Thread: Vetoes thwart ambitious immigration agenda

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Vetoes thwart most of legislature's ambitious immigration agenda

June 22, 2006, 10:32 AM EDT

Arizona voters will decide in November whether to expand the list of government benefits denied to illegal immigrants and make English the state's official language.


As one of the final actions in a 164-day session that concluded early Thursday, the Arizona Legislature approved two ballot measures that were a small part of an ambitious agenda that Republican lawmakers set five months ago to try to lessen Arizona's role as a busy illegal entry point.

After Gov. Janet Napolitano rejected a wide-ranging immigration bill two weeks ago, lawmakers pushing for tighter border security tried to resurrect elements of the proposal through ballot measures in an attempt to bypass the chance for a veto and let voters decide the issue.

They failed to push through the Legislature ballot measures that would have made illegal aliens' presence in Arizona a criminal offense and set state punishments for businesses that hire illicit foreign labor.

They also couldn't muster enough support for a ballot proposal to make communities get rid of policies that prohibit police officers from enforcing federal immigration law.

"These folks who think it's enough to have sent the governor a bill to veto, shame on them," said Republican state Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, the Legislature's leading advocate for limiting illegal immigration.

Republican Sen. Jake Flake said Arizona shouldn't try to crack down on illegal hirings before knowing what sort of immigration overhaul will come from Congress.

"My thought right now is take what we have got and see what the feds come up with. That's good enough for me," Flake said, noting that it's already a federal crime to hire illegal immigrants.

Many Republican lawmakers blame vetoes by the Democratic governor for the Legislature's lack of action on illegal immigration.

Napolitano said the wide-ranging immigration bill would have let employers who violate the law off easy and would have put huge costs on police agencies to enforce a provision to criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants in Arizona.

"I vetoed it because it was a crummy bill," Napolitano said.

While Napolitano has several immigration vetoes under her belt in the last two legislative sessions, she also proposed sending National Guard troops to the state's porous border to assist immigration agents months before President Bush pushed a similar plan.

In any case, immigration hard-liners hope to duplicate the success of a 2004 ballot measure that denied some government benefits to illegal immigrants and required proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

Voters will be asked in November whether to prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving state-funded child care assistance, attending adult education classes and getting cheaper in-state tuition and financial assistance at the state's public universities and community colleges.

Supporters say such restrictions were needed to discourage illegal immigrants from setting up lives in Arizona. Opponents said border-crossers weren't abusing those government benefits and that it was unfair to punish children whose parents sneaked them into the country.

Supporters of making English the state's official language and requiring that government functions be conducted in English said that proposal was needed to encourage the assimilation of immigrants.

Opponents say the proposal wasn't so much about protecting English as it is an attack on illegal immigrants.

Republican Sen. Ron Gould of Lake Havasu City, who wanted a tough approach on immigration, said the Legislature caved in to pressure from business groups and did a mediocre job of responding to the public's frustration with the state's immigration woes.

"We are going to come out of here essentially empty handed," Gould said an hour before the Legislature finished its session.


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Republican Sen. Jake Flake said Arizona shouldn't try to crack down on illegal hirings before knowing what sort of immigration overhaul will come from Congress.

"My thought right now is take what we have got and see what the feds come up with. That's good enough for me," Flake said, noting that it's already a federal crime to hire illegal immigrants.

It's only a crime when your government ENFORCES the law....if our laws were being enforced instead of being ignored, we would not be having this debate right now. Let's be honest...immigration reform is about changing our laws to suit Corporate America's desires.

My ultimate wish would be for her and her illegal alien pandering brother McKennedy (no typo) to be out of a job when they are up for reelection and/ or McKennedy runs for the White House. I wouldn't be surprised if Kennedy is his running mate. We must do whatever we can at the polls to ensure McKennedy never sets foot in the Oval Office.