Blunt, Nixon spar over immigration
By Jo Mannies
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/17/2007

Gov. Matt Blunt and his Democratic rival, Attorney General Jay Nixon, underscored the political power of the illegal immigration issue Monday by touting actions that each said showed he was tougher in battling it.
Blunt called for the state Legislature to adopt a series of proposals, including a ban on the transportation of illegal immigrants for specific illegal activities including prostitution, and a requirement that school districts and local governments check the immigration status of all employees.

Within minutes, Nixon fired off a release announcing his success in the prosecution of a Lake of the Ozarks developer for employing illegal immigrants to help build luxury condominiums. The developer was sentenced Monday to five years probation and close to $1 million in fines and penalties.

Both announcements — accompanied by jabs at their rival — once again raised the profile of the illegal immigration issue in Missouri’s combative contest for governor, even though the latest census figures cast doubt on the magnitude of the problem in the state.

Campaign spokesmen for both men asserted that their opponent had been ignoring the illegal immigration issue for years. Each accused the other of emphasizing the matter only because polls — including the latest one by the Post-Dispatch — show it to be a hot issue among voters.

Said Nixon spokesman Oren Shur: "For three years, Blunt has simply refused to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants and instead awarded them with state contracts and tax credits."

AdvertisementCountered Blunt spokesman John Hancock: "For 14 years, Jay Nixon hasn’t lifted a finger to fight illegal immigration, even when former Gov. Bob Holden was found to employ illegal immigrants. He’s a Nixon-come-lately on this issue."

The latest census figures estimate Missouri’s Hispanic population to be just 3 percent, including illegal immigrants. But Blunt said his proposals were necessary to respond to public concerns about illegal immigration.

The governor’s news conference, held at the Highway Patrol regional office in west St. Louis County, is the latest in a series on illegal immigration that he’s held in recent months.

Blunt contended that he was being forced to focus on illegal immigration because "Washington has failed to act." But the governor acknowledged that some of his proposals addressed problems not now evident in Missouri.

For example: Blunt is calling for the Legislature to ban "sanctuary cities," where he said local governments adopt policies "limiting the ability of local officials from communicating with the federal government about potential immigration violations.’’

"We don’t believe there are any sanctuary cities in Missouri today,’’ Blunt conceded, but he added that a ban would prevent their creation.

Patrol Superintendent Col. James Keathley and several patrol officers flanked the governor at Monday’s event, with Keathley echoing Blunt’s complaints about the federal government.

Keathley said Blunt’s proposal to make it illegal to transport illegal immigrants for certain illegal activities — prostitution, drug trafficking, human trafficking and illegal labor — was necessary because federal immigration officials sometimes don’t want to take into custody illegal immigrants picked up by the Highway Patrol.

A state law would allow the patrol to charge such illegal immigrants, Keathley said.

Blunt also called for the Legislature to stiffen the state’s existing penalties on state contractors found to have employed illegal immigrants. Blunt proposed that the state withhold 25 percent of the money allocated for such contractors. State rules already require that such contracts be revoked, and bar such firms from future state contracts.

Blunt said his proposal requiring checks of all employees in public schools or local governments mirrors a requirement already in place for state employees.

But some school officials raised questions about whether a new state law was needed.

Clayton School District spokesman Chris Tennill noted that the state last year began requiring every district to have an FBI criminal background check done on employees. Those checks are based on an employee’s social security number.

Bert Schulte, deputy commissioner for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said the certification process for teachers was another safeguard. "There’s no way a teacher could get that certification without being a citizen," Schulte said.

Blunt has been rolling out various anti-illegal immigration proposals for months. Most recently, he called for bolstering existing state restrictions that prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining drivers licenses.

The developer cited by Nixon was Michael G. Schlup, of Leawood, Kan., who pleaded guilty in June to 14 felony counts related to using at least 30 illegal immigrants in the construction of luxury condominiums at Lake of the Ozarks. In the investigation, the illegal workers were found to be working 70 hours a week, for $8 an hour.

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