Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/612945
DECEMBER 9-15, 2015 UCW 7 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM On Sept. 29, Nor th Carolina Governor Pat McCror y signed SESSION L AW 2015-294/ HOUSE BILL 318. The legislation is referred to as the "Protect Nor th Carolina Workers Act." The tex t summarizes the legislation as follows: AN ACT TO REQUIRE E-VERIF Y COMPLIANCE IN CERTAIN GOVERNMENTAL CONTR ACTS, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN CONSUL ATE OR EMBASSY DOCUMENTS MAY NOT BE USED TO DETERMINE A PERSON'S IDENTIFICATION OR RESIDENCE FOR GOVERNMENTAL AND L AW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES, TO PROHIBIT ADOPTION OF SANCTUARY CIT Y ORDINANCES, AND TO PROHIBIT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FROM SEEKING CERTAIN WAIVERS. Before passage of this legislation, there was tremendous opposition raised by various individuals and groups. Without doubt that opposition remains. The title and content of the legislation show it to be an effor t to prevent the adverse impact on employment oppor tunities for those in the countr y legally by the hiring of undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants are those who enter the United States without legal permission or through the use of false papers. Given that this legislation is about protecting citizens who are in this countr y legally from the negative employment consequences of having illegal immigrants in the countr y, I simply do not underst and the opposition. I am open to having that opposition explained in terms that present facts and reason. I find no fact or reason in the arguments put for th by those opposing this legislation. For example, The League of United Latin American Citizens (LUL AC) published a press release Oct. 13 headlined "Ex tremists in Nor th Carolina Legislature Advance Harsh Anti-Immigration Policy " that said, "The Nor th Carolina legislature recently passed House Bill 318, which prevents local policymakers and public safet y officials from developing fair immigration policies." Later, the release reads, "This bill has an ex treme and far-reaching impact on members of the immigrant communit y and Nor th Carolina as a whole. We call on the people of Nor th Carolina to oppose HB 318 and st and against its hateful treatment of individuals who only want to work hard to provide a bet ter life for their families." In what LUL AC released, I do not see a single fact that suppor ts the contention this legislation is the result of suppor ters not wanting " fair immigration policy " or acting out of hate. Fur ther, the st atements indicate illegally breaking into a countr y is justified or should be excused because those breaking in "…only want to work hard to provide a bet ter life for their families." Evidently, allowing this kind of illegal activit y is what opponents of the legislation see as " fair immigration policy." Then there is that ever-present question as to what is " fair." How does fair look in practice? The LUL AC position is represent ative of that put for th by opponents of this legislation. Their thinking on the mat ter could easily ex tend to the homes of Americans. That would mean an undocumented immigrant could, like breaking into our countr y, break into my home and justifiably insist on st aying there without regard to my legal rights. Fairness considers the rights of all people. Fur ther, some will argue that the presence of undocumented immigrants does not adversely impact employment oppor tunities for Americans. Many of those who make this argument say that illegal immigrants are simply doing work that Americans will not do. There is research that appears to suppor t this position, but in my estimation does not pass the common sense test. I believe the author of an ar ticle titled "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration" successfully challenges this claim of no adverse impact. The gist of the challenge is that illegal immigrants will work for low wages and, thereby, depress compensation below what is required to at tract American workers. This condition disrupts the normal interaction bet ween supply and demand. That is, the demand for workers is satisfied by low-wage employees to the point that those needing and even deser ving higher wages will not work for compensation comparable to what illegal immigrants are paid. Without illegal immigrants, demand for workers will raise wages and make it more advant ageous to work than to be on welfare. Beyond rebut ting the arguments made for protecting and accepting illegal immigrants are other considerations. For instance, an ar ticle headlined "Nor th Carolina General Assembly bill could affect local immigration effor ts" posted on Sept. 9 by Michele Alfini st ates, "3 percent of all undocumented immigrants in the United St ates live in Nor th Carolina, according to the Depar tment of Homeland Securit y." Estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in America range from eleven to t went y million. At eleven million, we have approximately 330,000 illegal immigrants in Nor th Carolina. An article headlined "NC House Passes E-Verify and Sanctuary Cities Bill" quotes Rep. George Cleveland (R-Onslow) as saying, "Illegal aliens cost the state of North Carolina some $1.7 billion net, after all consideration of what they produce in taxes and whatnot toward government support." Finally, "Illegal Immigrants Surge Across the US Southern Border at Record Rate," an article by Loren Gutentag, says. "With nearly 5,000 unaccompanied children caught in October and almost 3,000 caught in the first half of November, The Washington Times reports that it signals how smuggling cartels and would-be illegal immigrants are paying close attention to the careless border enforcement in the U.S." The clear picture from the discussion above is one where there is a tremendous push to allow illegal immigrants to remain in this country and basically be treated as citizens. My contention is that the moral argument (they just want to work and support their families) does not justify such illegal action. Then the assertion that employment opportunities for Americans is not adversely affected by the presence of illegal immigrants and that they do work that Americans will not do proves faulty when examined in light of the interaction between supply and demand. This discussion also points to the need to incentivize those who are unemployed legal American residents to seriously seek employment. Add to all of this, the sizable number of illegal immigrants in North Carolina, the tremendous cost of those persons to the state (taxpayers), and the surge still happening at the southern border. This is a situation that requires protecting the employment opportunities of North Carolinians. The Protect North Carolina Workers Act is a step in that direction. If anything, it does not go far enough. Perhaps the "extremists" are those persons and organizations that advocate for and seek to justify the actions of illegal immigrants to the point of disregarding the Constitution, applicable laws and what is fair to American citizens. Extremists in North Carolina Legislature Advance Harsh Anti-Immigration Policy … What? by KARL MERRITT KARL MERRITT. Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. There is a tremendous push to allow illegal immigrants to remain in this countr y and basically be treated as citizens, but is that what is right for the countr y — and for North Carolina?