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Towns, cities hesitant to follow suit on immigration ordinance
BY GINNY SKALSKI, The Island Packet
Published Friday, December 29, 2006
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Though the Beaufort County Council spent months debating and eventually approving an illegal immigration ordinance, it doesn't appear the county's municipalities are in any hurry to take up the issue.

Without their support, the law would apply only to unincorporated Beaufort County. That means businesses operating in Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and the county's other municipalities wouldn't have to follow the same rules as businesses that operate outside town or city limits.

"The towns have to come on board with this, they really do, to make this work," County Councilwoman Margaret Griffin said Wednesday before joining the 9-0 final vote.

A majority on both Hilton Head and Bluffton's town councils are willing to debate the proposal, which allows the revocation of business licenses at companies that knowingly employ illegal immigrants, but they're not sure they want to do it any time soon.

HILTON HEAD

Hilton Head Councilmen Bill Ferguson and Bill Mottel say they want to wait to see whether the federal government tackles the issue.

With Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, they say President Bush may have a better chance of winning support for immigration reform that failed under Republican leadership. If that happens, they say, the county's new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2008, may become moot.

"We have to wait, there's no doubt about that," Ferguson said.

Hilton Head Councilman John Safay is optimistic the federal government will address the issue soon. "I still don't feel it's appropriate to be dealing with these matters on the local level," he said.

Fellow Councilman Drew Laughlin agrees: "You're kind of swimming upstream, it seems to me, when you're trying to fix something that's broken on the federal level." Laughlin also has concerns the debate is "stirring up divisions" in the community.

Several Hispanic residents told the County Council they've been getting more dirty looks and have heard snide comments about their race and language since the council began debating the issue in mid-September.

Hilton Head Mayor Pro Tem Ken Heitzke isn't sure where he stands on the issue, but he said if the town adopts the county's ordinance, it needs to first make sure there's enough staff to enforce it.

"Is that going to require a gaggle of people compared to the code enforcement officers we have now?" Heitzke asked. "And if so, at what level?"

Mayor Tom Peeples, who could not be reached for comment, has stated his opposition to the county's original ordinance.

BLUFFTON

Meanwhile, Bluffton Town Council members interviewed Thursday didn't seem to have strong opinions. Mayor Hank Johnston refused comment on the issue. "I am out of town," he said. "I have not seen what the county has passed, and I really can't comment."

Johnston previously worried about the legality and enforceability of the county proposal, but that was before it was revised following a county review with attorneys.

Bluffton Councilwoman Lisa Sulka said she's also been away and wants to read more about the new ordinance. She wouldn't comment on whether she would support it.

"I know we wouldn't do it just because the county's doing it," Sulka said.

But Bluffton Councilman Fred Hamilton Jr. said the town should adopt the ordinance so there are uniform rules throughout the county.

"It follows the same trend as the smoking ban," Hamilton said. "If the county is taking a stand on it, then I think we should be right in line with it."

Bluffton's two newly elected council members aren't so sure the town should adopt the ordinance just because the county has.

"If all the municipalities joined hands around the table at the same time, then that might be something I would consider," said Thomas Heyward, who takes office next month.

Fellow newcomer Charlie Wetmore said he needs to find out more about it before he takes a stance, but he does have concerns about regulating something the federal government controls.

"We just need to make sure we do the right thing," Wetmore said. "And I honestly don't know at this point what the right thing is."

Bluffton Mayor Pro Tem Jacob Preston did not seek re-election, so he won't cast a vote if the town debates the issue next year. Still, he doesn't believe the town should get involved and thinks the county might back-pedal on the ordinance once six new council members are sworn in next week.

"It's one of those things that doesn't take effect for a year," Preston said. "And I think that what was precipitously done can be undone at leisure."

The County Council set the ordinance's start date at Jan. 1, 2008, so it would have time to come up with an enforcement plan and to hear any legal rulings on similar ordinances approved by other local governments.

Beaufort Mayor Bill Rauch, meanwhile, still feels illegal immigration is a federal responsibility. There's been no discussion among City Council members there about adopting the plan, and he doesn't intend to bring the issue forward. Still, if it comes up, he said, he might "be persuaded that it's something the city ought to do."

Contact Ginny Skalski at 706-8144 or gskalski@islandpacket.com.