Alamance County Commissioner Bill Lashley: "If you can't prove they're here legal...ship 'em back to Mexico."

Marxavi Angel Martinez, photo courtesy of Marilyn Tyler

-----

Immigration Arrest Raises Concerns

The News & Observer -Raleigh/Durham NC
KRISTIN COLLINS, Staff Writer

Alamance County has been identifying and deporting illegal immigrants from its jails for more than a year, but now a librarian's arrest has some worried that county officials may be using another tool -- public health department medical records.

The concerns stem from a State Bureau of Investigation probe of the county health department. Some county officials, who called in the agency, think department employees were helping illegal immigrants work under false names.

The sheriff has suggested that the librarian's arrest was related to her care at the health department but has not said whether medical information was used to identify her. The woman's arrest and the circumstances surrounding it have become so contentious that some residents are organizing against the county's efforts to drive out illegal immigrants.

"To go after productive citizens who have been our neighbors and friends for years? It's insane," said Marilyn Tyler, a retired librarian from Burlington who knew the arrested woman. "We can't just stand by and let this happen."

The librarian, Marxavi Angel Martinez, 23, is a former cheerleader and honor student who grew up in the county, friends say. Few who knew her had any idea that her parents brought her from Mexico illegally as a toddler.

Martinez, who was arrested in the library, is charged with four federal felonies, all related to what authorities say was her use of a dead person's Social Security number. If found guilty, she would face several years in prison before being deported.

According to the federal complaint against Martinez, Sheriff Terry Johnson turned her in. Johnson has become well known for his efforts to deport illegal immigrants, but he has promised not to pursue people unless they land in his jail for other crimes.

Johnson's spokesman, Randy Jones, said Johnson received a tip that Martinez had lied about her citizenship when applying to work for the library.

"That is not a situation where you can say, 'We're not going to tell anybody,' " Jones said.

False names as red flag

The controversy arose in May, when the county's health board heard that employees at the public clinic would write notes to illegal immigrants' employers excusing them for illness. In the notes, they called the patients by false names, the officials said. The names, they said, were different than those on the medical records.

Some county officials asked the sheriff to investigate the practice. The sheriff called in the SBI, and the medical director and a nurse were suspended.

SBI spokeswoman Noelle Talley confirmed that the investigation is continuing. She said the SBI is investigating only county employees and that the SBI had no part in the arrest of the librarian.

But Martinez's arrest in mid-July raised concerns that the county may be examining confidential medical information. Johnson told reporters that Martinez got prenatal care at the department. He also said the tip about her immigration status came from a county employee and was related to the health department investigation.

Johnson declined to be interviewed. Jones, his spokesman, said he could not elaborate on how Martinez's arrest was related to her use of the health department. He said the sheriff's department is not combing through medical records.

Chris Hoke, a lawyer with the state Division of Public Health, said using confidential medical records to find illegal immigrants would be unacceptable. He worries it might be happening in Alamance County but hasn't been able to get answers to his questions from local authorities.

 At the least, Hoke said, Alamance officials are probably discouraging people from using health services. Hoke said federal and state regulations guarantee health services regardless of immigration status. And he said that immunizations, prenatal care and treatment for contagious diseases are important to all. "Even if they're not excluding folks, you can set a tone where you scare people off," Hoke said. Alamance backlash Alamance County commissioners recently passed a resolution that the health department offer only emergency services to illegal immigrants. The resolution is largely symbolic: State and federal laws override it. 

County Commissioner Bill Lashley, who proposed the resolution and is a member of the health board, said he hopes to drive out illegal immigrants by denying them health care. He said he wants all patients to prove legal status, a measure Hoke said would be illegal. "If they can't prove they're here legal," Lashley said, "ship 'em back to Mexico."   Lashley was among the county leaders who requested an investigation of the health department. Keith Whited, a Burlington lawyer and health board chairman, said county employees should not help illegal immigrants use false identities. However, he said he has no concerns about the health department serving illegal immigrants. "Getting care is not a crime," Whited said. "But they were assisting them to commit a fraud on their employers." Since Martinez's arrest, immigration officials have begun deportation proceedings for Martinez's husband, her parents and her sister, said her lawyer, David Smith of Greensboro. Her son, who is nearly 2, is a U.S. citizen. Smith said he didn't know why the family was targeted. Federal officials typically go after criminals or workers in large plants. None of Martinez's family members has been accused of crimes unrelated to immigration, and many who know the family say they were law-abiding community members. Martinez's sister worked for a law firm. "It's unusual to see situations go to this extreme," Smith said. A group of supporters, including Tyler, the retired librarian, has been driving to Winston-Salem for Martinez's federal court appearances, watching silently as she is brought into court in shackles. Jessica Henriquez-Fuentes, a friend of Martinez's and a lifelong Alamance resident, said many wonder whether the sheriff plans to target other immigrants. "Do they randomly pick somebody with a Hispanic last name and just try to figure out what the deal is?" Henriquez-Fuentes said. Jones said the sheriff will continue to report crimes when he gets tips. 

kristin.collins@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4881

 ****** CORRECTION

A story on Wednesday's front page incorrectly identified Marxavi Angel Martinez as a librarian. She was a library employee.

for link to News & Observer article click here