Thread: AZ-Push is on to legalize 12 million, let more in

Push is on to legalize 12 million, let more in
By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.25.2008
PHOENIX — Local and national business groups are paying for a media campaign — launched Wednesday in Arizona — to convince voters this country has done enough to secure the border.
Instead, backers say the U.S. now needs to legalize the 12 million or more undocumented immigrants already here and consider allowing more foreigners into the country.
The group, Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together, plans to spend "several hundred thousand dollars" on TV ads in four states. Jim Pignatelli, president and chief executive officer of UniSource Energy Corp., the parent of Tucson Electric Power, said it's time to move the debate along and find ways to help businesses get the workers they need.
Pignatelli said the best place to start is with those already here. "You can't ignore 10 to 12 million people who are trying to make a living, who are undocumented," he said.
Pignatelli said if they could somehow be deported "it would take years for another 10 to 12 million to come in" to fill the jobs they are doing now.
"These people are providing valued services to the economy," he said.
The commercial says there have been "incredible strides" made in border security, the number of deportations is up and there are stronger penalties against employers who hire undocumented workers. Glenn Hamer, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said those accomplishments are fine, as far as they go.
"We need to finish the job on immigration reform at the federal level," he said. That means not just legalizing those already here but ensuring employers can bring in more foreign workers, he said.
"It is an extraordinary benefit, not a burden, that people from all over the world who are bright and hardworking want to come to the United States, want to come to Arizona, improve their lives and improve the prosperity for all Americans," he said.
But the effort to reshape the debate comes as many incumbent federal lawmakers and those hoping to unseat them in November are appealing to voters by promising to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into Arizona.
Even Sen. John McCain, who sponsored a comprehensive immigration-reform bill last year that included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, has backed away from his own plan since announcing his bid for president, acknowledging the public wants more done to secure the borders before any talk of immigration reform.
But former Congressman Henry Bonilla, a Texas Republican who is spokesman for the business group, said that ignores what has happened in the last few years, including more Border Patrol officers and more arrests.
"Major progress has been made," said Bonilla who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years. "So I think those who have been concerned about that can say, 'OK, we've made progress.' Now can we bring this back to the table and try to move forward?"
Pignatelli said he's not trying to shift the focus away from securing the border but simply recognizing the economic need.
"We need nurses, we need trained people, which we're not able to produce out of our own work force," he said.
If nothing else, Pignatelli said providing legal status to undocumented immigrants makes sense.
"I'd like to see them all on paper so we know who they are, what they're doing and everything is proper, tax-wise," he said. Pignatelli said that also addresses concerns illegal immigrants and their children are a financial burden on schools, hospitals and government.
"Once you've provided the appropriate papers to people and put them into where they're in a taxpaying situation and their employer has to provide for the same levels of taxation that you would for any other employee, then you start to cover some of those costs," he said.
Hamer said the claim of great progress in punishing employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers is not undermined by his organization's effort to kill Arizona's employer-sanctions law. The chamber is a plaintiff in a lawsuit to overturn that law.
"We do support penalties against employers who knowingly hire illegal workers," Hamer said. He said the chamber's position is this should be handled only at the federal level.
But the chamber specifically objects to the fact state penalties — which include suspension or revocation of the right to do business — are far stiffer than the civil fines meted out for federal violations.
Sheridan Bailey, owner of an iron-fabricating company in Phoenix, said the desire for more foreign workers is not simply a question of companies wanting people willing to work cheap, contending there aren't enough workers within the borders of the United States to solve the problem.
33 Comments on this story



http://www.azstarnet.com/news/259263

Originally Posted by FedUpinFarmersBranch

The group, Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together, plans to spend "several hundred thousand dollars" on TV ads in four states. Jim Pignatelli, president and chief executive officer of UniSource Energy Corp., the parent of Tucson Electric Power, said it's time to move the debate along and find ways to help businesses get the workers they need.
Pignatelli said the best place to start is with those already here. "You can't ignore 10 to 12 million people who are trying to make a living, who are undocumented," he said.

Since when did killing and raping American citizens become "trying to make a living"? What kind of pervert is this Pignatelli?

Pignatelli sees only paying customers and he sees more paying customers with the illegals than without them...

Originally Posted by mapwife

Pignatelli sees only paying customers and he sees more paying customers with the illegals than without them...

Same with Wall Street. Wall Street makes money off of illegal immigrants and taxpayers are expected to shoulder the costs.

Makes me wonder each time I read articles like this what planet these people are on! Millions of AMericans out of work with more each day losing thier jobs and these idiots want to bring more IA"s in! This comment left at the article hit the nail on the head and explains how truly brain dead liberals are...

6:08AM
Ratings: -4 +12

Liberals don't care about our sovereignty, the rule of law and a civilized society. 9.6 millions Americans are unemployed with thousands more losing their jobs every week. The economy is on the brink of financial collapse. We currently spend 400 billion dollars annually on health care, welfare, education and other benefits for those illegally in this country and the number continues to rise as 5,000 to 10,000 additional illegal aliens continue to pour into this country every week as stated by border patrol personnel. Illegal aliens committed class C felonies by using stolen social security numbers (Justice Department estimates 75 percent are involved in identity theft) and are cheap labor for the corporate aristocracy.
Americans lined up outside various facilities the day following ICE raids throughout the country to apply for vacated jobs and employers raised wages and offered benefits. FEMA contractors hired Americans displaced by Katrina for the cleanup and reconstruction effort but fired them saying "We don't need you anymore as the Mexicans have shown up".
With the current soft job market resulting in the inability of even illegal aliens to find jobs it makes absolutely no sense to legalize millions more who would be a bigger burden when state unemployment insurance trust funds are running out of money from the increasing strain of supporting more unemployed Americans.
We cannot support the rest of the impoverished world who desires to come to this country with our LIMITED health care, welfare, land, food, water, energy and other resources. It is a simple matter of math and economics which Liberals are unable to comprehend; as their thinking is guided by emotion and compassion; NOT the fiscal and economic reality of open borders. Liberals are incapable of logical and deductive reasoning.
The article is more open borders claptrap by an open borders organizations as the corrupt treasonous Chamber Of Commerce, their corrupt business cronies, LaRaza and other organizations who care not about our sovereignty and the hard work and sacrifices of those as retired military as myself, combat disabled with 24 years of service who worked and sacrificed only for these organizations who believe we are obligated to support the rest of the impoverished world only for cheap illegal labor and illegal alien votes.
In the immortal words of millions of Americans fed up with the fiscal, economic and social impacts of illegal immigration; "Go hug a cactus instead of a tree Charlie a......."

Take a look at the political campaign contributions in recent years by this turkey Jim Pignatelli:

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_det ... Pignatelli

"You can't ignore 10 to 12 million people who are trying to make a living, who are undocumented," he said.

Of course you can't. That is why they must go.