Thread: AZ: Pearce urges special session on immigration

Carlos Garcia with the Puenta Movement said that claim was "bogus and scapegoating immigrants."

"There's no way you could say that," said Garcia. "It's unfair not only to the people who died on 9-11 to blame immigration laws, but it's unfair to all people who now are being questioned."

Garcia said comments made by Pearce, the sheriff and others are disturbing and will only lead to more racial profiling.

"The plan that Russell Pearce is putting forth is going to lead to more racial profiling and more discrimination toward the Latino community," said Garcia.

As usual, the anti-enforcement crowd, like Mr. Carlos Garcia here, canNOT find any good argument against enforcement, so they just resort to the reflexive, tired, old "racism"-type accusations, "Oh, you're just scapegoating immigrants, discriminating, and its all racial profiling". Boo--f-ing--hoo.

Yes Mr. Carlos Garcia, we ARE discriminating between legal and illegal immigrants. And it wouldn't be "racial profiling" if 85% of illegal aliens weren't Hispanic. This country is discriminating against non-Hispanics in our immigration policies. Why don't you cry about that discrimination, you ethnocentric race pimp?

As usual, the name of Mr. Garcia's organization, which is based in the U.S. and advocating for illegal aliens who want to live in the U.S, the name of it is some Spanish-language name - Puenta, just like LaRaza.

You Hispanosupremacist, race-baiting, power-hungry, self-appointed "advocates" are all shameless and pathetic. Get out. And take all your "victims" with you.

Stiff measures prepared against illegal immigrants
By Howard Fischer

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.22.2009

PHOENIX — The leading sponsor of legislation to combat illegal immigration said Wednesday that he is preparing three new measures, with the promise to take the issues directly to voters if colleagues or the governor balk.
The package being put together by Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, would:
• Allow local police to arrest those in this country illegally under state trespass laws.
• Bar local governments from having "sanctuary" policies that prohibit police officers from inquiring about the legal status of those they encounter.
• Let prosecutors subpoena business records and testimony to investigate whether companies are hiring undocumented workers, without first getting a warrant from a judge.
Pearce said he wants a special legislative session in January, running concurrent with the regular session, to push the measures, a maneuver that would let the laws take effect sooner. Most legislation adopted during the regular session can't be enforced until late summer or early fall.
Pearce said quick action to empower police is needed in the wake of a decision by the Department of Homeland Security to revoke the authority of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to have his deputies enforce federal immigration laws. Federal officials said "crime suppression sweeps" conducted by Arpaio to round up illegal immigrants were not what they had in mind in giving him the authority in the first place.
Pearce said aides to Gov. Jan Brewer have told him she "absolutely" supports what he is trying to do.
Gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman said Brewer is "conceptually supportive" of the trespass and sanctuary measures. He said, though, the governor supports the existing laws that make it illegal to hire undocumented workers, and needs to know more about what Pearce wants before backing that change.
Pearce, who has seen some of his prior legislative efforts fall short of votes or get vetoed, said he is not taking any chances this time: He already is working on an initiative to bypass the Legislature entirely by gathering the necessary 153,365 signatures to put the issues on the 2010 ballot.
"I guarantee you, the citizens will have the last say on this," said Pearce to a small crowd of supporters.
Central to the theme is empowering police and prosecutors to do more about illegal immigration.
Pearce said some communities have rules or policies restricting the ability of law enforcement to question people about whether they are in this country legally.
Several police chiefs say those rules make sense because they do not want to deter illegal immigrants who are crime victims or witnesses from coming forward. Pearce disagrees.
"If I've got a gang shootout and the victim's an illegal, the shooter's an illegal, the witnesses are illegal, I don't question anybody?" Pearce said. "That's the dumbest thing in the world that one can do."
The second part of the package would expand state laws to make it a crime for any illegal immigrants to enter into or be on any public or private land in Arizona.
Pearce said he believes local police already have "inherent authority" to enforce federal immigration laws, even without the kind of approval and training the Department of Homeland Security previously gave the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department.
But Pearce said changing trespass laws would create the necessary state crime clearly giving police the power to arrest illegal immigrants, and for prosecutors to seek to incarcerate them on state charges.
Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, said officers are not interested in routine immigration enforcement. But he said the changes Pearce wants would give them "discretionary ability to take enforcement action in dealing with illegal immigration."
The third part of Pearce's package is designed to make it easier for county attorneys to investigate complaints companies are violating Arizona's two-year-old law making it illegal to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.
No charges have been brought under this law. Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said part of that is because prosecutors can't get the information they need because of restrictions on the ability to subpoena records in civil cases.
Glenn Hamer, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said expanding subpoena powers in civil cases has the potential for abuse, with no requirement to first provide evidence to a judge there is reasonable suspicion a firm is breaking the law.
But Pearce said lawmakers have given the state insurance and liquor license departments similar powers to conduct their investigations.
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