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Feds must find workable fix to immigrant issue


Cherokee County has spoken on illegal immigration. Now many want Gainesville and Hall County to follow suit.

The county to the west voted last week to clamp down on illegal immigration by declaring English the official language and penalizing landlords who rent property to undocumented residents.

The move likely will spur other local governments in the state and elsewhere to take similar action. This comes after a law was passed at the state level during the last legislative session to deny certain benefits to illegal residents.

Meanwhile, grassroots opposition to the influx of undocumented immigrants continues across the nation. This month, the Georgia chapter of the Minutemen organization is scheduled to meet in Watkinsville, an extension of the movement began by citizens patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

It's pretty clear that a lot of folks are fed up with what they see as inaction on the illegal immigration issue by the federal government. Even those who propose and pass local laws dealing with this issue will admit that immigration should be a national concern. When our leaders in Washington, D.C., step up and find a way to deal with it effectively, the Minutemen and the Cherokee County commissions may back off.

But as long as the federal government gives the perception that it cannot -- or will not -- address illegal immigration, local governments and citizens will take it into their own hands.

This is a clear indication of why we can't endure the status quo. For years, immigrants from Mexico and Latin America have poured across the southern U.S. border to find work in many areas of the country.

Industries such as construction and agriculture now rely heavily on them to fill their work force. Those who defend the presence of these migrant workers say they are mostly law-abiding, family-centered people who work hard at jobs many Americans find unpleasant, and for lesser pay.

On the other side are those who claim illegal workers create a burden on local government services such as schools and law enforcement, and that they violate the law merely by being here. Truth is, no one has been able to offer an objective cost analysis to let us know whether the average American comes out ahead or behind as a result of the influx of immigrants.

Of course, there are extremists on both sides, as with any issue, who claim to have all the answers. On one fringe are those who refuse to recognize any kind of border sovereignty and say Mexican immigrants are merely reclaiming their ancestral lands. Others tend toward xenophobia and perceive Latinos, illegal and legal, as a threat to their cultures.

Most of us are somewhere in the middle, willing to welcome new Americans if the law allows them to join our communities the right way.

Congress, thus far, has only tinkered around the edges in dealing with the issue. Much of that stems from disagreement within the ranks of the majority (soon to be minority) Republican party. While President Bush and Senate GOP leaders favor a guest worker program to register immigrants already here, the House has sought to increase border enforcement while dismissing any notion of amnesty for illegals.

So far, the only bill passed by Congress to address immigration was a proposal to build a 700-mile fence across the U.S.-Mexico border, a weak, "look-see" attempt to boost security. Not only is funding for such a project in doubt, but most agree it merely sticks a Band-Aid on our immigration problem without addressing it directly.

Perhaps the reason Congress has failed to act decisively is that many Americans aren't sure what to do about illegal immigrants. Most agree that we should secure the borders and enforce the law, and that those who enter the United States must do so through proper channels.

At the same time, the idea of catching and deporting millions of illegal workers is unappealing on several levels. First, there is the expense; any plan to crack down on the borders and check documentation effectively will bring prohibitive costs, as would a contrasting program to register immigrants. And if illegal workers are sent or driven home, we likely will pay a lot more for produce, housing and any number of other services now being provided by cheap immigrant labor.

The only cheap way out is to do nothing, which may be why nothing has been done. But as we see in Cherokee and elsewhere, that plan, or nonplan, isn't going to fly either. Americans don't seem willing to look the other way any longer when it comes to this issue. And if the federal government won't act, state and local leaders are willing to fill the void. What that will create, however, is a patchwork of laws that could drive illegal immigrants to different locales but not effectively solve the problem.

There is much we disagree on when it comes to fixing our immigration mess. But a consensus is possible on this: The U.S. government must tackle illegal immigration as a national issue and find a comprehensive solution soon. Only then will the pressure be eased for local jurisdictions to do it themselves, and the costs and benefits will be shared by all.

Originally published Wednesday, December 13, 2006