Thread: AZ: Pearce urges special session on immigration

Pearce urges special session on immigration
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From Staff Reports

October 20, 2009 - 2:05PM

State Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said Tuesday that he will urge Gov. Jan Brewer to call a special session of the Arizona Legislature to deal with illegal immigration issues in the state.

Pearce, in a statement released Tuesday afternoon, said he will hold a press conference Wednesday seeking the session so that lawmakers can respond to "recent attempts by the federal government to erode Arizona's progress in combating this problem," according to the press release.

"If our leaders want to address the growing disdain, they must first restore trust with the American people," Pearce said in the statement. "If you say you are going to secure our borders, then secure them, if you say you are going to enforce the law, then enforce it. If you take an oath of office, then keep it."

Pearce said he expects to be joined by "more than 200 police officers and other supporters" at the Wednesday press conference, scheduled for 10 a.m. at the state Capitol in Phoenix.

Among those he expects to attend are Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio; Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas; former congressman and current talk radio host J.D. Hayworth; Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association; and numerous local, state and federal law enforcement officials.

Pearce said specifics of proposed legislation will be unveiled Wednesday.

Last week, Arpaio said he would continue to conduct his controversial crime-suppression sweeps, which target illegal immigrants, despite the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's decision not to renew an agreement with the sheriff granting his officers authority to make such arrests. The agency did renew the sheriff's role in checking for illegals as part of its jail management duties.

Arpaio has insisted that he can still do the roundups based on a state law that makes human smuggling illegal. He also has claimed another federal law, dealing with hiring illegal workers, can be interpreted as giving him the authority to continue.

His office conducted another sweep last weekend in the West Valley, which netted 66 arrests, of which 30 were suspected illegal immigrants. Of those, 19 were turned over to federal authorities because there were not state criminal charges on which to hold them, the sheriff's office said.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/146035

State Senator Russell Pearce:

If our leaders want to address the growing disdain, they must first restore trust with the American people," Pearce said in the statement. "If you say you are going to secure our borders, then secure them, if you say you are going to enforce the law, then enforce it. If you take an oath of office, then keep it."

You go, State Sen Pearce! Thank heaven we have a few HONEST politicians willing to speak the TRUTH, regardless of any whining from the ethnocentric PC Police.

To the rest of you U.S. Representatives of Foreign Nationals: Remember us? The American people? The legal U.S. Citizens?

If this guy has been voting for Americans and America according to NumbersUSA, he would most definitely have my vote when he comes up for re-election!

Pearce said he expects to be joined by "more than 200 police officers and other supporters" at the Wednesday press conference, scheduled for 10 a.m. at the state Capitol in Phoenix.

Is there anyway for us to listen to or watch this?

Crowd Rallies Against Illegal Immigration

POSTED: 12:16 pm MST October 21, 2009
UPDATED: 12:33 pm MST October 21, 2009


PHOENIX -- The Arizona Legislature's main champion of legislation to combat illegal immigration is planning a triple-barreled attack on the issue early in the 2010 session.

Republican Sen. Russell Pearce of Mesa also said Wednesday during a rally that he plans an initiative campaign as a backup in case the legislative push falls short.

But Pearce expressed confidence about chances for passage of his planned legislation, which is dubbed the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act."

"We're going to pass it; it's going to be the law and the message is going to be loud and clear: this is a nation of laws," Pearce said at the rally.

Key components include prohibiting municipalities from restricting enforcement of immigration laws, making it a state crime to be present in Arizona illegally and giving subpoena powers to prosecutors to enforce the state's employer sanctions law.

Gov. Jan Brewer's office issued a statement in response to the rally.

Brewer, who did not appear at the anti-illegal-immigration rally, "has been very aggressive this year and throughout her career in the fight against illegal immigration and securing our border," according to the e-mailed statement. "She looks forward to meeting with Senator Pearce about his proposals, and to hear from legislative leaders about t heir preference for timing of a special session and if they have the votes."


http://www.kpho.com/politics/21363086/detail.html#

New AZ push against illegal immigration
by Kevin Tripp/KTAR and Jim Cross/KTAR (October 21st, 2009 @ 1:00pm)
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PHOENIX -- The Arizona Legislature's main champion of legislation to combat illegal immigration has called for a special session to pass tough new laws.

"We're not taking it any more," said Republican Sen. Russell Pearce of Mesa. "We're going to save American jobs. We're going to make sure that those men and women who work jobs are not undercut by folks who come here illegally."

Pearce added, "I'm committed to this. We're going to file a citizens' initiative, probably by Nov. 1. I hope we can do this successfully, legislatively, but either way, the public will have the last say on this issue."

But Pearce expressed confidence about chances for passage of his planned legislation, which is dubbed the ``Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.''

He said he was willing to deal with immigration in a special session, in a regular session if that's the only way the governor is willing to tackle the issue or through a citizens' petition.

Key components include prohibiting municipalities from restricting enforcement of immigration laws, making it a state crime to be present in Arizona illegally and giving subpoena powers to prosecutors to enforce the state's employer sanctions law.

"The federal government has refused to do its job," Pearce said. "Now, they've taken it a step farther. Now, they've refused to let other people do their jobs and enough is enough."

Pearce discussed his plans at a news conference on the Capitol lawn where he was flanked by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas, two staunch supporters of tough immigration policies.

During the news conference, Pearce implied that the 9-11 terrorist attacks would not have happened if immigration laws had been enforced. Click here to listen.

