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Arizona's immigration proposals to get more aggressive
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.09.2005
PHOENIX - The passionate debate over Arizona's immigration woes will get more aggressive in the coming year as state lawmakers facing re-election campaigns feel pressure to fix problems long thought of as the sole province of the federal government.

Beginning in January, the Legislature will consider proposals to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants, fund a new 50- to 100-person squad of the state police to crack down on border problems and prohibit immigrants from receiving state-funded job training, key lawmakers said.

That's just the start of the proposals legislators will consider.

Republican Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, the Legislature's most vocal proponent for restricting immigration, said he will propose buying a $50 million radar to spot illegal border-crossers and a measure to cut off shared state income tax revenue for cities that discourage police officers from inquiring about people's immigration status.

"Just like you deal with your children, if you are not doing what you are supposed to, I'm taking the car keys," Pearce said of the latter proposal. "If you can't behave yourself, I'm taking the car keys."

In the last legislative session, frustrated lawmakers filed two dozen proposals aimed at confronting the problems of illegal border crossings.

Although only a few became law, the push for state action raised immigration's prominence in politics in Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

Republican lawmakers said they expect Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, who enjoys a strong job approval rating as she moves into an election year, to veto some of the new measures as she did after the last session.

If a measure gets vetoed, Pearce said there's a good chance it might end up on the ballot for a vote of the people, who are frustrated with Arizona's huge health care and education costs for illegal workers and their families.

"(Republicans) know this is an issue they can gain traction on," said Fred Solop, a political science professor at Northern Arizona University. "They are going to push it."

In recent years, Democratic lawmakers have generally resisted the call for more state action, arguing the federal government is in a better position to fix the problems.

"Most Democrats are going to start moderating their views on immigration," said Democratic Rep. Ben Miranda of Phoenix, who plans to propose that illegal immigrants be allowed to get driver's licenses.

Now, Democrats said they will seek sanctions for businesses that hire illegal immigrants and a requirement that all employers verify documents presented by new hires to establish that they are eligible to work in the United States.

Federal law prohibits the hiring of illegal immigrants, but many businesses turn to illegal immigrants to fill construction, agricultural and service industry jobs. Ten percent of all workers in Arizona are illegal immigrants, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates.

Democrats said the movement for the state to reduce immigration tends to focus solely on illegal border-crossers and does nothing to confront the other side of Arizona's immigration problems - employers who turn to immigrants for cheap labor.

Some Republicans, who have been divided over employer sanctions, said the punishments are needed because it's not fair for honest employers to compete with businesses that take advantage of the lower wages paid to illegal immigrants.

The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the state's leading business lobbying group, will likely seek state-provided incentives to encourage employers to receive training on meeting the government's employment eligibility requirements, said chamber spokesman Farrell Quinlan.

Pearce said he will propose a special squad of the Arizona Department of Public Safety to end the practice of apprehending immigrants and promptly sending them back across the border without formal proceedings.

Critics of the practice say those returned in that way just turn around and try to make it into the U.S. again.

The proposal, estimated to cost about $50 million, also would provide grants for cities that come up with strategies for confronting illegal immigration and for covering the costs of local authorities who detain immigrants until federal agents pick them up, Pearce said.

Republican Rep. Tom Boone of Glendale said he will propose measures that would prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving child-care subsidies, attending adult education classes and having cheaper in-state tuition status at public universities.

Napolitano vetoed Boone's idea last year.

In addition to proposing those restrictions in the coming year, Boone said he wants to prohibit immigrants from receiving state-funded job training. Boone said many Arizonans object to taxpayer money being spent on people who crossed the border illegally.

Ron Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Catholic Conference, which opposes such restriction proposals, said immigrants come to the United States for work or to be reunited with family members living here.
"People don't come here for the benefits," Johnson said.