houses, as well as fines for businesses. Avon Park, where nearly one in five residents is Hispanic, is also considering requiring all city documents and other communications to be only in English.

"Since there's a stalemate on any kind of [federal] reform, someone has to pick up the ball for constituents," Palm Bay Councilman Andy Anderson says. His proposal would levy a $200 fine on businesses in the city that hire undocumented workers.

Palm Bay and Avon Park are modeling their proposed laws after similar measures in Hazelton, Pa., which gained national attention for its own crackdown on illegal immigration.

Both Florida cities' proposals would also prohibit city contracts for companies employing illegal immigrants. They could also mean fines for landlords who rent to those in the country illegally.

Cities that pass such ordinances may face civil-rights lawsuits, said Columbia University professor Rodolfo de la Garza, who studies immigration policy.

"It's a backwards way of doing this," de la Garza said. "It's not the authority of the city government to do it. The feds are supposed to do this."


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