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Anti-immigrants strike out in Annapolis

By Steve Smitson

Bills defeated while sponsors face possible ethics probe

While times are certainly difficult for many immigrants, you would not know it by looking at their legislative successes in Annapolis this year. If the General Assembly were a baseball game, immigrants and their supporters pitched a perfect shutout, defeating each of the nine anti-immigrant bills that were introduced. As the last bill was fizzling in committee, two of the chief authors became the targets of a potential ethics probe after they followed four advocates who had just finished testifying at a committee hearing into a hallway and aggressively confronted them.

Legislators get physical

Delegates Richard K. Impallaria and Patrick L. McDonough, both from District 7 of Baltimore and Hartford Counties, followed representatives from the Maryland Latino Coalition for Justice, CASA of Maryland, SEIU, and the Maryland Jewish Alliance into the hallway after the hearing. According to witnesses and published reports, the delegates aggressively harassed the advocates, who had just finished testifying in opposition to H.B. 1121, a proposal that would have created a task force to study the economic impact of illegal immigrants in Maryland.

Tempers flare while bills fizzle

According to witnesses, both Impallaria and McDonough followed the advocates out of the hearing room, where they had just testified in front of the Economic Matters Committee. Both Impallaria and McDonough sit on that committee. According to published reports, Impallaria admitted asking one of the advocates about her immigration status, apparently to see how she would be impacted by a bill that would have created a task force to study the costs of illegal immigrants to Maryland’s healthcare providers and economy. McDonough, also in a published report, claimed another advocate came charging at him, causing him to raise his arm to protect himself.

Incident was

"Politically Courageous"

Since coming into office prior to the 2003 legislative session, both Impallaria and McDonough have gained a well-earned reputation for wanting to crack down on illegal immigration. According to a report in the Washington Post, Impallaria said the incident has boosted his political career by showing that he is "politically courageous." In the same report, Impallaria claimed that supporters wanted to establish a legal defense fund for the legislators.

McDonough previously served in the House of Delegates from 1979 until 1982. In 2003, he returned to the House after unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senate and the Baltimore County Register of Wills.

"An attack against all immigrants"

Luis Chiliquinga, a board member of the Maryland Latino Coalition for Justice, called the Delegates’ actions "unprovoked" and said the Delegates’ conduct "exposes their violent attitude toward all immigrants. These two men attacked the representatives of immigrants. This was an attack against all immigrants. It is an abuse of power and a violation of professional ethics."

After the incident, commentators–including other delegates–could not remember any other time when persons who had testified became the target of a physical attack.

Both sides mobilize forces

The hallway clash culminated a polarized legislative session, where both sides mobilized forces to speak in favor and against proposed legislation aimed at immigrants. While immigrants and their supporters formed a state-wide coalition, Friends of New Marylanders Coalition, proponents of the anti-immigrant bills relied on the testimony of national groups, such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and Numbers USA. At the center of the battle were nine proposals aimed at immigrants, sponsored by Impallaria and McDonough along with Richard McMillan, of Anne Arundel County.

Following on the heels of President Bush’s immigration speech last January, which broke three years of presidential silence on immigration reform, the bills in Annapolis seemed fueled in part by renewed interest in granting undocumented workers in the U.S. an opportunity to adjust their immigration status. The President’s policy would allow undocumented workers to obtain "guestworker" status if they have an employer willing to sponsor their immigration petition.

At the end of the program, the workers would be required to return to their home countries. After the speech, the debate intensified in Annapolis, as both sides agreed that immigration reform is needed.

Anti-immigrant bills take aim

While most bills focused on illegal immigration, one would have made it more difficult for U.S. citizens to register to vote and then exercise that right. Other proposals would have required local police officers to enforce immigration laws, outlawed the use of consular identification cards at state agencies and businesses, and would have required lawful presence in order to obtain a driver’s license.

Another bill would have punished anyone who had loaned a vehicle to an undocumented person by requiring the police to confiscate the vehicle . In addition to losing the vehicle, a person convicted under the statute would have their license suspended for one year and be subject to a $500 fine.

