Thread: Hutchinson unveils plan to curb illegal immigration

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/200 ... 36694.html

Hutchinson unveils plan to curb illegal immigration
Friday, Jun 23, 2006

By Doug Thompson
Arkansas News Bureau
SPRINGDALE - Republican candidate for governor Asa Hutchinson offered a four-point plan to curb illegal immigration Thursday, speaking in a city with one of the state's fastest-growing Hispanic populations.

Hutchinson, an ex-congressman and former Department of Homeland Security undersecretary, proposed greater cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, ending "catch and release" of illegal immigrants, a crackdown on hiring illegal immigrants and making it harder to forge or falsify a driver's license and other legal documents.

"There are some, including our (state) attorney general, who say this is a federal problem, and his only answer is to lobby the federal government to do more," Hutchinson said at a Springdale news conference. "Well, that answer is not sufficient and we must think anew about this problem."

Hutchinson faces Democrat Mike Beebe, Arkansas' attorney general, in the Nov. 7 general election.

Beebe's campaign called Hutchinson's proposals an attempt to "cover his tracks for his own failures to fight illegal immigration when responsible for border security at the Department of Homeland Security."

Hutchinson said greater cooperation between local officials and federal immigration authorities would include added training to allow local authorities to handle immigration cases.

He said that, as governor, he would propose legislation to require state and local jail authorities to make every reasonable effort to verify the legal status of prisoners before they are released, and to mandate more training for local law officers to check the immigration status of people in custody.

Legislation to require the state and private contractors doing business with the state to participate in a federal program requiring tight verification of workers' legal status would reduce employment opportunities for those who are in the country illegally, Hutchinson said.

"If they can't be hired, they will not come," he said.

His proposal to make forging or falsifying legal documents that illegal workers need more difficult would include adding a full-time investigator to the Arkansas State Police staff to investigate document fraud cases.

Hutchinson said respect for civil rights is a major theme of the federal immigration enforcement training program. But the head of the state's largest Hispanic lobby was not convinced.

"I've received about 30 e-mails from members in the last few hours, many of them wondering if this will lead to racial profiling," said Carlos Cervantes of Little Rock, president of the Arkansas chapter of the League of United Latin-American Citizens, or LULAC.

"You can't distinguish who's legal and who's not by looking at them," said Cervantes, a U.S. citizen and life-long resident. "This is going to get to the point of racial profiling, where you'll be pulled over for DWH - driving while Hispanic.

"I wasn't expecting this from Asa Hutchinson, not this strong. He knows this state and even the federal government can't afford this."

Last year, the Legislature approved a bill by Rep. Jeremy Hutchinson, D-Little Rock, Asa Hutchinson's nephew, authorizing state police undergo federal training to enforce immigration laws on state highways.

Rep. Jay Bradford, D-White Hall, an opponent of the bill, said the program wouldn't work.

"Our prisons are full, our jails are backed up and our police are overworked," Bradford said Thursday. "We can't take any more, especially when the feds are going to be adding more immigration agents of their own."

Hutchinson said his proposal would not add law enforcement officers but would involve training officers already on the job. The cost for local officials to check the resident status of those in custody would be minimal because federal authorities already maintain databases, he said, adding that the state and counties could even obtain federal reimbursement of some costs for holding illegal immigrants.

The Arkansas Sheriffs Association and the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police had no response to Hutchinson's proposals Thursday. The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas also had no comment.

Beebe spokesman Zac Wright said the attorney general had already discussed the need to crackdown on illegal immigration "and said this problem arises because of the federal government's failure to tackle the issue."

"It was Hutchinson's responsibility at the Department of Homeland Security," Wright said. "(Beebe) has already called for tougher penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants. Hutchinson reduced the action taken against such employers by 99 percent while he was responsible for it at Homeland Security."

Hutchinson spokesman David Kinkade said Arkansans were tired of Beebe's negative attacks.

"Does Mike Beebe disagree with the ideas Asa's laying out? If yes, he should say which ones. If not, then he should support the effort or get out of the way," Kinkade said.

The exchange on immigration came as a new poll showed Beebe ahead of Hutchinson in the governor's race.

The Wall Street Journal/Zogby International poll showed Beebe with 49.8 percent and Hutchinson with 43.5 percent. The poll, conducted online June 13-19 and published on the Wall Street Journal's Web site, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Look at Hutchinson's past record on immigration . The BS just pours out of his mouth like fumes from a city bus. Myself I wouldn't believe a single word out of his mouth, even if his tounge came notarized!