Thread: N.C. - Gaston Co. passes resolution

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/10286377/detail.html

Gaston County Commissioners Pass Controversial Resolution Cracking-Down On Illegal Immigrants

POSTED: 10:51 pm EST November 9, 2006
UPDATED: 11:05 pm EST November 9, 2006

GASTON CO., N.C. -- Gaston County Commissioners passed a controversial new resolution that aims to crack down on illegal immigrants. The commission passed the resolution Thursday night by a vote of five to one.

The policy prevents illegal immigrants from receiving any services funded by the county. It would also amend minimum housing requirements and limit the number of people who can live in rental properties.

Commissioner John Torbett says the changes are necessary to protect taxpayers. "If someone comes in and takes those funds so my citizens of Gaston County don't have access to them that's almost like theft, to some extent."

But Commissioner Pearl Burris Floyd opposed the resolution, believing the policy could also affect legal immigrants. "We must be sensitive to the fact that every person who lives in our community and speaks another language doesn't doesn't necessarily equal an illegal resident."

The policy would also give police the power to check the immigration status of anyone they arrest or even pull-over. The resolution now goes to county staff for their recommendation.

But Commissioner Pearl Burris Floyd opposed the resolution, believing the policy could also affect legal immigrants. "We must be sensitive to the fact that every person who lives in our community and speaks another language doesn't doesn't necessarily equal an illegal resident."

That depends, if ALL they speak is another language (other than English), they probably are an illegal resident.

"doesn't necessarily equal an illegal resident"

Uh huh ... well just ask for some references from their last known "location" and see if they give you a "country code" to call.

LOL.

Well ... sure ... there are some isolated instances I'm sure where legal residents who came here to work or join family members made it through the US Immigration process without knowing a single word of English.

Yeah ... right. And if so, then there will be an immigration record on them from their "processing".

Don't these people just burn ya ... GRRRRRR!!

Globalist nonsense.

BUT ... this is GREAT NEWS for Gaston County. That's right outside Charlotte next to Mecklenburg County for those who don't know the area we're talking about.

When the major meto areas get on board, then we can solve this problem if the Wackident doesn't screw us up with Guest Worker Program.

http://www.gastongazette.com/showStory.aspx?id=889

Reducing illegals?
by Michael Barrett
Gazette Staff Reporter

Gaston County hopes a new policy will yank away a welcome mat for illegal immigrants by making it harder for them to obtain services and easier to face deportation here.

The new county directive, passed 5-1 by commissioners Thursday, aims to limit health and other social services for illegal immigrants, as well as prevent the county from doing business with companies that hire undocumented workers.

The county will try to target illegal immigrants by looking at minimum housing codes and limiting the number of people who can reside in rental property.

The policy directs County Police and the Sheriff’s Office to “diligently battle the ever-increasing criminal element, which is growing daily with the influx of the illegal population.”

Law enforcement would eventually identify and assist in deporting illegals who are accused of even minor violations of the law, such as driving without a seat belt, said Commissioner John Torbett, who authored the resolution presented Thursday.

The policy blames illegal immigrants for “creating havoc and death on our highways; increasing the crime rate due to lack of comprehension of the English language and inability to read and follow established laws; and lack of social and personal health care standards.”

Torbett joined commissioners Allen Fraley, Tom Keigher, Mickey Price and Joe Carpenter in approving the measure. Pearl Burris Floyd cast the lone dissenting vote; Jack Brown was absent.

Some officials say Torbett’s recommendations in the resolution range from the unlikely, to the impossible, to the simply out-of-line. They fear the directives will increase racial profiling, and secondarily harm underprivileged U.S. citizens in Gaston County.

Katherine Parker, legal program coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, described the resolution Thursday as a “unique” one that may have unintended consequences.

“There are lots of ordinances and policies towns across the country are considering passing (concerning illegal immigration),” Parker said when contacted Thursday. “Some of our concerns deal with the fact that federal laws preempt some of these new policies.”

Torbett said before the meeting he sees Gaston County spending millions of dollars to provide services for illegal residents who aren’t pitching in.

“I think we have an open door policy right now,” Torbett said before the meeting. “But people should have to knock and prove citizenship to get the use of those taxpayer dollars.”

