Thread: This editorial comes from the County's top lawer(cough cough

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/132260

Published: 06.06.2006

This immigration bill must be vetoed
House Bill 2577 is one Gov. Janet Napolitano should veto. While the bill may be a slight improvement on previous immigration legislation introduced this session, it is problematic both as law and as policy.
This bill's misguided attempt to address Arizona's immigration problems creates a situation that would significantly erode the public safety of our communities.
From a legal standpoint, the trespass section of the bill appears to be preempted by federal law. A similar law in New Hampshire has been struck down and determined to be unconstitutional by a trial court. This ruling relied on a Supreme Court precedent discussing how federal law provides a "scheme of federal regulation so pervasive as to make reasonable inference that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it."
Worse still, the bill would call upon justice and law-enforcement agencies to prioritize the prosecution of the presence of an undocumented alien, who has committed no other crime except unlawful entry for the second time, as a Class 4 felony.
This puts the local prosecution of undocumented immigrant entry on par with, or above, the prosecution of many other Class 4 felony crimes that are more directly dangerous and harmful to our community. Those crimes include negligent homicide, threats and intimidation, assault, sexual abuse, burglary, arson, robbery, bribery, rioting, cruelty to animals, depositing explosives, taking a minor for prostitution, possession and sale of narcotics, domestic violence, incest, child and elder abuse and neglect, and driving under the influence.
To equate the unlawful entry into Arizona with these other crimes that threaten and endanger the public safety of our community is inappropriate. Moreover, to take local taxpayer resources away from investigation and prosecution of these truly serious crimes to devote them to the apprehension and prosecution of undocumented persons for criminal trespass — something the federal government is already obligated to address — would be a misuse of state and local taxpayer funds.
A recent statewide survey found that a majority of those questioned believe that it is the responsibility of the federal government to secure our border, and not that of individual states or their taxpayers. This speaks to the common sense of our citizens.
We must demand and require the federal government to take responsibility for securing our borders, as Napolitano has consistently urged, and allow local law enforcement to address the public safety of our communities.
Our state is in the midst of a severe methamphetamine epidemic. In every county, our justice and law-enforcement agencies already are straining to operate effectively with very limited resources to deal with the increase in all crimes associated with that epidemic.
HB 2577 would absorb resources that otherwise could be directly allocated to existing justice and law enforcement throughout the state. For these reasons, the sheriffs and county attorneys urge the governor to veto this bill.
Much has been made of the governor's veto record of late. HB 2577 is a bad bill that deserves to become part of her veto tally.
Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall was one of the authors of this guest opinion. Write to her at barbaralawall.pima county@pcao.pima.gov. Other authors were: Daisy Flores, Gila County attorney; Martin Brannan, La Paz County attorney; Carter Olson, Pinal County attorney; Tony Estrada, Santa Cruz County sheriff; Clarence Dupnik, Pima County sheriff; Chris Vasquez, Pinal County sheriff; Jon Smith, Yuma County attorney; Ralph Ogden, Yuma sheriff; George Silva, Santa Cruz County attorney.

I have the ultimate solution...Put a piece of "child porn" in each one of their hands and these County Attorneys would want to send each and every one of them to prison for 300 years!