Posted on 04/18/2006 10:18:22 AM PDT by BradtotheBone
Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill that would have criminalized the presence of illegal immigrants in Arizona, citing opposition from police agencies that want immigration arrests to remain the responsibility of the federal government.
The proposal would have expanded the state's trespassing law to let local authorities arrest illegal immigrants anywhere in Arizona, the nation's busiest illegal entry point. Congress also had considered criminalizing the presence of illegal immigrants in the country.
In a letter to lawmakers, Napolitano said she opposes automatically turning all immigrants who sneaked into the state into criminals and that the bill provided no funding for the new duties.
"It is unfortunate that the Legislature has once again ignored the officials who are most directly affected by illegal immigration and instead has passed yet another bill that will have no effect on the problem but that will impose an unfunded burden on law enforcement," Napolitano wrote Monday.
Supporters said the bill would have given Arizona a chance to get a handle on its vast border problems by providing a second layer of enforcement to catch the tens of thousands of immigrants who slip past federal agents each year.
Republican Sen. Barbara Leff of Paradise Valley, who proposed the bill, said the governor has painted herself as tough on illegal immigration by declaring a state of emergency at Arizona's border, but has taken little action to back up her rhetoric.
"I don't think the governor wants to do anything about this problem," Leff said. She said the bill would have been a means to detain illegal immigrants until federal agents can pick them up.
The Democratic governor, accused by her Republican critics of being soft on immigration, has vetoed other immigration bills from the GOP- majority Legislature within the past year, including a proposal to give police the power to enforce federal immigration laws.
While immigrants provide the economy with cheap labor, Arizona spends tens of millions of dollars each year in health care and education costs for illegal workers and their families. An estimated 500,000 of the state's population of about 6 million are illegal immigrants.
Oh, this is a hoot. Notice how the AP downplayed this ?
"Arizona spends tens of millions of dollars each year in health care and education costs for illegal workers and their families."
Not "tens of millions", more like "billions". The AP wants to SOUND like it has given both sides of the issue, but ends on this note, downplaying the real cost to the taxpayer by orders of magnitude. Just the children of illegals in Arizona are probably costing $3B in public education, school lunch programs, etc.
That money saved -- plus imposing serious fines on employers of illegals -- should provide plenty of funding for law enforcement to drop them off across the border. Behind the shiny new fence Arizona, California, and Texas should build themselves rather than waiting on the Feds.
Remember, the MINIMUM expected of a lawbreaker is to make restitution for the money involved. For employers, that means the fines should be AT LEAST an amount equal to the monetary benefit they received from the illegal workers labor. That would be the difference between what the illegal cost them and what a legal worker would have cost them.
Let them come back legally by going to the back of the line of those already waiting. If a deportee comes back illegally, the second time they are caught should result in a mandatory term of one year at hard labor before being deported.
True story. I had a patient, a small 31 y.o woman come into our clinic for treatment a couple of weeks ago.
A few months ago, she did some serious damage to her shoulder, that possibly will warrant surgery to repair it.
She did it while using a jackhammer. This woman, was not much bigger than a jackhammer herself!
When I joked with her about that, she told me that there wasn't enough money in the housekeeping or cleaning jobs, so she opted to work in construction to support her kids.
When you start having people making citizens arrests on a daily basis and personally handcuffing people...the feds will likely drag themselves out of the mess they have. Thats the only way this will change. The president and congress simply don't want the laws to work, and the border patrol dimwits simply want a financial empire...with no real work. Unless you hand this job to the military...thats the only way things will show immedate improvement.
They can also be called "un-uniformed enemy combatants" But that's a bit wordy sometimes.
I don't know.
It's a stupid statement.
Just dang! Got to admire that kind of attitude.
I too am noticing local and state work being done by illegals. Our own local and state governments refusing to obey the law. Who would have thunk?
The State of Georgia just passed such a law that would punish businesses that hire illegals.
Another thing I like about Don Goldwater's approach to the illegal problem, is he wants to take illegals being deported and put them in a tent city on the border so that THEY can build the wall.
Ha ha....illegals, building the wall that American's won't. I like it.
"The State of Georgia just passed such a law that would punish businesses that hire illegals."
Best news I've heard here on FR. All the newspapers and other media should make it front-page news, across the nation...
States can enforce federal law.
I keep hearing from my other half, that this problem is not going to be fixed until a civil (race) war happens and people start crossing the line and deaths occur. I hope that doesn't happen, but it makes you wonder where this is headed, when our own government, no one, is willing to stand up for this country and protect our borders from invasion. :(
She did this back in November, and put up with her pain for several months before seeking, (or even being aware of putting in) a workers comp claim. She evidently is a good, hard worker, so her employer sent her to our clinic for medical attention.
There are those few my hat goes off to. This is a good reason we need solid reform, so that these folks can come in here and work leagally, along with a system where can weed out the criminals and freeloaders at the same time.
Joe will never get elected to Governor.
Excuses.
HELL Ya! That statement got me started listening to him and I believe that is where my vote is going the November...
"they get paid prevailing wages"
You mean those wages that have been distorted by the availability of cheap non-taxpaying workers ?
Unfortunately, our local paper, "Arizona Rebukes the Public" is completely on our lousy Governor's side, so we're getting only what she wants the public to hear. Watch out for her, if she wins in November here in Arizona, she'll move up to Washington within 2 years and become Hillary's running mate! (tweedle dee and tweedle dum!)
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