Thread: CA-Meg Whitman discusses California immigration issues

Meg Whitman, a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, speaks Tuesday at an El Dorado Hills event. To help employers before a hiring decision, the former eBay CEO wants a federal database that could pin down workers' legal status.

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Meg Whitman discusses California immigration issues


By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 - 8:37 am

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman said Tuesday that she supports toughening federal enforcement on employers who hire illegal immigrants and also expanding guest worker programs for farmworkers and highly skilled immigrants.

The 53-year-old former CEO of the online auction firm eBay laid out her immigration views while speaking to a crowd mostly made up of supporters at an El Dorado Hills home Tuesday.

"The next governor of California has to weigh in more heavily on federal immigration policy and enforcement than we have in the past," Whitman said.

The federal government also needed to tighten enforcement of the country's borders, she said, while raising scrutiny of employers.

"I believe ultimately we're going to have to hold employers accountable for hiring legal documented workers," Whitman said. "Because I think we can build a fence a million feet high, and the lure of the jobs will keep people coming.

"That means the feds will have to build a high-integrity database that allows you to find out if that worker you're thinking about hiring – whether you're Genentech or a landscaper – is truly legal and eligible to be here."

Speaking for 45 minutes, Whitman also called for enforcing existing gun laws and regulating the private sector to prevent fraud and corruption. She didn't add to past statements calling for a broad reduction of state employee numbers.

Whitman has emerged as the leader of the Republican pack of gubernatorial candidates about 10 months before the primary.

A recent poll released by the political Web site the Daily Kos found Whitman winning 24 percent of respondents' support in a three-way Republican race with former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell, at 19 percent, and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, at 9 percent.

Whitman also leads the money race, having collected $10.8 million in the first six months of the year, according to the state Fair Political Practices Commission. Poizner accumulated $4.5 million, and Campbell received about $300,000.

Among Democratic candidates, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom raised $1.7 million, and Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is expected to announce his candidacy, received $3.5 million and has $7.4 million in cash on hand.

As she has throughout her campaign, Whitman played up her leadership at eBay on Tuesday, arguing that her experience as a business wizard would translate into governing skills.

Several people in the audience agreed, saying Whitman could apply corporate discipline to California's unruly budget process even if she had never held elected office before.

"I think that's a plus," said Roseville resident Tom Miller of Whitman's lack of political experience. "She's not tainted already. It's what we've needed for a long time."

http://www.sacbee.com/politics/story/2120740.html

Too bad she didn't say: "We need to build a fence the length of the border, stop attracting illegals with freebies, prosecute those who hire illegals, and stop "anchor babies"....then I would vote for her.