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Businesses fight ban on illegal workers

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Seven local organizations representing homebuilders, restaurants, hotels and other businesses are urging the Beaufort County Council to reject a proposed illegal-immigration ordinance, saying the measure is unconstitutional and could cause legal businesses to close.

"Generally speaking, businesses believe the ordinance violates the United States Constitution by subjecting employers to obligations and requirements that interfere and conflict with federal immigration laws," says a letter sent to the council.

The organizations sent it Tuesday.

"Essentially, the Ordinance elevates the role of the county to that of 'immigration agent' but without the authority, extensive knowledge, training and staffing needed to carry out this critically important function," the letter continues.

In the seven-page letter, the organizations -- which include the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce and Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association -- pose at least 50 questions about the proposed "lawful employment ordinance." If approved, the ordinance would allow the county to revoke a company's business license if it knowingly employs illegal immigrants.

The concerns range from vague wording in the ordinance to enforcement. The letter was

e-mailed to council members by the chamber and is meant to be a "strength in numbers" approach to persuade the council to delay a final vote until it is certain what the impact would be, said attorney Melissa Azallion, who is representing about seven businesses opposing the measure.

The letter says businesses might have to shut down or move outside Beaufort County's jurisdiction if the county doesn't devote adequate resources and enforcement measures toward the plan.

So far, the council hasn't discussed the cost to enforce the proposal and who would enforce it, saying it's an issue county administrator Gary Kubic needs to address. In a Nov. 16 memo to several

council members, Kubic said he would need to hire 24 full-time employees at a cost of $840,000 to audit the approximately 5,000 licensed businesses.

The ordinance says the county can audit businesses on its own or whenever it receives a complaint that isn't based solely on race. In their letter, the organizations ask what happens if a complaint is based partially on race. The ordinance says the county only will investigate signed complaints based on "specific information which would lead a reasonable person to conclude there exists cause to investigate."

The organizations also complain that there's no appeal process for businesses that think they've been wrongly accused of hiring undocumented workers. Under the proposal, businesses would have

15 days to prove their employees are legal and could qualify for a

45-day extension to provide the proof. But if they fail to come up with the documents within those 60 days, their business license would be suspended.

The groups want to know if the county would be responsible for lost wages and profits if a business shuts down during an extended review but later is found to be following the law.

Councilwoman Starletta Hairston, who proposed the ordinance two months ago, read the letter and doesn't think it will sway the council when it comes up for a final vote Monday. She said questions about how the proposed law would be enforced are answered in the text of the ordinance and that the county shouldn't avoid the issue just because the federal government has the authority.

"They're just saying they want the federal government to come down here and tell us that we have to follow the law," Hairston said. "We don't wait for the federal government to come and help get a bond referendum to build new schools. ... We didn't wait for the federal government to come to assign us the money we need for widening U.S. 278.

"We're not waiting for the federal government to come and do a lot of things that the federal government should do."

The council has shied away from ordering a cost-benefit analysis on the proposal -- as many opponents have suggested -- and instead has sought an independent legal opinion, which should be delivered to the council by Monday. Although the proposal passed 8-2 on second reading, a majority of council members have said they won't approve it on final reading if they're not satisfied with the legal opinion.

Hairston said the money to hire the extra employees can come from the additional cash the county will generate this year through increased business-license fees. But Councilman Dick Stewart, who pushed for those fee increases, said that money is committed to other areas. If the county wanted to tap business-license revenue to pay for 24 new employees, then it likely would need to raise property taxes by one-half mill to make up the difference, he said.

"The money is committed," he said. "It's not just laying around."

Hairston said she doesn't understand why businesses are opposed to the measure because it will help business owners who compete with companies employing undocumented workers at cheap wages. Some of the businesses opposing the ordinance likely employ undocumented workers, she said.

"All I'm trying to do is make sure that everybody is playing by the same rules," Hairston said.

Contact Ginny Skalski at 706-8144 or . To comment on this story, please go to islandpacket.com.

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