Thread: AZ: Prosecutors are divided on enforcing sanctions

Prosecutors are divided on enforcing sanctions
Matthew Benson, Michael Kiefer and Amanda J. Crawford
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 4, 2007 12:00 AM

Local prosecutors charged with enforcing new state penalties against employers of undocumented workers on Tuesday voiced differing levels of enthusiasm for their new task.

Their mixed reaction came a day after Gov. Janet Napolitano's signed the new law, and six months before it takes effect.

The bulk of the law's enforcement will fall to Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who oversees prosecutions in the state's most populous county and called the law a "victory of the people."

In southern Arizona, Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall worried that workplace investigations will distract from more pressing crimes.

"My attention, my focus, should be on those crimes that directly affect the public safety," she said. "We can barely keep up with the onslaught of crime that's occurring in Pima County."

The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, designates county prosecutors and the Arizona attorney general as its primary enforcement authorities. But it's clear that county officials will take the lead, since the law provides them $2.43 million in 2007-08, and the Attorney General's Office just $100,000. Attorney General Terry Goddard said he plans to use that money to oversee a database to track employers that are cited and placed on probation.

Thomas' office will receive $1.43 million of the funding, with LaWall's office getting $500,000 and the state's remaining 13 counties evenly splitting the remainder.

Thomas has been a leader among the get-tough crowd on illegal immigration, and appeared eager Tuesday to take on his new duties.

"When I ran for county attorney on a platform of stopping illegal immigration, many questioned what state and local governments could do to combat this problem," he said. "We do not have to rely on a broken federal bureaucracy to secure our borders."

But he and other county prosecutors remain uncertain about how they'll begin investigating workplace complaints against some of the state's more than 130,000 businesses. Thomas called this "new and uncharted territory," and LaWall said she's "going to have to sit down with my folks to figure out what's required."

In western Arizona, meanwhile, La Paz County Attorney Martin Brannan noted his office's obvious enforcement limitations: He has one investigator.

Brannan's share of funding from the law, more than $38,000, will allow him to bring in additional staff to investigate workplace violations. But he, too, questioned whether it will distract from his office's more traditional priorities. Going after deadbeat dads, for one.

Goddard plans to devote his share of funding from the law to the creation of a database to track employers cited for knowingly employing undocumented workers. A second violation within three to five years, depending on the circumstances, results in the loss of their business license.

He said he is still working out how his office will handle complaints and investigations, but expects he will likely accept complaints through online forms. Some of those complaints have already started coming in to his office.

Goddard echoed Napolitano's concerns that individuals not be singled out for investigation based solely upon their race or ethnicity.

"Somebody is not immediately considered to be a suspect if they happen to speak in a Spanish accent or have a skin color that is darker than everyone else," Goddard said. "This, like all statutes, has to be enforced in a non-discriminatory manner."

Thomas also pledged that he won't allow the law to become a tool of harassment.

"We want to make sure we are going after bona fide complaints," he said, "and we will prosecute the people who bring bogus complaints."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... t0704.html

Sounds like law enforcement doesn't want to do the job. Sorry that is what you are paid for.