Published: 10/23/2008
www.cherokeetribune.com

By Ashley Fuller
Cherokee Tribune Staff Writer


Cherokee County leaders next month will introduce legislation to again try and crackdown on illegal immigration.

The county Board of Commissioners has called for a public hearing to be conducted at 6 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Cherokee County Administration Building.

The hearing will be to amend the county code to prohibit property owners from knowingly harboring illegal aliens and to suspend the business license of any company that knowingly hires illegal aliens.

The new ordinance, which still is being drafted, both incorporates and expands upon a measure introduced by the board nearly two years ago that has been stalled every since by litigation.

"The situation isn't gone. It still needs to be addressed," Commissioner Karen Bosch, who proposed the original ordinance, said of illegal immigration problems in the county.

In December of 2006, the board voted to make it illegal to rent or lease property to illegal immigrants. A lawsuit was filed against the county by the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the law firms Troutman Sanders LLP and Hernan, Taylor & Lee. An injunction was placed on the county by a U.S. District Court judge to prevent enforcement, and the lawsuit was stayed and is still pending.

The new measure includes the provisions about harboring illegals and expands it to cover employment. Angie Davis, attorney for the county government, said the county has been watching similar lawsuits play out in other states.

"We have seen ordinances similar to the one put forth meet with great success in the courts," she said.

One example of a favorable ruling came earlier this year in Arizona when a U.S. District Court Judge in Phoenix upheld a law that gave the state the authority to seek the suspension and revocation of business licenses of employers that knowingly hire unauthorized workers.

If the new ordinance passes, Davis said the county would seek to have the lawsuit related to the 2006 proposal dismissed.

Jamie Hernan of Hernan, Taylor & Lee said he would withhold comment until seeing the new ordinance.

Scheduled to appear at the public hearing is Kris Kobach, a nationally known expert on immigration law who the board has hired to help its cause.

An attorney and chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, Kobach assisted in the Arizona case and served as lead lawyer on the successful defense of a Valley Park, Mo. ordinance sanctioning employers who hire illegal immigrants.

The board of commissioners on Tuesday night postponed action on a proposed property maintenance ordinance.

The proposal brings together several ordinances scattered throughout the county's law books, such as provisions regarding yard upkeep, junk cars and vehicle parking, outdoor storage and unfit buildings and dwellings.

Officials say the current ordinances are unclear as to whether the marshal's office is allowed onto property to correct problems. The new ordinance allows marshals to go onto private property to fix problems after the property owner has been given notice. A lien would be placed by the county against the property for the amount spent to remedy the violations.

Mrs. Bosch, who proposed the ordinance, said it would be brought back up for consideration at the board's Nov. 4 meeting.

A few Lake Allatoona area residents spoke during the meeting to request the board table action so a compromise could be reached. One point of contention is the requirement to put boats in an enclosure or behind the front door, which residents argued is difficult for people on small lots.

Resident Kelly Watson said the ordinance needed to be "deeply cut."

"It does not meet with our expectation of freedom in the county," she said.



afuller@cherokeetribune.com