~PRESS RELEASE~
Two of the largest public works projects in Asheville, the county parking garage and city water system upgrade, are playing a big role in the widespread conspiracy on illegal immigration in WNC. In both cases a majority of the hands on workers do not speak English – a pointed indication of extraordinary success in hiring disadvantaged legal immigrants or patterned indifference to the illegal status of a large group of employees. Though the use of public dollars to fund law breakers is especially galling, our city and county governments are certainly not alone in sidestepping the rule of law.
Throughout WNC, industries, restaurants, and small businesses dodge the law and wink at the false documents routinely used by people who are here illegally. The Catholic Church of North Carolina recently took the veil off their internal policy of appeasement with a formal position paper that included statements such as, “We are particularly distressed by the recent tragedies of our brothers and sisters who are faced with the escalation in deportation enforcement in our states.” What about the fact that most of those deported have repeatedly violated our borders or engaged in criminal activities within our borders? The Catholic Church, along with many other denominations, is apparently no less self-serving in their efforts to recruit new Hispanic members than our President and Congressional leaders are at recruiting new Hispanic voters.
Affirming the legal status of an employee is not difficult. Through a Federal program called E-Verify (www.vis-dhs.com/EmployerRegistration), any registered employer can obey the law and support the sanctity of our borders by assuring that a worker is also playing it by the rules.
Reversing the flow of illegal immigrants overloading our social service, school, health care, and criminal justice systems is not impossible or even complicated. It all begins with the word accountability – most specifically for those employers who are providing the money and jobs that are funding the flood at the expense of the rest of us. Enthusiastic federal, state, and local enforcement with fines and other consequences will quickly motivate employers to stop side stepping their competition, shifting real costs to tax payers, and ignoring the law.
For any of the above to come to fruition, the majority of Americans who believe that illegal immigration is wrong are going to have to hold our politicians accountable for their complacency. Democrats and members of my own party alike are co-conspirators in dodging this issue and allowing employers and enablers to conspire to break the law. What started as a wink and a surrender to self-service has evolved into the greatest law breaking scheme in America’s history. That is not something that any of us should be complacent about.
Carl Mumpower
11th District Congressional Candidate
Principles before party, power, or popularity – always.
I notice that on the construction projects on the campus of Western Carolina University, there are a lot of Spanish-speaking people as well. I wonder how many of them are illegal aliens, and how many local people would love the opportunity to work on these projects.
I think I’ll note the numbers of the construction companies and ask if they use eVerify, and I’ll ask the college as well about their policy on this matter.
This is something we can all do, you would be surprised at how effective a few phone calls can be in bringing about policy changes.
ZEBULON, N.C. – State Auditor Les Merritt today released a Progress Report summarizing the reforms implemented since he took office in January 2005. Merritt, a former small business owner who is seeking re-election in 2008, is the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as State Auditor of North Carolina. The Progress Report can be viewed by 
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