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.
Its really important to elect the governor...
Government by the People, For the People....surrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee!
Concise and accurate.
It would be far easier and better to pass a law that says anyone hiring an illegal immigrant get automatically 10 years in prison.
Problem solved.
I believe I heard a few years back that she was quoted as saying if any terrorist activity happened in AZ that she would still not close the border. Does anyone have the quote on that?
NO WAY.
This lovely flower of humanity, my junior senator, fits right in. If you took NYC out of the equation, you may have a shot.
I would leave this state in a NY Minute if I could get my immediate family to move with me.
Some folks get strange attachments to odd, prickly things.
Good stats, and we need to get those out.
I am for legal immigration, and firmly against a guest worker and/or amnesty program (and have stated so repeatedly in the past). I'm sorry if I did not make that point clear in my post.
Article 1 Section 10: "No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay." REPEAT- "unless actually invaded" I know technically, the open borders may not be what they thought of, but what of the reports of the Mexican authorities also crossing the border to aid drug smuggling etc? Probably just wishful thinking on my part...
The wishful thinking on my part was of a specific interpretation that Art 1 Sec 10 may allow the States to act on their own, without Congress' approval.
I'm not even from Arizona and I got the same impression.
I forgot to mention something else as well.
New illegals will still be able to work cheaper than the guest worker -- by the amount of income taxes the guest worker pays.
So the guest worker will now be competing against new illegals who can attain his same standard of living at a lower cost to the employer.
she is italian as in Napoli=Naples Italy.
Thanks for the chuckle. Napolitano is "mexican" like the Judge Napolitano in Foxnews
I keep SAYING the fed can't do it without state cooperation. Nobody ever LISTENS. It's in some old paper called the Constitution...
The Republicans are scared of losing campaign cash from big business. The first and only thing politicians care about is getting reelected. Taxpayer's who aren't big donors are last on their list of priorities.
There goes her chances of re-election up in smoke!!!
Hey...no problem. I am a teacher of American Government, Economics and Sociology. It's not just a job, it's an adventure (in the inner city)!
...and tried to listen to the people that elected them.
I just wish we could elect a conservative governor that didn't get wrongfully accused of bogus, trumped up, imaginary crimes and impeached.
I'm tired of these hayseed perverts (Napolitano is a lesbian) getting into office on lies.
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