Immigration

Charlotte –  A bill inspired by Arizona's law SB1070 was presented on Thursday in the Senate in North Carolina, a state where the immigrant community doubled in numbers over the past decade.

Bill SB179 would make it a crime for a person not carry their immigration documents, while insisting that law enforcement personnel will not consider the race, skin color or nationality of individuals in enforcing the law.

Irene Godinez, who works as a state legislative lobbyist for the Charlotte-based Latin American Coalition, says that the "show me your papers" bill opens the door for the deportation of more undocumented immigrants.

"North Carolina has a large number of deportation programs like 287(g) and Secure Communities. Approving SB179 would facilitate the expulsion of many people," she told Efe on Thursday.

With regard to the chances of the bill passing in the legislature, Godinez said that although debate on it has barely begun, the state Senate is controlled by a Republican majority that wants to take a hard line against undocumented immigrants.

"We expected something in the Arizona style and with this added to the anti illegal immigration bills that have already been presented in both chambers, we now have to seek the governor's support for a possible veto," said the lobbyist.

The other bills include a measure denying access to higher education to undocumented students and another requiring government agencies to share information about undocumented parents requesting benefits for their U.S.-born children.

In addition, it would prohibit the state and municipalities from signing contracts with companies that employ undocumented foreigners.

This comes at the same time that the U.S. Census Bureau on Wednesday released figures showing that North Carolina's Hispanic community grew by 111 percent over the past decade, from 400,000 in 2000 to 800,120 in 2010.

Latinos currently comprise 8.4 percent of the state's total population of 9.5 million.

A study by Washington's Brookings Institution found that North Carolina has surpassed New Jersey to become the 10th most-populous state.

Brookings demographer William H. Frey told the media that North Carolina was a very prosperous area over the past decade that was not hit as hard as other areas of the country during the past two years of the economic recession.

"I think that the results of the Census show something that our community has known for a long time, that Hispanics have not stopped arriving and thus growing in numbers," Ruben Campillo, the head of community affairs for the Latin American Coalition, told Efe.

"Despite the challenges that we face and the tension generated by the rapid growth in (numbers of) immigrants, we continue to be a state that offers many opportunities and that is enriched by the contributions of a diverse community," Campillo said.

Campillo, a 17-year resident of North Carolina, says it's regrettable the lawmakers "don't appreciate" how the immigrant community has been "a key part" of the state's economic growth and "will decide the political future of the state."

A 2006 study by the University of North Carolina concluded that Hispanics contribute $9 billion annually to the state economy.

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