BEAUFORT — For two hours Wednesday night, Beaufort County Council members huddled with lawyers behind closed doors — once again discussing a controversial immigration ordinance.

Outside the meeting room, about two dozen county residents studied photocopies of the ordinance’s sixth draft.

The elected officials emerged, a quick public discussion was held and the meeting was adjourned. The audience was left wondering exactly what will become of the county’s attempt to curb illegal immigration by forcing businesses to sign forms stating they do not hire illegal workers.

Beaufort is joining a rapidly growing roster of U.S. towns and counties that are taking the illegal immigration issue into the their own hands. Many have followed the town of Hazelton, Pa., which passed laws against renting to or employing illegal immigrants.

Those who favor the crackdowns say illegal immigrants put a strain on community school and health care systems and take jobs from locals.

Opponents say local laws only will increase discrimination against Hispanics and hurt businesses. The federal government should address the issue, they say.

Counties across South Carolina are watching as Beaufort forges into territory long left to the federal government.

“It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of Beaufort,” said Saluda town administrator Al Harvey, who said immigration reform is not on his local agenda. “If it bears fruit down there, and, in particular, if it passes some kind of court test, you might see it pop up somewhere else.”

POLITICAL ISSUE

Immigration was an issue in the 2006 election as concerned citizens howled over the estimated 12 million people who are in the country without legal documents.

Many Americans believe Congress has failed to pass significant immigration reform, so the pressure has been turned up on state and local governments, said Sidney Evering, a staff attorney with the S.C. Association of Counties.

“Counties are really trying to address the concerns of their citizens,” Evering said. “Without the federal government taking a lead, they really aren’t left with a choice. They really have to respond to their citizens’ needs.”

Beaufort originally modeled its ordinance after one created this year in Hazelton, Pa. But that town now is tied up in lawsuits — something Beaufort wants to avoid.

Beaufort County waded into the immigration waters in September, when County Councilwoman Starletta Hairston raised the issue.

Since then, residents have packed County Council meetings to argue their positions. The county’s proposal will be discussed again at Monday’s council meeting.

Thomas Miller, president of a Hilton Head construction company, said the proposed ordinance changes every time the council meets.

“As they rewrite this, they tone it down every time,” Miller said. “They should just leave this up to the federal government.”

Those who support the ordinance say the county must take over because the federal government has failed to act.

The ordinance appeals to residents such as Robert and Lorraine Keegan, of Hilton Head Island, who say illegal immigration is putting a strain on the community, especially in local schools and the health care system.

“They’ll eventually make this a third world country,” Lorraine Keegan said. “When the illegals come here and start demanding things, they’ll make this like the country they came from.”

VOCAL OPPOSITION

On the other side, the ordinance has faced well-funded and well-organized opposition. Home builders, the hospitality industry and chambers of commerce have banded together. A coalition of seven private businesses hired Melissa Azallion, an immigration and employment lawyer with Nexsen Pruet on Hilton Head Island, to investigate the constitutionality of the ordinance.

The Hispanic community also has put up united opposition, led by Louis Bell of the Latin American Council of South Carolina.

The debate has created hard feelings, especially among Hispanics, who feel targeted.

Flor Chaverri, an accountant, said Beaufort County has benefited from immigrant labor for years, especially in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, where million-dollar homes have popped up faster than summer thunderstorms.

“The illegal Hispanic community has been treated like a bastard child,” Chaverri said. “They’ve used them for 20 years, and now they don’t want to give them their name, admit they’re here and take responsibility.”

Elizabeth Manrique and her husband, Moises Manrique, are so concerned about the ordinance that they attended last week’s meeting in work clothes still splattered with paint. The couple have owned a stucco company in Hilton Head Island since 1998 and employ 25 people.

Elizabeth Manrique said she is confident their workers are legal residents, but she opposes the ordinance because she said it will lead to discrimination. She fears losing business because others could suspect she and her husband are illegal immigrants even though they are not.

“They’ll see we are Hispanic or hear us speaking Spanish, and then they’ll have the county after us,” she said. “So what if we speak Spanish? That doesn’t mean we don’t speak English.”

CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS

It’s that kind of division that some counties want to avoid.

Todd Collum, Lexington County Council chairman, said he is not interested in leading the charge for local immigration reform.

“Mmmm, boy,” Collum said when pondering Beaufort’s measure.

“You’re talking about racial profiling for sure,” he said. “If someone has the last name Rodriguez or any other Hispanic-origin name, now I need to see their ID? How is that going to withstand constitutional muster?”

But other counties are jumping on Beaufort’s bandwagon.

Dorchester County has started debating an ordinance that mirrors the one originally filed in Beaufort County.

Dorchester Councilman Richard Rosebrock said he introduced the ordinance because of complaints about illegal immigrants from concerned residents in the fast-growing county.

“The cost to the American taxpayer is enormous,” Rosebrock said. “They are competing for jobs and working for cash and not paying taxes. They come into our schools and demand special privileges like affirmative action and welfare.”

Rosebrock said he did not have data to back up those statements but had heard from “people in the know.”

Accusations that illegal immigrants take jobs have come up in Beaufort County, too. However, Beaufort County has the state’s lowest jobless rate, at 4.5 percent. Dorchester’s jobless rate is 5.4 percent, also lower than the state average.

‘IT’S A FEDERAL ISSUE’

In the Upstate, Pickens County Council passed a resolution stating it would not do business with companies who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

The resolution did not receive much publicity, and those who monitor issues affecting the state’s immigrant community did not receive complaints, said Tammy Besherse, an S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center attorney.

Besherse said counties could be opening up all kinds of problems such as discrimination complaints and confusion from residents and companies as they do business in different counties.

“Every time you go into a county, these laws will be different,” Besherse said. “That’s OK for some issues, but this isn’t one of them. It’s not a county’s place to be involved in federal immigration. Each county has no business to be involved. It’s a federal issue. Period.”

But Leisha Golden of St. Helena said local governments must get involved if the federal government fails to act.

“I don’t think they should be here if they don’t have papers,” Golden said. “They should send them back.”

Reach Phillips at (803) 771-8307.