Posted on Tue, Oct. 16
Residents weigh immigration proposal
By TIM DONNELLY
HILTON HEAD — A Hilton Head Island community is considering ways to root out illegal immigrants by requiring residents to sign forms verifying their legal work status.

The Homeowners Association of Woodlake Villas, a 224-unit neighborhood off Mathews Drive, is moving forward with a plan to have all residents file signed I-9 forms with their leases to verify immigration status. The association’s lawyer is reviewing the proposal to see whether it will pass legal muster, president Nancy Voegele said.

Voegele said the proposal grew out of concerns about overpopulation in the community. Members of the association’s board suspect that eight to 10 people sometimes live in a two-bedroom villa, she said. The overcrowding is putting a strain on the neighborhood’s amenities and resources and raising concerns about crime, she said.

The association allows a maximum of four adults in a unit, but association members suspect about 10 units have many more people crammed in. The association typically responds by writing letters to the tenants or the rental manager but that hasn’t been effective, Voegele said.

Board members say the measure had nothing to do with race or discrimination against immigrants.

“We just have to solve this problem of over-occupancy,â€