Illegal immigration on Anderson County Council agenda
Monday, July 6, 2009


ANDERSON COUNTY — Illegal immigration on Anderson County agenda

By Mike Ellis

Independent Mail

Anderson County Council members are once again talking about illegal immigration.

The topic is on the agenda twice for Tuesday’s council meeting, but only discussion is expected because there are no ordinances or resolutions up for a vote.

Council member Tom Allen said he would use his time to remind business owners that new immigration rules became effective in the state July 1.

Those rules require owners of private businesses with more than 100 employees to use a federal E-Verify system or get a copy of driver’s licenses for all new hires. Smaller businesses have until next year to comply with the same rules.

Council member Cindy Wilson said she would be presenting the legal benefits and problems with restricting illegal immigration on the county level.

Immigration has been a hot topic at council meetings this year, but the one option presented so far by county lawyers would require a business license or registration in order to enforce immigration rules at the county level.

The majority of council members oppose any form of license or registration.

Allen said many in his district are worried about potential taxes and even if the initial plan were a free registration it would still add a layer of bureaucracy.

Wilson said registration, which is used in the city of Clemson, has not been shown to be effective.

“I don’t think there’s much of anything there anyway, even if you did a business license. Apparently it’s not working so well,â€