Illegal immigration program sparks debate

By John Harbin
Times-News Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, September 22, 2008 at 9:53 p.m.

Residents expressed their concerns and had questions answered Monday night during an open forum on a program by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office that identifies, arrests and deports criminal illegal immigrants.

Immigrants by state

The nation’s immigration boom slowed significantly in 2007, according to new government estimates. The estimated number of immigrants, or foreign born, in each state in 2007 and 2006 and the percent change:

State 2007 2006 %»Chg
Ala. 137,275 130,049 5.6                           
Alaska 48,928 47,066 4.0                           
Ariz. 991,584 929,083 6.7                           
Ark. 118,405 107,346 10.3                         
Calif. 10,024,352 9,902,067 1.2                           
Colo. 485,170 489,496 -0.9                         
Conn. 449,661 452,358 -0.6                         
Del. 65,821 68,722 -4.2                         
D.C. 74,409 73,820 0.8                           
Fla. 3,440,918 3,425,634 0.4                           
Ga. 868,413 859,590 1.0                           
Hawaii 221,448 210,162 5.4                           
Idaho 83,904 82,040 2.3                           
Ill. 1,768,518 1,773,600 -0.3                         
Ind. 263,848 263,607 0.1                           
Iowa 117,437 112,299 4.6                           
Kan. 167,085 173,394 -3.6                         
Ky. 107,833 111,724 -3.5                         
La. 143,267 125,204 14.4                         
Maine 44,464 41,956 6.0                           
Md. 694,590 683,157 1.7                           
Mass. 913,957 908,271 0.6                           
Mich. 609,457 598,651 1.8                           
Minn. 345,001 339,236 1.7                           
Miss. 49,483 51,044 -3.1                         
Mo. 208,121 193,690 7.5                           
Mont. 16,057 17,512 -8.3                         
Neb. 98,512 99,500 -1.0                         
Nev. 497,821 475,914 4.6                           
N.H. 67,735 71,200 -4.9                         
N.J. 1,731,202 1,754,253 -1.3                         
N.M. 182,936 197,251 -7.3                         
N.Y. 4,205,813 4,178,962 0.6                           
N.C. 629,947 614,198 2.6                           
N.D. 15,586 13,378 16.5                         
Ohio 419,443 412,352 1.7                           
Okla. 182,186 175,987 3.5                           
Ore. 367,551 359,867 2.1                           
Pa. 665,176 636,567 4.5                           
R.I. 134,823 134,390 0.3                           
S.C. 190,014 176,018 8.0                           
S.D. 14,530 16,852 -13.8                       
Tenn. 249,552 236,516 5.5                           
Texas 3,828,904 3,740,667 2.4                           
Utah 215,757 210,500 2.5                           
Vt. 21,410 24,182 -11.5                       
Va. 794,246 773,785 2.6                           
Wash. 795,179 793,789 0.2                           
W.Va. 23,455 21,948 6.9                           
Wis. 252,150 245,006 2.9                           
Wyo. 16,360 13,929 17.5                         
Nation 38,059,694 37,547,789 1.4                           

Source: Census Bureau

Henderson County Citizens for Change held the forum Monday night and allowed presentations by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and the Latino Advocacy Coalition.

Gary Prichard, president of HCCC, opened the forum by discussing some statistics of illegal immigrants in the United States, North Carolina and Henderson County.

“Statistics show that there are about 385,000 Hispanic residents in North Carolina according to Homeland Security,â€