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RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION General A1 Communications Cable Techs Health Care Sierra Tucson Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Border NewsLawmakers gird for immigration fightARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.19.2007
PHOENIX — Illegal immigration was said to be the driving issue in Arizona's November election. Some lawmakers were elected because of it; others where ousted over it.
But so far, talk about immigration has been fairly quiet in our state chambers, a contrast to the impassioned speeches politicians gave during the campaign.
Not for long, some lawmakers say, as Republicans are preparing to launch efforts to continue targeting the issue.
On the November ballot, voters overwhelmingly passed measures to curb illegal entrants' access to public benefits. Now, it's time for round two, as legislators attempt to wrestle with something likely to be just as controversial: employer sanctions.
In agendas released this week, House and Senate Republicans outlined a number of objectives, with immigration near the top of both lists.
"One of the keys to the employer-sanction debate is giving employers the ability to verify whether the documents they're bringing forward are valid, and I think that's really at the core of the debate," said Tim Bee, president of the Senate and a Tucson Republican. "If they have collected those things, they have to believe they are accurate."
The specifics of potential legislation are still unclear — even to lawmakers.
Republican leaders said Wednesday they want to require public employers to use a verification system, which if successful could then be used by private businesses to check whether a potential employee is here legally. And Bee said research is being done into federal policies to ensure that any new state laws proposed do not duplicate federal rules.
One version of an employer-sanction bill is being sponsored by Rep. Bill Konopnicki, a Safford Republican.
Konopnicki's bill would create a fine for first-time violators, and a possible felony charge after subsequent violations. Rep. Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican, is also pushing for employer sanctions with a bill he says is similar.
And Pearce, who has become a leading hawk on immigration issues, is sponsoring bills to pump $25 million into border security technology and to permit local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws.
But Republicans are also facing pressure from the business community, which is lobbying against punitive employer sanctions.
"When you've got people responsible for the enforcement of workers, and they can't determine themselves if someone is legal, it's not fair and it's pretty ridiculous to require the employer to do it," said Roger Yohem, spokesman for the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association.
Pearce disagrees.
"That is the same game that is always played," he says. "It's just not true. They have a lot of ways."
Democrats aren't against employer sanctions, but on other immigration issues, there may be some partisan division.
Democrats will oppose efforts to require local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws, said Rep. Phil Lopes, a Tucson Democrat and House minority leader, in an interview earlier this month.
"We fought that off, but we'll probably see that again," he said.
Instead, Democrats are launching an effort to clarify a bill passed last session cracking-down on those who smuggle illegal entrants. Local law enforcement agencies, they say, are using the law as a way to prosecute illegal entrants, not just the smugglers.
"That's called getting stung twice," Lopes said.
Meanwhile, Gov. Janet Napolitano has focused her new agenda on preparing Arizona for growth.
Napolitano, a Democrat who sailed into her second term, in part, because of her tough position on the border, has said enforcement of the border is primarily a federal issue. She says she's hopeful Congress will pass "comprehensive immigration reform."
Republicans aren't so patient.
"The people of Arizona have made it very clear that if the feds aren't doing it, we have to step up," said Thayer Verschoor, Senate majority leader.
Napolitano's spokeswoman, Jeanine L'Ecuyer, said the governor is open to legislation "if the intent is to seriously focus on real employer sanctions." Napolitano called a bill passed last year amnesty for employers, and vetoed it.
With the election over, the immigration issue could take the back burner to other issues, like growth and transportation.
Linda Barber, president of the Pima County Republican Club — which represents the conservative wing of the local party — wonders if there's a sense of fatigue over the immigration issue among Republicans.
Even rank-and-file Republicans aren't talking about the issue with the same fury as before, she says.
"There's partly a stunned silence after the results of the election," she said. "That was the prime issue in that campaign, but my own idea is that people who have been thinking a lot on that issue have been regrouping."
Ultimately, the immigration issue has toned down because "political campaigns have gone away," said Carol Zimmerman, a Democratic pollster.
"I do think a lot of that was generated for election year publicity," she said of last year's wave of immigration measures. "You can only keep up that level of interest so long."
Pearce admits pushing his agenda will be difficult in an off-election year, but says he's committed to bringing his measures to the ballot if they don't pass.
"I'm not new to this issue," he said.
● Contact reporter Daniel Scarpinato at 307-4339 or dscarpinato@azstarnet.com.
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