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Somewhere to start
Article published Aug 25, 2005

Rep. Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican, deserves some credit for taking a firm, if flawed stand on tough issues last week with two bills aimed at immigration reform.

The Scott Gardner Act, named for a Gaston County man killed last month in an accident involving an illegal immigrant, would automatically deport any illegal immigrant convicted of DWI.

As she introduced the bill to a supportive crowd in Gastonia, Myrick's rhetoric matched her bill's intent: "You're drunk. You're driving. You're illegal. You're deported. Period." That piece of her proposal also should find support in Washington when Congress reconvenes next month, along with a provision requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to enter immigration status, court records and all DWI convictions into the FBI's National Crime Information Center database.

With the rapid growth of the state's immigrant population, Myrick's push for an immigration office and court in Charlotte to serve the entire state also is worth considering. The functions of Charlotte's immigration office now fall under the jurisdiction of the Atlanta office; there is no immigration court between Atlanta and Arlington, Va.

But other elements in the Gardner Act and a "10K Run for the Border Act" propose state and local solutions to larger problems of federal immigration policy -- raising or revisiting more questions than they answer.

The Gardner case tragically highlights two problems heightened by illegal immigration: the number of Hispanics arrested for drunken driving in North Carolina, accounting for one in five motorists arrested on impaired-driving charges in 2004, and legal system loopholes that allow repeat DWI offenders to get back on the road. Case in point: Ramiro Gallegos, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, not only faces a charge of second-degree murder in Gardner's death but now is charged with his fifth impaired-driving offense in five years.

Myrick's call for deporting illegal immigrants convicted of DWI resonates here in North Carolina, where about 300,000 undocumented immigrants now live, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. And her appeal for tighter requirements for state driver's licenses just might advance state legislators' efforts to adopt stricter policies. Certainly, as she urges, the state should stop accepting taxpayer identification numbers, long considered vulnerable to fraud, as valid forms of ID for issuing driver's licenses.

But attached to that idea is a threat to strip federal transportation funds from any state that keeps recognizing taxpayer ID numbers in issuing licenses. Also, the "10K Run for the Border Act" would create stiffer penalties for businesses hiring illegal immigrants, raising civil fines from $250 to $10,000 per worker, a cut of which would go to the arresting law enforcement agency. Such approaches could have a disastrous economic impact but precious little effect on illegal immigration.

A clear and viable national immigration policy will require comprehensive reform of some laws and consistent enforcement of others. But Myrick's proposals offer a good opportunity for vigorous dialogue that can help move the nation in that direction.