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Washington has failed Arizona on immigration enforcement

Harry Mitchell
My Turn
Jun. 27, 2006 12:00 AM

Enforcing our nation's immigration laws is an absolutely necessary ingredient to securing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Failure to do so will undoubtedly lead to further chaos at the border, encourage even more illegal crossings, and make it difficult for us to monitor who is within our borders and for what purpose.

That's why the news last week that work-site enforcement of our nation's immigration laws has been cut 95 percent, to virtually none at all, is cause for serious concern.

Even more troubling is the revelation that law enforcement officials were pressured by members of Congress not to crack down on companies that hire illegal workers.

As one former Immigration and Naturalization Services official explained, "We were pushed away from doing enforcement."

According to the Washington Post, the number of employers fined for hiring illegal immigrants plunged from 417 in 1999 to only three in 2004.

The numbers tell an increasingly common story: Washington has failed Arizona when it comes to ending illegal immigration.

We have been told time and time again that the federal government will secure the border only to have promises broken, and now, existing laws ignored.

It is becoming clearer by the day that we need new leaders and a new direction in immigration law enforcement to get the job done.

The need for employer enforcement is simple: when employers break the law, they create a demand for illegal labor. And when there is a demand for illegal labor, some people will risk life and limb to cross the border and provide that supply.

Most businesses are on the right side of the law. Many business leaders, including those who depend on less expensive-labor, are eager to be partners in stopping illegal immigration.

Employers who willingly hire illegal labor make the problem worse. We must hold them accountable.

I believe there are several things we can do to crack down on illegal hiring, including:

• Increasing work-site enforcement of immigration laws, fully funding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget, and providing the investigators and prosecutors that ICE needs to hold employers accountable.

• Fast-tracking a system that will enable employers to electronically and instantly verify who is and is not eligible for work. No brand of immigration reform, including a much-needed temporary worker program, can be effective unless employers and the federal government have the capability of determining a potential hire's legal status.

• Targeting crimes that facilitate illegal immigration and illegal employment, such as document fraud and identity theft.

Perhaps most importantly, though, we need members of Congress who are willing to enforce the law, produce real immigration reform, and stop playing politics with the issue.

It's time for a new direction in Washington and new leaders who will deliver results, not rhetoric, to Arizona.


The writer is a former mayor of Tempe and the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona's 5th Congressional District.