COSTA MESA : Amburgey Invites Kemp to Debate

Councilman Orville Amburgey on Thursday challenged Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp to a friendly debate on the issue of illegal aliens but conceded that neither he nor Kemp is likely to change his view on the issue.

Moreover, Amburgey said he will seek an opinion from U.S. Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh on Kemp’s authority to suspend sections of immigration law that require screening of a person’s immigration status. Amburgey contends that the provisions support his position that the city can lawfully require organizations that receive federal money to screen their clients.

“As an elected official, I’ve sworn an oath to respect the laws of my city, state and nation,” wrote Amburgey in a letter mailed Thursday to Kemp. The letter was in response to a missive from Kemp to Amburgey outlining the secretary’s opposition to screening out illegals from receiving emergency services.

“Your letter instructs that the line between legal and illegal must be obscured when applied to laws governing legal residency in this county. Our city does not want to bear the burden of unsafe, unhealthy overcrowding of public facilities by those who do not have the legal right to be in this country,” the letter continued.

Kemp has said he would agree to meet with Amburgey to discuss the issues but could not be reached for comment Thursday on Amburgey’s invitation for a debate.

Amburgey and Kemp have engaged in an increasingly lively, though lopsided, debate over illegal immigration and what, if anything, local governments can do about it.

The debate stems from the city’s attempts a year ago to deny grant money to charities and other groups unless they pledged not to serve illegal immigrants. The city eventually rescinded the policy when questions were raised about its constitutionality.