By Russell B. Hilliard, Sr.

Asheville is a beautiful and cultured city. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is a city dedicated to arts and crafts, diversity, music and to magnificent cuisine and hotel and motel accommodations for visitors from every state and nation. This jewel of Western North Carolina has one of the lowest unemployment rates of any North Carolina city.

Construction and expansion are booming in every corner of our beloved Buncombe County. It is as if we knew that the “baby boomers” are going to come our way, and Asheville — with extraordinary vision — is preparing the housing and services to make their golden years enjoyable and meaningful. At the same time, Asheville and Buncombe County are thinking ahead with outstanding private and public educational institutions that have attracted numerous new industries to our region. Moreover, Asheville is preparing for the future health challenges with excellent medical facilities, attracting both outstanding medical personnel and researchers.

Now what does all this have to do with the undocumented? A city like Asheville cannot afford the denial of our basic civil liberties and rights, nor allow prejudice and rigidity in its city limits. When persons come to Asheville with good will and with a longing to climb its ladder of hope and opportunity for the advancement of the entire community, that person, though undocumented, should be shown respect as a contributor to our society.

If persons come with an agenda of criminality, our police and courts should deal with them, regardless of gender, nationality, race or religion. Yet, if the civil rights of one person are allowed to be abused, there will come narrow and rigid persons who will abuse the liberties and rights of us all.

An undocumented person living in Asheville may legally pay his/her taxes to the IRS and to the great State of North Carolina. In fact, he/she must pay their taxes! If the employer pays the worker cash, who is being illegal, the employer or the employee or both? When the undocumented person buys bread or any food product, a car or gasoline at the pump, clothes to wear, a house, or other items, the clerk or owner does not tell him that he does not have to pay taxes. As gladly as the rest of us, he pays, whether it is federal or state taxes. He, moreover, pays withholding taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes every time his check is cut. This is the American way, and we are all given this privilege to support our state and nation.

Illegality takes on many forms in our society, even among those of us who seek to live by the laws of our land. We too frequently let the pup out without the leash in legally leashed areas. We often get in a hurry and disobey the speed limits. We may even, forgetfully, pay a person for the day with cash, and so we need to breathe in an environment of justice and mercy, where love is the key to a happy community and life.

For these reasons, I thank the Asheville City Council for their stand to build a city where people, not prejudice, will prevail.