Public invited to get immigration information at forum

By Michael Harrison Fort Mill Times
(Published July 26, 2006)

YORK COUNTY -- It's been a classic case of the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about, but no more.
Business leaders and others from the private sector concerned about illegal immigration have decided to confront the issue head on. An Aug. 1 forum has been set up to allow residents a chance to get information on the impact of undocumented immigrants on York County.
Although organizers did not specify countries of origin for the tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants moving here, previous studies have shown that the Hispanic population - legal or otherwise - has been rapidly growing in the Charlotte metro area, including northern York County.
The forum is being organized by the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce and United Way of York County and will be held at the Cultural and Heritage Museum in Rock Hill. Guest speakers will include Charlie Miller, president and CEO of Piedmont Medical Center, and York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant.
"Because of the different information on TV and out in public, all the questions posed about undocumented immigration, we felt like this would be a good way to make the public aware of things, give out information and try to answer questions folks have," said Trudie Heemsoth, director of the chamber's Fort Mill Area Council.
"People wonder, 'are these folks paying taxes...are our taxes being used to educate their children?' and they wonder about health care and I'm sure Charlie [Miller] will address that."
Heemsoth said discussions of the issue within the Fort Mill Area Council are what led to the idea of holding the forum.
Scheduled speakermKim Keel, president and chief professional officer of United Way of York County, said, "Convening the community around immigration issues is important to make sure people have reliable information upon which to make informed decisions. It is difficult to draw
informed conclusions about this issue when you are unsure of what is fact and what is fiction."
Fort Mill resident Jenny Carroll, an expert on immigration issues who was a recent guest speaker at the Fort Mill Rotary Club, said she plans attend the forum and is glad to hear about it.
"I see it as a positive step, in my opinion, because of the economic impact [of undocumented Hispanics living here]. It's positive because of their buying power. The only challenging thing is hospital care because most of them do not have health insurance, and education because of the impact on taxpayers."
Carroll, who writes a regular column, "The Latin-American Link" for the Fort Mill Times, said in 2008 the projected spending power of undocumented Hispanics in South Carolina is $5 billion.
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