Thread: New Hampshire Gets Tough On Migrant Issue

http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impr ... abla=miami

New Hampshire gets tough on migrant issue

BY GEORGE GRAYSON/Special to The Herald Mexico
June 13, 2005

Although New Hampshire is quite different from the United States as a whole, its politics often affect the entire nation. The "Granite State" holds the first presidential primary every four years and a candidate's showing there can make or break his campaign for the White House. Now this small New England state may be at the forefront of a trend that will affect policy toward illegal immigrants throughout the country.

Some large cities like Los Angeles and New York grant "sanctuary" to unlawful immigrants. This means that local police do not turn over illegal immigrants who have committed crimes to the Border Patrol and other federal agencies. In contrast, W. Garrett Chamberlain, the sheriff of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, has garnered widespread attention by arresting them even when federal authorities turn a blindeye to their presence.

Specifically, he charges them with "criminal trespass," a crime defined as when: "A person is guilty of criminal trespass if, knowing he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place." Conviction carries a fine of up to US1,000.

"I'm just saying: 'Wait a minute.' We're on heightened alert and it's post 9/11, and I'm going to let an illegal immigrant who I don't know from Adam just walk away?" he told a reporter for the Washington Post. "That's ridiculous. If I find you in my country illegally, I'm not going to worry about political correctness, I will detain you."

In response to his action, the 36-year-old law-enforcement official, who was elected three years ago, has received an avalanche of positive letters and e-mails from Border Patrol agents, members of the armed forces in Iraq, and Californians.

In fact, the popularity of the move has prompted Richard E. Gendron, the police chief in nearby Hudson, New Hampshire, to follow Chamberlain's example. He charged two illegal immigrants from Mexico with trespassing after their van was stopped with a broken headlight.

Not everyone endorses the actions by Chamberlain and Gendron. "The Mexican government was understandably worried that this could become the charge du jour across the country," Claire Ebel, executive director of the New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union, told reporter Michael Powell.

In addition, the Mexican consulate has hired an attorney for José Mora RamÃÂ*rez, 21, who was apprehended for trespassing in Hudson. Mexican officials fear that the conviction of Mora RamÃÂ*rez could establish a national precedent.

Hudson Police Captain Ray Mello, who is prosecuting the case, said that police are not usurping power from the federal government. "We're sworn to protect the law of the United States and the state of New Hampshire. We're just taking action on a local level."

Meanwhile, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Mexican-American who has an eye on succeeding U.S. President George W. Bush in 2008, recently told journalists at a news conference at Southern New Hampshire University: "This [legal action toward illegal immigrants] should be done by federal law enforcement. This should not be done by local police chiefs."

The objections of Richardson notwithstanding, why have Chamberlain and Gendron won more bouquets than brickbats for their crackdown on law breakers?

First, there is the traditionalism of New Englanders, who look askance at outsiders. Even though New Hampshire remains 96 percent white, there has been an influx of Latinos in recent years especially in the state's two largest cities, Manchester and Nashua. As a result of this inflow, two Latinos hold seats in the 424-member state House of Representatives.

Second, state and local officials throughout the country are frustrated by the lack of a consistent policy on illegal immigration. The new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement service-known as "ICE" is a bureaucratic nightmare that has turf problems with other federal agencies. While ICE has spent millions of dollars to beef up enforcement at the U.S.-Mexican border, it runs into a political firestorm every time it tries to enforce immigration laws in the workplace. In past years, U.S. Representatives and Senators have forced federal authorities to halt raids on farms growing Vidalia onions in Georgia and owners of meat-packing plants in Nebraska. These special interests lavish on politicians and, in return, expect to be able to hire workers at the lowest wage possible.

Third, New Englanders are extremely self-reliant, possibly because of the rugged terrain and bitterly cold winters. They have a difficult time understanding why a country with Mexico's cornucopia of oil, natural gas, gold, silver, beaches, and museums cannot manage to generate employment at home for its citizens. Despite the nation's abundant wealth, President Vicente Fox has made good neither on his campaign promise to spur 7 percent economic growth nor to create 1 million new jobs annually.

Mexico's Congress deserves its share of the blame. Failure to enact a fiscal reform means that the country collects in taxes only 12 percent of its Gross Domestic Product. The comparable figure is just over 30 percent for Brazil, which is hardly a paragon of fiscal virtue.

In addition, the attitude of Mexicans is that the border is only an inconvenient surveyor's line, which they have every right to cross. This sentiment was evident in the results of a Zogby survey of Mexicans taken in late May 2001. The pollsters asked: Do you agree or disagree that the territory of the U.S. Southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico? Fifty-eight percent of the respondents agreed, 28 disagreed, and 14 percent said they were not sure.

Courts may strike down New Ipswich's trespassing statute on the grounds of vagueness. Even if the law is voided, the generally favorable reaction to Sheriff Chamberlain's assertiveness makes it even less likely that the U.S. Congress will enact a guestworker program, amnesty, or any other reform championed by the Fox administration.

Not only does the popular action in New Hampshire send a message to Washington lawmakers, it will force presidential wannabes who enter the state's primary to take a stand on an issue that was largely ignored during the Kerry-Bush campaign. As it does every four years in showdowns for the White House, the little Granite State may now play a vital role in national immigration affairs.

Dr. George W. Grayson, who teaches Government at the College of William & Mary, is writing a book on Mexico City Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He can be reached via 757-221-3031 or gwgray@wm.edu.

Dr. George W. Grayson, who teaches Government at the College of William & Mary, is writing a book on Mexico City Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He can be reached via 757-221-3031 or gwgray@wm.edu.

He is also on the board of the CIS
www.cis.org
Some interesting reading on this site.