Thread: Senator wants immigration reform in N.C.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 457976.htm

Posted on Sat, Apr. 29, 2006

Senator wants immigration reform in N.C.
Pittenger drafting bills to tighten state's laws

JIM MORRILL
jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com

With immigration reforms bottled up in Congress, North Carolina is among a growing number of states taking up the issue on their own.

The latest example: A Charlotte lawmaker expects to introduce legislation next month designed to stop illegal immigrants from working on state jobs and to restrict their access to social services.

"You want North Carolina to quit being so attractive to (illegal) immigrants," said Republican Sen. Robert Pittenger. "The bill is going to tighten the laws ... to make employers liable for hiring illegal immigrants."

The bill, still being drafted, is expected to be one of several dealing with the issue in North Carolina. Across the country, lawmakers in 42 states had introduced 368 measures this year alone, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The largest number deal with employment.

An Observer investigation published this week found illegal immigrants, using Social Security numbers that are fake, stolen or belong to dead people, have been hired to work on state road projects.

Federal law doesn't require employers to verify workers' immigration status beyond asking for Social Security cards or other documents. And North Carolina, which pays about $1 billion a year to road contractors alone, does not require employers to authenticate documents.

Pittenger said his bill would be modeled on a Georgia law signed last week by Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue.

That measure targets illegal immigrants and their employers. It also requires state and local government agencies to verify the legal status of adults seeking taxpayer-funded benefits and has tough penalties for human trafficking.

The law does not specifically address how employers would verify whether documents are legitimate.

Pittenger said his measure, like Georgia's, would plug holes in a leaky system.

"We've become a magnet (for illegal immigrants)," he said. "And they're leaving other states to come to North Carolina."

N.C. legislators considered several immigration-related bills last year. The only one that passed was one calling for more study of the impact undocumented immigrants have on state services and the economy.

Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, has said he "would be happy to look at legislation" on immigration matters in the session that starts May 9. Spokesman Tony Caravano said Friday that Basnight's staff has been looking at proposals for months, including those dealing with employers.

For their part, employers are wary.

"They all want to obey the law, but they also don't want to be asked to play the role of government in investigating the application of that law," said Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber.

"There are businesses ... that are very dependent on labor that comes from the immigrant population. And they're very concerned about the implication of cutting off a major source of labor, and how that would affect their ability to compete."

Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat, agrees that something needs to be done. But exactly what to do on a state level, he's not sure.

"We have to take a look at the issue of immigration and immigration reform and deal with it," he said. "Whether Sen. Pittenger's bill is the answer, I haven't seen it."

As a Republican in a Democratic-controlled General Assembly, Pittenger hasn't had much legislative success.

None of the five bills of which he was prime sponsor last year passed.

"Ninety-seven percent of all the bills that come out of the Senate are Democrat bills," he said. "The likelihood is that they'll take my bill, put it under one of their people's names and pass it. And that's fine with me."

-- Staff writer Mitch Weiss contributed.

-- Jim Morrill: (704) 358-5059

Are there any anti illegal alien events scheduled in around the
Charlotte NC area

While I was listening to the Terry Anderson show a couple weeks ago, a man from New York called in and he furious with the state of NC for giving illegals drivers license! He said that the illegals will leave other states, come to NC and get drivers license and NC plates on their cars and then head to New York. I assume New York does not give them license, does anyone know if they do or do not?