The effect of illegal immigration on crime here is unknown, Gaston County Sheriff Alan Cloninger said before the meeting.

Torbett believes illegal immigrants have caused an unacceptable increase in crime, “based on my observations.”

He said he did not have any facts about increased local crime from illegal immigrants to back up his assumptions.

Torbett said the county’s lenient housing regulations, which do not limit the number of people who can live in a rental dwelling, are a “gateway” for illegal immigrants.

“It’s like giving a green light to illegals,” he said early Thursday. “And if they’re here, they’re going to access county services.”

Local funds are combined with state and federal dollars to pay for aid such as family planning and maternity care, according to county department heads.

An estimated 20 percent of the county Health Department’s prenatal services clients are Hispanic, said director Colleen Bridger, after reviewing the resolution. It is not known what percentage are here illegally.

Federal law demands such programs are administered without respect to a client’s immigration status, she said.

“Basically, a limit on discretionary program spending wouldn’t affect us,” Bridger said Wednesday. “No county dollars from our end would be saved by passing this resolution.”

Social Services director Keith Moon said the same.

But Torbett believes county employees have become too influenced by the “open door policy.” Beyond what the county is required to provide, he believes there is some money to be saved.

“If the federal government says we’re mandated to serve an illegal, so be it,” he said Wednesday. “But, for example, are we mandated to hire additional staff who are bilingual?”

The Gaston County Sheriff’s Department is implementing a program that will allow certified deputies to check the immigration status of incoming subjects at the county jail.

It is logistically and financially unlikely that law enforcement officers could be equipped to do that from police cars — at least anytime soon, Cloninger said early Thursday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would have to approve such an aggressive plan, which is no guarantee.

“We had to go through a lot of hurdles just to get where we are now,” he said.

Such a program, which would turn law enforcement field officers into virtual immigration agents, would increase the jail population, Cloninger said.

Torbett said Thursday he did not know the costs associated with local law officers enforcing immigration laws.

Such a policy could also encourage racial profiling, said Angeles Ortega-Moore, executive director of the Latin American Coalition of Charlotte.

“That’s a dangerous area to get into,” she said.

Ortega-Moore said she has nothing against the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed a crime and been taken to jail.

“But I think all of us have committed traffic violations,” she said.

Commissioner Floyd said Torbett’s effort to address illegal immigration here is “timely and necessary.” But she said a number of details in the resolution concern her.

“We don’t want to create a hostile environment,” she said before the meeting. “We don’t want to create a system in which we have no tolerance and understanding.”

As a health advocate, Bridger said early Thursday she disagrees with the overall tone of the resolution.

“Obviously, I’d like to see policies aimed at improving the quality of life for those who are underprivileged, rather than tearing it down,” she said.

Torbett said U.S. citizens in the county suffer when illegal immigrants or their relatives benefit from free maternity care, public education or other services.

You can reach Michael Barrett at (704) 869-1826.

Ortega-Moore said she has nothing against the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed a crime and been taken to jail.

“But I think all of us have committed traffic violations,” she said.

They act like if this some kind of "game show" or contest with some kind of made-up rules of what "qualifies" for deportation. The very fact you are here illegally qualifies you and I'm sick of these people trying to "moralize" the laws away. It disgusts me to no end that they throw up "racial profiling" as another excuse. You don't have to profile.....just ask for ID when it's necessary and then FOLLOW THE LAW!

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 986433.htm

Gaston: No funds for illegal residents

Posted on Sat, Nov. 11, 2006

AMY RAINEY AND FRANCO ORDOÑEZ
arainey@charlotteobserver.com fordonez@charlotteobserver.com

Gaston County commissioners have directed county officials to stop funding programs for undocumented immigrants in what marks the Charlotte region's most aggressive measure against illegal immigration.

The resolution, passed Thursday by the all-Republican board, blames people living here illegally for a variety of social ills, and also orders county officials to limit their ability to live and work in the county.

Some officials charged with enacting the resolution say it would have little effect, but commissioner John Torbett, who introduced the measure, said it was necessary to protect taxpayers.