Driver’s license task force report due in December

Last year Governor Ehrlich signed a bill that created a task force to study the driver’s license documentation issue. Opponents to granting driver’s license to undocumented persons argue that immigrants could use fraudulent documents to obtain driver’s licenses. Advocates believe that allowing undocumented persons to obtain driver’s licenses would decrease document fraud and make Maryland safer by regulating drivers and allowing all drivers to purchase auto insurance. The task force is scheduled to present its recommendations to the General Assembly in December.

Voters’ bill voted down

The bill aimed at voters, HB 56, was introduced by McDonough and four co-sponsors. This proposal would have limited the documents that U.S. citizens could present to prove citizenship when registering to vote. It would have also required voters to re-verify their identifying information each time they entered a polling station to vote. The bill was defeated by the Ways and Means Committee.

According to FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which testified in favor of the anti-immigrant bills, immigrants are to blame for Maryland’s overcrowded roads, development pressures, and water issues. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 9.8% of Maryland’s 5.2 million residents are foreign-born, including 56,000 undocumented persons. According to the FAIR website, only 18 states have a larger undocumented population than Maryland.

"We want to be enrolled, not persecuted"

According to Luis Chiliquinga, of the Maryland Latino Coalition for Justice, immigrants "are seeking to become enrolled and registered, to have an official identification card, to show our faces and to say I want to be part of the system. We want to be enrolled, not persecuted. What they want is to persecute us. These are inhumane proposals. They are using hospitals, the schools, the police to denounce immigrants. These are the very institutions that we depend on to be safe, to make a contribution to this great country."

Friends of New Marylanders coalition forms

In response to the anti-immigrant forces, a new coalition, Friends of New Marylanders, formed to show collective support for immigrant communities. A broad range of religious leaders, unions, and civil rights groups compose more than 20 organizations that joined forces to form the new coalition. Natali Fani, an advocate with CASA of Maryland, credits the coalition with convincing the legislators that the anti-immigrant bills were misguided and would have negatively impacted the well-being of all Marylanders, not just immigrants.

State-wide support defeats anti-immigrant proposals

Chiliquinga’s sentiment was reflected in many of the hundreds of immigrants and supporters who turned out to defeat the bills. According to Fani, persons from all over the state created a strong response in opposition to the anti-immigrant proposals. "A rainbow of diversity is a great example of how communities can work together and create a strong union among people."

According to Dario Muralles, a student organizer at Einstein High School in Wheaton, some delegates saw the anti-immigrant bills as bad public policy. "Delegate Robert Zirkin of Baltimore County told the lobbyists, "this is bad policy, do some research, come back and be reasonable and we will consider it," said Muralles.

In-state tuition bill passes House

In Annapolis, an elated Ana Sol Gutierrez (D — Dist 18) successfully fought for the In-State Tuition bill to pass the House of Delegates, despite a last minute effort by Delegates McDonough and McMillan to add five hostile amendments to the bill. The bill passed the House by a vote of 88-53, without the opposing amendments. Under this bill, graduates from Maryland high schools will be able to pay in-state tuition at Maryland’s colleges and universities, regardless of immigration status. This victory was refreshing for Gutierrez, who formerly served as President of the Montgomery County Board of Education, and other delegates who faced an onslaught of anti-immigrant bills this session. Muralles, the student organizer, credited the victory to "the power of organizing people; students, religious leaders, unions, and other groups all stood together and supported us."

"Humanize yourself"

In reflecting on his work this year organizing immigrants to lobby in Annapolis, Chiliquinga, from the Maryland Latino Coalition for Justice, had a message for the legislators, "try to remember that immigrants are human beings. I have never had a problem with the police. Millions of people are like me; we contribute to this country, both economically and culturally. Everyday, immigrants are cleaning offices, constructing new buildings, working in restaurants, care for sick and elderly persons, upholding the laws, and now representing us as elected officials in Maryland. Think of this and humanize yourself, it will not be difficult once you know us."

Battle lines drawn for next year

Next year’s legislative session promises to be more exciting as both sides prepare for the Governor’s Task Force on Driver’s License, which is scheduled to release its recommendations regarding licenses for undocumented immigrants in December.