Instead of fighting, Painesville embraces illegal immigrants

Officials and business leaders say immigrants have benefited the city.
PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Schools send notes home to parents in English and Spanish, and banks offer loan programs that allow undocumented immigrants to finance cars and even buy houses.
At a time when some Ohio cities are struggling to deal with growing numbers of illegal immigrants, Painesville, a city of 17,000 people about 30 miles northeast of Cleveland, is trying to make it work.
Lake County, a largely white, politically conservative community, was among the first in the Midwest to endorse the matricula consular, a Mexican-government identity card. Police and businesses in Lake County now accept the card as proof of identity, which can help immigrants open bank accounts and arrange utility service.
"We realize there's probably a certain percentage of the population here that's undocumented," Painesville City Manager Rita McMahon said. "As long as it's not creating a problem, we really do not have the resources to be able to worry about it."
Lake County and nearby Ashtabula County have between 8,000 and 10,000 Mexican immigrants, and about half are probably here illegally, according to the Hispanic Organizations of Lake and Ashtabula, an immigrant advocacy group.
"There isn't that heavy emphasis on whether somebody is legal or not legal," said Veronica Dahlberg, the group's founder. "It's more, 'How can we make Painesville a better place?'"
Legislation sought
In southwest Ohio's Butler County, some leaders want state legislation that would make it a state crime of trespass to be in Ohio illegally. Last month, Sheriff Rick Jones launched a $10,000 advertising campaign to warn employers who are hiring illegal immigrants that they are breaking federal law, and other county leaders want to require anyone who seeks a building permit to sign a pledge not to hire illegal immigrants.
A commissioner in nearby Warren County said he also supports the idea.
But in Painesville, the attitude on immigration is more don't ask, don't tell.
It's a tolerance rooted in the mutual interests of employers and immigrant workers. Lake County's largest employer, the nursery industry, has about 3,000 workers -- most of them Mexican immigrants.
"That's very hard work, and those folks are very good at it," Perry Township Administrator Walter Siegel said. "I know I don't want to do it."
Herman Losely & amp; Son Inc., a Perry nursery, adds about 150 seasonal workers to a year-round staff of about 50, said owner Karl Losely.
The total work force is about 75 percent Hispanic.
Losely said he hires only those with valid documentation. Each year, he said, he rejects between three dozen and four dozen workers with obviously fake documents.
But Losely said he's probably been fooled on other occasions. "We're not document experts," he said.
A few problems
Migrant field workers began arriving in the area 20 years ago but didn't establish roots in the community until the 1990s. There have been some problems.
A Mexican gang problem sparked a series of raids in the mid-1990s, in which dozens of undocumented workers were rounded up at home or at work and deported.
"It scared everybody," said Pascual Rodriguez who owns La Hispana, a Mexican-goods market in Painesville.
Despite any negative issues, most elected officials and business leaders agree the influx of Mexican immigrants has benefited the area.