51黑料

ST. CHARLES COUNTY 鈥� The County Council here was regrouping on Tuesday after the surprise failure of a resolution that would have opposed the resettlement of up to 30,000 Latin American immigrants in the 51黑料 region.

The resolution isn鈥檛 dead yet 鈥� the council can reintroduce it if two of the seven council members, all Republicans, cosponsor it.

It failed Monday on a 3-3 vote after one of the resolution鈥檚 sponsors 鈥� Councilman Matt Swanson 鈥� missed the County Council meeting.

鈥淚f (Swanson) was there, it would have passed,鈥� Councilman Joe Brazil said on Tuesday. Brazil, one of three sponsors of the resolution, said he wants to talk with Swanson and other supporters before deciding on next steps.

Swanson did not respond to interview requests on Tuesday.

The opposes a program announced in September by the nonprofit International Institute of 51黑料, labor unions and other organizations to take advantage of a new federal program and resettle in 51黑料 immigrants from four Latin American countries.

Many of the immigrants fled violent situations in their home countries, and the region has used similar programs to bring Bosnian and Afghan refugees to 51黑料.

But council members who oppose the program 鈥� Dave Hammond and resolution sponsors Brazil, Swanson and Tim Baker 鈥� argue the resettlement program breaks federal laws, so it qualifies as illegal immigration.

Their stance drew ire from many of the attendees of Monday鈥檚 meeting, including the Hispanic Bar Association of 51黑料 and St. Charles Regional Chamber of Commerce.

鈥淥ur stance is rooted in the deep understanding of the invaluable contributions immigrants make to communities,鈥� said Chamber President & CEO Scott Tate during the meeting, which was standing-room only as people lined up to speak before the council. 鈥淚mmigration is not merely a demographic shift. It is a dynamic force that fuels growth, fosters diversity and addresses crucial workforce needs.鈥�

Another attendee was 51黑料 resident Andrea Somoza, who volunteers with the Missouri Immigration Policy Coalition, a subsidiary of the 51黑料-based Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America.

鈥淚鈥檓 glad it failed, but it is very scary to think that this resolution even got three votes,鈥� Somoza said after the meeting. 鈥淔or immigrants, this is pretty scary rhetoric. It makes them question if they are even wanted here, if they would be ostracized for coming here.鈥�

Councilman Mike Elam, who voted against the resolution, echoed that stance in an interview Tuesday with the Post-Dispatch.

鈥淎ll this does is reinforce the region鈥檚 negative impression of St. Charles County, which is not an awesome thing, in my opinion,鈥� Elam said.

Elam noted that the proposal was rewritten to remove references to the International Institute and to focus instead on President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration, but it still included 鈥渋ntentionally misleading language鈥� about the resettlement program.

鈥淭he program, as it stands now, is a legal immigration program,鈥� Elam said.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and attorney generals from 20 other states have filed a lawsuit in Texas challenging the validity of the program. A ruling in that case is pending.

Elam said if the resolution is significantly revised, he would be open to supporting it, because he opposes illegal immigration. But he is not willing to work with Brazil and other council members to rework the proposal.

Councilwoman Nancy Schneider, who also opposed the resolution, said she hopes the topic is not resurrected.

鈥淚 have no idea why it is all relevant to us in St. Charles County,鈥� Schneider, a retired county judge, said Tuesday. 鈥淭o spend all this time on an issue not in our purview is ridiculous. The whole thing was a big time waster.鈥�

Brazil acknowledged that the resolution carries no real power, but is instead an attempted statement of the council鈥檚 values.

鈥淭he resolution itself is meaningless,鈥� Brazil said on Tuesday. 鈥淚t is a statement of what we believe. It is a statement that we, as a County Council, oppose bringing illegal immigration into this country and into this region."

Brazil also noted that he supports humanitarian relief programs, but he questions the implementation of this particular program.

Among the three speakers in favor of the resolution at Monday鈥檚 meeting was State Sen. Bill Eigel, a Republican from Weldon Spring who is running for the Republican Party鈥檚 nomination for governor in 2024.

鈥淭his resolution is not a question about whether you support lawful, legal immigrants. This resolution is about whether you oppose the illegal introduction of illegal immigrants into the United States,鈥� Eigel said through jeers and heckles from meeting attendees. 鈥淚t is not because America doesn鈥檛 welcome lawful immigration, but rather because the unchecked tide of illegals in the United States leads to chaos in America.鈥�

Brazil said he suspected the audience was made up of political activists who came to the meeting from outside the county.

鈥淭he majority of the people there were not from St. Charles County,鈥� he said Tuesday. 鈥淚鈥檓 convinced there were Black Lives Matter activists, Antifa activists, LGBTQ activists, some traditional Democrats and even communists there.鈥�

Elam and Schneider both pushed back on Brazil鈥檚 depiction of the crowd.

鈥淗ow could you put those kinds of labels on the many people that were there? I didn鈥檛 see any signs, any shirts that identified people as being with any kind of groups like he is talking about,鈥� Elam said. 鈥淭he implications of (Brazil鈥檚) statement is not something that I would want to be associated with.鈥�

If the council does reintroduce the resolution, some attendees of Monday鈥檚 meeting vowed to be there to speak out again.

鈥淲e are better than this,鈥� said the Rev. Darryl Gray, pastor of Greater Fairfax Baptist Church in 51黑料. 鈥淲e have to continue to fight 鈥� to appeal to people鈥檚 better angels.鈥