Towns in war on illegals
Enacting own immigration laws

By DONNA MARIE ARTUSO

http://winnipegsun.com/News/World/2007/ ... 2-sun.html


WASHINGTON -- As garden-variety bigotry gives way to financial panic over the growing complexities of illegal immigration in the U.S., hundreds of American municipalities, including two in suburbs of Washington, D.C., have passed bylaws that authorize local involvement in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Resolutions passed in July by Prince William and Loudoun counties in Virginia deny undocumented workers access to basic public services such as education, health care and police protection and have had a profound effect on the large local Latino populations.

Day-worker centres have closed. Ethnic clubs, restaurants and markets have reported a dramatic downturn as the immigrant population -- legal and illegal -- has kept out of sight amid rumours of planned raids and legal sanctions against anyone who employs or rents property to an undocumented worker, of which there are an estimated 12-20 million in the U.S.

PROTECT TAXPAYERS

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), it is the burgeoning costs of education, incarceration and public health that have forced American municipalities to do "fiscal triage."


Says FAIR press secretary Bob Dane: "It's a reaction to the inaction in Washington and its failure to enforce the law. Because the costs are borne not by the federal government, but by the state and municipal governments, these communities have a right to deal with the problems of illegal immigrants."

Much of the blame for the current situation, says Dane, can be laid at the feet of big business. "They have gotten used to hiring cheap, foreign, illegal labour."

Dane disputes the historical view that undocumented workers are simply performing the menial and low-paying jobs that Americans refuse to do. "What we found, after immigration and customs enforcement conducted ... raids, is that Americans lined up for those jobs once the prevailing-wage working conditions were brought up to standard."

PRAISE FOR CANADA

He praises the Canadian immigration system that assesses eligibility by considering a variety of factors including job skills, education and language proficiency.

"The Canadian (law) was designed to serve the national interest. It doesn't pander to special interests and the wants of the world."

Meanwhile, the District of Columbia and the cities of Alexandria and Arlington, Va., are moving in the opposite direction, with resolutions to protect social diversity.

Although these municipalities reiterate their intent to comply with federal law, city service providers will not question an individual's legal status except when criminal charges are being laid.