Elgin candidates differ on approach to illegal immigration

When you catch a cold, you treat the symptoms with medicine, vitamins and chicken noodle soup.

You probably don't rest on the couch pondering how to cure the common cold itself.

That's how John Prigge, one of 10 people running for Elgin City Council, views the city's role in illegal immigration.

"It's a federal issue to solve. But we need to treat it here," Prigge said. "It's Elgin's number one problem and it has to be dealt with. It has to be addressed."

Prigge is part of a large field of candidates seeking three, 4-year council seats up for election April 7.

Incumbents Robert Gilliam, Juan Figueroa and John Walters are seeking re-election.

In addition to Prigge, the challengers are Rich Dunne, Shane Nowak, Brenda Harris Khan, Linda Quezada, Lenora Scruggs and Bruce Trego.

Prigge has taken perhaps the strongest stance on illegal immigration, saying the city needs to form a coalition to pressure the federal government into taking more action. The city, he said, needs to be proactive to take all legal steps to make Elgin "unattractive" to illegal aliens and "uncomfortable" to work or settle in.

"It's killing Elgin. I firmly believe it's killing Elgin," he said. "It's all about changing our perception."

Incumbents say the city is doing all that it can, and has responded to community concerns.

"How do you make people feel uncomfortable so they don't come here? That's a little scary for me," Gilliam said.

Two examples of how the city is combating illegal immigration include the police department reporting foreign-born arrestees to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and the city verifying that businesses with which it contracts employ legal workers.

"The city of Elgin does more about illegal immigration than any community around," Walters said. "We've done all of the things I think we can do legally and constitutionally. It's a global issue."

Figueroa also noted that two candidates endorsed by the Association for Legal Americans finished fourth and fifth in a six-person primary in February for a 2-year city council seat.

"I don't think they (ALFA) represent the sentiment of the majority of the community," Figueroa said. "I don't feel the city should be responsible in creating policies on illegal immigration."

Dunne said the police department could have worked with ICE in the past to get more training. He believes illegal immigration is a federal issue that has ramifications in Elgin.

"We need to enforce all of our statutes and codes on all of our residents equally across the board," he said.

Nowak agrees with Prigge, saying government needs to screen people to ensure they are not a threat to the community.

But Scruggs believe immigration should be a federal issue. If people want change, she said, they need to flood their Congressional leaders with letters.

Elginites and Americans in general shouldn't fight immigration, Trego said, but should embrace other cultures.

"I do not have a problem with illegal or legal immigration," he said.

Quezada said the city is working to meet with ICE to gain access to new programs, but those efforts could be rendered moot if the government grants amnesty to illegal immigrants.

"I'm here to work for the people, not my own agendas and whatever side the majority of the people come out on, I'll have to agree with," she said.

Khan believes the city needs to start a program to educate residents about what the city can't do, such as deport people, and hopefully change attitudes.

"It has to start from each individual house and each individual neighborhood," she said.