http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/n ... 439672.htm

Posted on Mon, Dec. 19, 2005

First, get the facts
Mayor's Immigration Study Commission a good start



Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory says immigration will be one of top items on his priority list this year. He's right to put it so high.

Much attention is focused on illegal immigrants, leading to the false impression that newcomers who speak with accents and come from elsewhere must have sneaked in. In fact, many thousands of immigrants come here legally, as visitors, students, workers, new citizens or simply Americans of foreign birth drawn here by opportunity. They contribute immensely to the diversity and richness of our region.

Some of them have special needs that the community would benefit from meeting. One involves language. Educational institutions can't meet the need for English language courses if they don't know how large it is. The need for more Spanish speakers on the police force, in hospitals and courts is growing critical.

Illegal immigrants are both a benefit and a problem. They fill jobs in a growing economy, but they also present challenges for schools, law enforcement and social services.

Who's here? What are their needs? What problems do they create? Those are among the questions Mayor McCrory's new Immigrant Study Commission will seek to answer. Its 23 members include Latino leaders, local and federal law enforcement agents, city and county officials and business people. They'll examine the situation from a variety of perspectives, gauging the impact on public safety, employment, education and health care. Within a year, they expect to make policy recommendations, if needed.

A recent study by the Brookings Institution put the three largest N.C. urban areas among the nation's five urban regions it called pre-emerging gateways for immigration.

The immigrant population in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill area grew from 14,452 in 1980 to 24,041 in 1990 to 99,760 in 2000. An estimated 120,000 immigrants are in the area now. More will come. The mayor's commission is a timely effort to gather facts about a demographic phenomenon too often defined by rumors.

The Mayor's Commission

Here are the members of Mayor McCrory's Immigrant Study Commission: Alan Gordon (chair), Francisco Alvarado, John Brown, Wayne Cooper, Colleen Farquharson, Steve Gennett, Richard Gottlieb, District Attorney Peter Gilchrist, Maha Gingrich, Jake Jacobsen, Jeff Jordon, Joan Lorden, Kathy Meads, Maudia Melendez, Sheriff Jim Pendergraph, Huntersville Mayor Kim Phillips, Phyllis Primm, John Quealy, Willie Ratchford, Stephen Rosenburgh, Police Chief Darrel Stephens, Elizabeth Thurbee and Hal Weatherman.