Thread: Hayworth bill tackles 'invasion'

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Hayworth bill tackles 'invasion'


Jessica Coomes
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 1, 2005 12:00 AM

NORTHEAST VALLEY - U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth called undocumented immigration from Mexico an "invasion" and said he's gearing up to introduce an all-encompassing bill to tackle the issue.

At a pair of forums in the Northeast Valley Wednesday morning, Hayworth, R-Ariz., responded to an onslaught of questions regarding undocumented immigrants by touting a bill he plans to introduce when Congress is back in session next week.

The bill, which he calls "Enforcement First," would compile a variety of immigration policies and set out plans to enforce them.

"We better wake up and take the action," said the congressman, whose District 5 includes the Northeast Valley. "This is not xenophobia. This is not racism. This is national security."

Part of his "Enforcement First" bill would punish business owners who knowingly employ undocumented immigrants for cheap labor.

"It's not cheap when you and I as taxpayers end up paying all the benefits," he told an early-morning crowd of about 100 in Fountain Hills. About 140 people came to the forum in Scottsdale.

After wishing Hayworth a happy 47th birthday, Jim Bourassa, a contractor from Scottsdale, told the congressman he keeps getting underbid for projects because his competitors hire undocumented immigrants for cheaper wages. Bourassa said it's hard to stay in businesses and stay within the confines of the law.

"I've got a family to feed, too," he said.

In addition, Hayworth's legislation would prevent Mexican women from crossing the border to give birth, would make Social Security cards tamper-proof and would call for the construction of detention facilities.

Hayworth called for closing loopholes in the 1993 Motor Voter legislation. Undocumented immigrants are registering to vote in states that don't require citizenship to get a driver's license, he said.

He proposed taxing income that workers earn in the United States when it's sent over the border to families in Mexico. Meanwhile, he said local law enforcement should be beefed up to handle undocumented immigrants and the Social Security Administration should have the ability to report problems to other federal agencies for enforcement.

Though Hayworth took note of what his constituents thought of mass deportation and said he wouldn't rule it out, he imagined public relations fiasco with images of children being pulled from schools and families from their homes, much like the images of Jewish settlers withdrawing from the Gaza Strip last month.

On the other hand, enforcement of current laws is not the problem, said Salvador Reza, a coordinator of the Macehualli day-labor center in northeast Phoenix. He was not at the forums but is familiar with immigration labor issues.

No matter how tough the enforcement, Reza said Mexicans will cross the border as long as they can get work in the United States but not in Mexico.

Reza said a better policy would allow workers to go back and forth from the United States to Mexico. That would force the Mexican economy to be more competitive, which would remove some of the incentive for Mexicans to come to the United States.

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