Springfield residents share concerns with House committee on 'illegal immigrant crime' (2024)

A handful of people were in attendance at the eFactory Tuesday afternoon for the first of six public hearings on "illegal immigrant crimes" across Missouri.

The hearing was an opportunity for "individuals, organizations, and experts to provide testimony and share their experiences and recommendations related to illegal immigrant crime," according to the press release from the House Special Interim Committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes, which organized the hearings.

Here's what happened at the public hearing and information about immigrants in Missouri and the committee.

Who spoke at the hearing?

Among those who spoke were Speaker of the House Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres; Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft; gubernatorial candidate Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring; and Springfield residents Gabriela Verdugo, Rafael Vite and Yolanda Lorge.

No local law enforcement officials spoke.

What did the elected officials say?

Ashcroft highlighted problems regarding voting, not just of non-citizens voting, but of aspiring citizens who registered to vote mistakenly and have put their citizenship in jeopardy. He commended the committee for looking at the issue and "how we can do a better job not only frankly at protecting our country, but protecting individuals that may very well be looking for a better life."

"We should look at what's drawing people here to Missouri. One thing I think that is overlooked frequently is that the very process of individuals illegally coming to the United States and coming to Missouri is that it is dangerous to them," Ashcroft said.

Eigel's testimony outlined crimes he said were recently committed by undocumented immigrants, prompting an objection by Rep. Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City. Eigel's campaign platform includes securing the border, which entails "detaining and deporting all illegals," according to his website. A related campaign video featuring Hispanic stereotypes was condemned by both Republican and Democratic opponents.

"I don't know why it's a political statement to say we have crimes being committed by illegal immigrants in this state, because many politicians aren't doing a thing. They aren't doing a darn thing," Eigel replied when Aune asked why state-funded time was being used for "a political campaign speech." "We have 70,000 illegal immigrants in the state and a lot of politicians, including for both parties, haven't done anything. People are being hurt and killed in this state, particularly children."

Eigel tried to share what he would do to address undocumented immigration if elected as governor and Aune raised a point of order, reiterating that the forum was not the place for campaigning. Chairman Rep. Lane Roberts agreed.

What did the Springfield residents have to say?

Verdugo and Vite, who both attended university in the United States and then stayed to start their own businesses, expressed concern over the name of the board — that it makes immigrants, regardless of whether they are documented or not, feel unwelcome.

"While I understand the importance of law and order, I believe that committees like this inadvertently make immigrants feel unwelcome," Verdugo said during her testimony, adding that she fears immigrants may not accept offers at local schools because of that. Roberts acknowledged that the name of the committee is working against them.

Verdugo, a real estate agent, said that she has seen people taken advantage of in real estate transactions because of a lack of understanding, leading Aune to suggest the committee look at whether undocumented immigrants are victims of fraud in other industries.

Vite, who came to the United States for school and stayed to start his own business, also worries that the committee may do more harm than good.

"As we face a decline in domestic student enrollment, international students play a crucial role in sustaining our educational institutions and, by extension, our economy," Vite said. "We should be fostering an environment that welcomes and retains talent, not one that repels it. While we must address concerns about safety, we must also consider the broader implications of our actions."

Vite testified that given the current political climate, he is worried that the focus on undocumented immigrants will end up causing all immigrants to be in danger.

"I'm worried that people don't know how to see the difference; they're not going to go around asking, 'Are you illegal? OK, I'm going to treat you this way,'" Vite said. "With all the fear and propaganda we've been getting from TV commercials, from billboards and all that, that's what is incentivizing all these people who maybe have never had any experience with people who immigrated internationally. We're humans, too. We're here and we want to make an impact the same way (native-born Americans) want to make an impact."

Lorge, who immigrated to the United States and established the nonprofit Grupo Latinoamericano, shared her experiences as a court interpreter and as a translator for the medical center for federal prisoners. She said that for data, the committee should be asking agencies like the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Homeland Security.

Lorge explained that her group used to have monthly meetings with the director of the Springfield ICE office, where they'd receive statistics about who committed crimes, including where they were from and whether they were undocumented or not.

Do we know how many crimes are committed by undocumented immigrants? What about against undocumented immigrants?

During the hearing, Roberts clarified that the committee was not just focused on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants but also crimes where undocumented immigrants are the victims.

While there is some information about crimes committed by undocumented immigrants that is collected by agencies like ICE, USCIS and the Drug Enforcement Agency, it's harder to tell what how often undocumented immigrants are the victims of such crimes.

Lorge said that she had heard of many "crimes and abuses" that went unreported because of a victim's immigration status. She shared the story of a family in the area, whose minor daughter was raped by a 25-year-old. They called her for help and she advised them to call the police.

"They said, 'No, but we are afraid because we don't have papers' — that's what they say, 'We don't have papers.' The child was a citizen because she was born here," Lorge recalled. "'We speak very little English and we're afraid to call (the police); they're going to call immigration.'"

Lorge ended up interpreting for the family so they could pursue charges against the man and go to court. While they were able to go to the police, many undocumented immigrants do not or cannot do so.

Lorge mentioned it's not uncommon for farms to hire groups of immigrants on work visas and then basically force them into servitude.

"There are many like this, some hotels in Branson and farms, they all live in one place, they pay rent," and cannot have cars but are taken where they need to go, such as Walmart, by employers, Lorge said. "Basically, they are slaves. I mean, they get paid minimum, but, right, it's servitude. There are many like that. Sometimes (employers) even bring them with a temporary work permit, for nine months, and then they just keep them and they don't go back."

What is the House Special Interim Committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes?

The House Special Interim Committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes was announced at the start of July by Plocher.

“The message needs to be if you're not here in the state of Missouri legally, you're going to be detained, and you're going to be deported if you're committing crimes, particularly the heinous crimes that our citizens are afflicted with,” Plocher said, according to STLPR coverage of the press conference.

The committee's goal, according to a press release, is to "collaborate closely with law enforcement agencies to assess criminal activities involving illegal immigrants in the state and devise effective solutions using data to develop evidence-based policies aimed at reducing illegal immigrant crime to enhance the safety and well-being of all its residents."

Roberts said that Lorge's testimony highlighted "exactly what the challenge is" that the committee faces.

"ICE, DEA, any of those federal agencies, have some data. They have no data about the family you were talking about had you not encouraged them to come forward," Roberts said. "Therein lies the problem: Had you not suggested they go to the police, how many more crimes of that nature do not get reported because the victim is illegal."

More: What's on the ballot in Springfield and Greene County in the August primary elections

How many immigrants are in Missouri? How many are undocumented?

According to the American Immigration Council, a group that advocates for "a fair and just immigration system," Missouri had 252,400 immigrant residents in 2022, which was about 4% of the population. Despite that, immigrants make up 5.1% of the labor force, accounting for 5.6% of entrepreneurs, 10.8% of STEM workers and 7.6% of the manufacturing workforce.

In 2022, the immigrant population paid $2.7 billion in taxes and had $7.8 billion in spending power.

The AIC also says that Missouri has 56,900 undocumented immigrants, which is about 23% of the immigrant population and less than 1% of the total population. Most have lived in the country for more than five years and as a whole, undocumented immigrants have $1.2 billion of spending power. AIC also reports undocumented immigrants pay $159.6 million in state, local and federal taxes.

Susan Szuch reports on health and food for the SpringfieldNews-Leader. Follow her onX, formerly known as Twitter, at @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.