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.

http://www.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1222525

Arpaio supports change in law in which local law enforcement can arrest those in this country illegally
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October 21, 2009 5:07 PM
HOWARD FISCHER
Capitol Media Services

PHOENIX -- The chief proponent of legislation to combat illegal immigration said Wednesday he is crafting 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. That maneuver 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 enforced federal immigration laws. Federal officials said the "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.
And 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 but needs to know more about what Pearce wants before backing it.
But 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 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. "And we'll take back America one state at a time.''
Central to the theme is empowering police and prosecutors to do more about illegal immigration.
Pearce said some communities have "sanctuary'' rules or policies that restrict 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.
He said those arguments make no sense.
"If I've got a gang shoot-out 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 legislation has been fought in the past by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, at least in part because one provision would allow anyone who feels a community has a sanctuary policy to file suit.
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 had given to -- and subsequently took from -- the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department.
But Pearce said changing trespass laws would create the necessary state crime that would clearly give 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, Spencer 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.''
"Our members continue to see a clear connection between the crime of illegal immigration and the quality of life in the city of Phoenix,'' he said.
The third part of Pearce's package is designed to make it easier for county attorneys to investigate complaints that companies are violating Arizona's 2-year-old law which makes 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.
Thomas said a county attorney with proper evidence can ask a judge for a search warrant in criminal cases. But violations of the employer sanctions law are civil, he said, and there is nothing in the law letting him subpoena business records or testimony in civil cases until he's filed a complaint.
"But the Catch-22 is that we can t file a civil case under the employer sanctions law until we first have evidence of wrongdoing,'' Thomas said. "So we need administrative subpoena power to gather the evidence needed to bring a civil case against an employer.''
Glenn Hamer, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that has the potential for too much mischief, with no requirement to first provide evidence to a judge there is reasonable suspicion a firm is breaking the law. He pointed out that the employer sanctions law already allows prosecutors to consider anonymous complaints.
"So the thought of taking away a judicial filter for those types of complaints is scary,'' Hamer said, saying it would give prosecutors unrestricted access into not just business records but the social security numbers and wages of employees.
"We're not going to support something that's going to allow for a massive expansion of power that's going to allow for, really, fishing expeditions,'' he continued, saying there are already procedures in place for prosecutors to get that information.
Pearce said there is precedent, saying lawmakers have given the state insurance and liquor license departments similar powers to conduct their investigations.

http://www.yourwestvalley.com/news/law- ... local.html

I'm Loving It!

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http://www.alipac.us/article-4615--0-0.html

Immigration foes pledge new bill, voter initiative

by Matthew Benson - Oct. 22, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Accusing the federal government of hampering local attempts to combat illegal immigration, state Sen. Russell Pearce, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and some of Arizona's most hawkish public figures on border security pledged on Wednesday to redouble their efforts with new legislation and a citizens initiative.

Critics, meanwhile, said the anti-migrant push figures to only complicate matters for area businesses already hammered by the recession.

At issue is Pearce's new "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act." It takes a three-pronged approach to the state's illegal-immigration problem. It targets the undocumented immigrants themselves, the cities where they live and the companies and businesses that employ them.

His legislation, for which language has yet to be introduced, would allow local officers to arrest undocumented immigrants under the state's trespassing statute, essentially criminalizing their presence in Arizona. Additionally, the proposal would bar cities from enacting policies that prevent them from enforcing federal immigration law. Under such so-called sanctuary policies, communities discourage local authorities from contacting federal agents during routine encounters with residents living in the country illegally.

Lastly, Pearce's measure would add teeth to an employer-sanctions law that was enacted two years ago but has not resulted in a successful prosecution. The new provision would grant civil-subpoena power to prosecutors, giving them more ability to question witnesses and review internal records at businesses suspected of employing undocumented workers.

"This is not a partisan issue," said Pearce, a Mesa Republican. "This is about the rule of law."

The proposal comes just weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials revoked some of Arpaio's authority to enforce federal immigration laws under a program known as 287(g). The program allows local law authorities who undergo special training to act as immigration officers, but Arpaio's actions drew scrutiny as he used the authority to launch dozens of immigration sweeps in Valley communities.

On Wednesday, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas accused the feds of "undercutting our efforts here." He said the new legislation is needed to provide local law enforcement and prosecutors the power to continue combating illegal immigration. He stood alongside radio personality and former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, Pearce, Arpaio and others as dozens of supporters gathered on the state Capitol lawn.

Pearce is preparing an identical citizens initiative that he will unveil next month. It will stand at the ready for the 2010 ballot in case the legislation fails at the Capitol, in the same manner that an initiative was used in 2007 to help goad lawmakers into approving the state's initial employer-sanctions law. In that instance, some lawmakers who were lukewarm on the legislation ended up supporting it, finding it preferable to an initiative that was more stringent and would have been exceedingly difficult to amend once approved at the polls.

"All of this is unfortunate," said former Arizona Democratic legislator Alfredo Gutierrez. Gutierrez, who hosts a Latino affairs radio talk show, said proposals such as Pearce's feed a national perception that the state is unfriendly to minorities, especially Latinos.

Glenn Hamer, executive director of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called the employer-sanctions provision "an unwarranted addition to what is already the strongest employer-sanctions law in the country." He questioned whether it would needlessly open a variety of business records to law enforcement, potentially including the Social Security numbers and medical records of employees.

"The complete focus of the Legislature and governor should be on fixing the state budget mess . . . and getting the state's job machine going," Hamer added.

In past legislative sessions, Pearce has attempted bills to invoke the state's trespassing statute and outlaw sanctuary policies by cities and towns. Such measures have always come up short, whether rejected by lawmakers or vetoed by the governor.

www.azcentral.com