Thread: KS-Immigration issue may stay stalled

Posted on Thu, Jul. 24, 2008

Immigration issue may stay stalled
BY JEANNINE KORANDA
Eagle Topeka bureau

MIKE HUTMACHER
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Karl Timmons talks to a group of illegal immigrants in Wichita, Kan., Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006, who were captured earlier near Garden City . The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher.
Where local candidates stand on immigration
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Should the state try to crack down on illegal immigration or leave it to the federal government?


State should create own immigration laws.

State should leave it to federal government.

Both


Should the state try to crack down on illegal immigration or leave it to the federal government?

State should create own immigration laws.
58% (21 votes)
State should leave it to federal government.
6% (2 votes)
Both
36% (13 votes)


Total Votes: 36

Thanks for voting.




In other states

• The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 requires verification of workers' legal status, requires law enforcement to check the citizenship of those arrested and jailed on felony or DUI charges, and makes it illegal to transport or house someone in the country illegally.

• Missouri's law, which took effect July 7, requires checking the legal status of all public employees, welfare applicants and jailed criminal suspects, and makes it illegal to issue a driver's license to an illegal immigrant. Business owners repeatedly caught hiring illegal workers could lose their business licenses.



Kansas legislators talked tough about immigration reforms before the last session started. But in the end, they couldn't agree on any. Changes in state law may be unlikely in the next session, too, if the views of south-central Kansas legislative candidates are any indication.

Roughly half of candidates who responded to an Eagle questionnaire said immigration is a federal issue.

"Per our U.S. Constitution, this jurisdiction is at the federal level," wrote Rep. Delia Garcia, D-Wichita. "I do not think we should put a Band-Aid on a huge problem that requires major surgery."

The thought exists on both sides of the aisle.

"States have very little control over immigration," noted Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita. He will face Democrat Melissa J. Flowers in November.

But many candidates advocated a wide variety of changes, including punishing employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and making sure illegal immigrants can't get a driver's license or welfare payments. Many pushed for enforcement of existing law.

A few suggested that the government make it easier for people to enter the country legally.

The entire Legislature -- 40 Senate seats and 125 House seats -- is up for election in November. Voters' choices will shape the Legislature's interest in tackling certain issues, including immigration.

Kansas is home to between 40,000 and 70,000 illegal immigrants, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates. The state Labor Department estimates that illegal immigrants fill between 2 and 4 percent of jobs in Kansas.

Oklahoma and Missouri both have strict laws targeting illegal immigrants and businesses that employ them. Backers of stricter laws here say they are worried that other states' laws will push more illegal immigrants into Kansas.

"Citizens are going to have to be sure when they vote, and if they do want immigration reform, that they vote for candidates that are not for open borders," said Sen. Peggy Palmer, R-Augusta, who championed reforms in the Senate. She is retiring this year.

Several national polls show illegal immigration losing ground to such issues as gas prices, health care, Iraq and the economy in importance to voters. The topic was included in polls conducted by CBS News/New York Times Poll, CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll and Abt SRBI, among others, but it was usually low on the list. A full list of the polls, questions asked and answers is available at www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm.

One advocate of stricter immigration laws said voters and legislators should be pay attention to illegal immigration.

"It is a huge impact on Kansas and on America and it is one of the biggest issues," said Ed Hayes, Kansas director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. His group is trying to educate voters about how incumbents voted in the last session.

State legislatures are critical to immigration reform, he said. "States are the only ones that are going to do it because the federal government isn't going to."

But Steve Cisneros, executive director for the Governor's Office for Hispanic and Latino Affairs, said he thinks voters want state lawmakers to focus more on economic development close to home.

"We don't need any more polarizing issues in Kansas," he said. "We need issues that are going to bring us together and bring economic prosperity to every single family in Kansas."

Last session, 37 business groups banded together to oppose proposed requirements they saw as punitive for businesses, such as requiring verification that employees were legal, or penalties -- including loss of license -- for businesses caught repeatedly hiring illegal workers.

Businesses are more concerned about health care, taxes and gas prices, said Tim Witsman, president of the Wichita Independent Business Association.

"If the state did something that wasn't very intelligent on immigration, it would become more of an issue," he added.

Businesses would suffer if the state enacted strict illegal-immigration laws, said Wichita restaurateur Mario Quiroz, co-owner of La Mesa Mexican Restaurant and Sridas, a restaurant venture.

"The state is doing the right thing now," he said.

The federal government needs to find a system to bring in workers to do the jobs no one else wants, he said.

"As a businessman, I think it is very important to regulate the situation in the state, but now I think we are more worried about the economy," Quiroz said.

Reach Jeannine Koranda at 785-296-3006 or jkoranda@wichitaeagle.com.











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http://www.kansas.com/759/story/472832.html

But, in reverse Sanctuary places do not follow no laws on illegals. They do not even report the crimes - or do they?

ICE KNEW ABOUT OFFICER WIDMAN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL KILLER IN FLORIDA.
(No monitoring system was on this illegal criminal, couldn't this illegal pay $7.00 a day for the monitoring on his vacation in America?)

MONITOR ALL ILLEGAL - ILLEGAL MUST PAY THE MONITORING FEE, TOO.

Federal laws have to be enforced, and state laws need to be add to aid the Federal laws to get accomplished.

Is this the way to go?