"Is it right for people that are not citizens of this country to receive tax dollars through services that have been paid for by people that are citizens of this country?" he said. "If we can determine that taxpayer dollars in Gaston County are going to provide services for illegal residents, then we need to stop as much of that as humanly possible."

Critics say the resolution only encourages hysteria over the immigration issue.

The resolution also directs county departments not to contract with companies that hire illegal immigrants, and it calls for a limit on the number of people who can live in rental homes.

Gaston County has joined a small group of local governments, such as those in Hazelton, Pa., and Valley Park, Mo., that have passed measures aimed at discouraging illegal immigrants from staying in their communities. Last year Mecklenburg commissioners defeated a proposal to deny some county services to illegal immigrants, and another measure that would have denied county contracts to employers found to have hired undocumented workers.

Such laws challenge Supreme Court precedents that say immigration law falls under federal authority.

"It's responding to a legitimate set of concerns and frustration, but the solutions are misguided," said Jeanne Butterfield executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington.

More than half of the estimated 600,000 Hispanics in the North Carolina are believed to be in the country illegally. According to 2005 Census Bureau figures, about 9,500 Hispanics live in Gaston County, which has a population of about 196,000.

The resolution cites the growing illegal immigration for contributing to overcrowded schools, highway deaths and increasing crime. It also says communities are impacted by illegal immigrants' "lack of social and personal health care standards."

Angeles Ortega-Moore, executive director of the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, called the resolution insensitive and said it created an "us vs. them sentiment."

Ortega-Moore said the resolution fails to mention the billions of dollars that illegal immigrants contribute to the economy.

"Proposals like this are not serving any purpose other than creating a hysteria in our community and feeding into the fires of this hotly debated issue around immigration," she said.

Torbett said he didn't intend the language to be harsh, but to convey how serious illegal immigration is. Torbett said he did not know how much money is spent providing services to illegal immigrants in the county. He cited the hiring of additional bilingual employees as an example of services that should be funded through state and federal money, not county tax dollars.

This resolution will have a small impact on services offered through the county health department, said department director Colleen Bridger.

"That's (the commissioners') way of expressing their opinion, but it's going to have relatively little effect on the county bottom line," Bridger said.

Most of the health department's services are federally mandated and must be provided regardless of a person's immigration status, Bridger said. Additionally, she said the department is prohibited from asking people about their immigration status.

Dani Martinez-Moore of the N.C. Justice Center in Raleigh said most county services are already unavailable to illegal immigrants. Services like emergency medical care and public education are federally mandated.

"I think many people believe that undocumented immigrants are eligible for welfare cash benefits," she said. "And that is not true."

How the county will implement this resolution is not clear. Torbett said he plans to meet with department directors to identify areas where they are exceeding federally and state-mandated guidelines.

The resolution directs police officers to check immigration status, but providing patrol officers the equipment and access to check that status would have to be approved by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sheriff Alan Cloninger said.

The resolution's lone dissenting vote came from commissioner Pearl Burris Floyd, who says she agreed with most of it but wanted to amend or delete two items. The commissioners rushed to vote on the resolution, Floyd said.

She said updating the minimum housing requirements to address how many people can live in a rental home could hurt legal residents with large or multigenerational families. Floyd also fears requiring police to check immigration status could lead to racial profiling, she said.

"I can just envision our Latino Americans or Hispanic Americans who are legal residents having to go through being questioned about their citizenship," she said. "To me, that's wrong."

Resolution Provisions

The resolution, which passed 5-1, directs county officials to:

• Stop funding the portion of local services that go to illegal immigrants.

• Stop nonmandated or federally and state-funded programs that serve illegal immigrants.

• Stop contracting with companies that employ illegal immigrants.

• Update minimum housing requirements to limit the number of people who can live in rental homes.

The resolution directs the Gaston County Sheriff's Office and Police Department to:

• Check the immigration status of undocumented immigrants upon arrest.

• Check immigration status during any infraction, such as a traffic stop.
Amy Rainey: 704-868-7731

http://www.gastonpolitics.com/

Do you agree with the measures sponsored by County Commissioner John Torbett to crack down on illegal immigrants?
Yes (64) 67%
No (31) 32%
Don't know (1) 1%

Total Votes: 96

Poll's on left.

Yes votes just went up to 68%!!