By Staff
Candidates explain their views on subject during GOP-sponsored discourse
By GREG KATSKI
Staff Writer
In a lively forum Thursday night, members of the Down East Republican Club and two Republican candidates weighed in on the issue of illegal immigration in North Carolina and Beaufort County.
State Sen. Harry Brown and Dean Stephens, seeking to represent North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, attended the meeting, which was held at a Washington restaurant.
They are using the prevention of illegal immigration as a springboard for their campaigns. They aren’t alone.
Greg Dority, running for lieutenant governor, was born and raised in Beaufort County. Dority is using the issue of illegal immigration as the focal point of his campaign.
The Beaufort County Board of Commissioners has already taken several steps to eliminate illegal immigrants from the county and keep illegal immigrants already in the county from receiving county-provided benefits. Those steps include the termination of automated phone systems used by county agencies or departments like the Health Department and Department of Social Services. By eliminating those automated phone systems, the county eliminated the Spanish-language option available on those systems.
Brown, who represents the state’s Senate District 6, focused on addressing illegal immigration at the state and local levels.
According to Brown, illegal immigration has put a strain on the state’s health-care and education systems.
One issue that has gained a lot of attention among state and local officials is the opportunity for illegal immigrants to receive a higher education.
Brown, who is running unopposed for re-election, has vowed to help the campaigns of other Republican candidates, including Stephens. Stephens is challenging Democratic Congressman G.K. Butterfield for the state’s 1st Congressional District seat.
In his speech, Stephens focused on the issue of illegal immigration at the federal level.
Among the proponents for immigration control that Stephens supports is the construction of a fence along the Mexican-United States border. Butterfield voted against the construction of such a border.
Del Stutzman, running for one of the four seats up for grabs on the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners this year, thinks that immigration laws enforced on the federal level should be implemented at the local level.
With statewide and local elections fast approaching, illegal immigration in North Carolina has become the issue of contention among Democrats and Republicans. Brown remarked that the N.C. Senate consists of 31 Democrats and 19 Republicans.
With middle-class voters helping fight illegal immigration in North Carolina, the Down East Republican Club believes Republicans can retake the state Senate and win important seats in Congress and at the local level.