An
interesting skirmish has taken place in Arizona in the
war to control our borders. A law has been passed that
may serve as an example for other states to follow.
Three factors make this development particularly interesting.
First there are the efforts by State Representative
Russell Pearce, who originated this legislation. Second
is the way that Governor Janet Napolitano signed the
bill and made it into law. Third is the reaction (or
maybe over-reaction) of the left-wing press to all of
this.
Russell Pearce is a member of the lower house of the
Arizona State Legislature. He was elected to represent
a district in the town of Mesa, AZ. Pearce’s website
indicates that he believes in family values, freedom,
the constitution, and limited government. His website
has a quotation from Ronald Reagan:
“In 1776, we began as a small, weak Republic.
But we survived. Our example inspired others, imperfectly
at times, but it inspired them nevertheless. These constitutional
republics, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal, prospered
and grew strong.”
I may take exception to the proposition that all men
are created equal, but these are noble sentiments, just
the same.
Russell Pearce crafted a piece of legislation that
eventually became House Bill 2779, also known as the
Legal Arizona Workers Act. This act will become law
on January 1, 2008. This law will crack down on Arizona
businesses that “knowingly” or “intentionally”
hire illegal immigrants. A guilty employer could have
his license temporarily suspended. A judge can order
an employer to terminate all undocumented employees.
The judge can impose a three-to-five-year probationary
period. If the employer commits a second offense during
the probationary period, he can lose his license permanently.
A lot of people were surprised when Governor Janet
Napolitano signed this bill into a law. Last year, Napolitano
had vetoed a similar bill. She said she signed the bill
because the federal government was doing an inadequate
job of controlling the borders. She wrote a letter to
the legislators in which she said, “I signed it,
too, out of the realization that the flow of illegal
immigration into our state is due to the constant demand
of some employers for cheap, undocumented labor.”
As a spokesman for the European Americans of this
country, I would probably not use Napolitano’s
language. I prefer to say “inexpensive”
instead of “cheap.”
A good indicator of how serious Napolitano is about
this law is the reaction of the left-wing press. Phoenix
has a free, weekly newspaper called the New Times. Some
of its propaganda is so brazen, that the newspaper is
hard to read. On July 3, 2007, Steven
Lemmons wrote an editorial about the Legal Arizona
Workers Act. The title of his editorial makes his position
pretty clear: “Spineless! Governor Janet
Napolitano wussies out on employer sanction bill for
lack of political cover.” In his editorial,
he gives five objections to the bill. I will list the
five objections, as well as my response to them:
1. The bill should protect critical infrastructure.
Hospitals, nursing homes and power plants could be shut
down for days because of a single wrongful employment
decision:
My response: Hospitals are already being shut down.
A hospital in San Diego was forced to shut its doors
permanently. It was required by law to offer medical
services to illegals who had no intention of paying.
2. The revocation provision is overbroad, and could
cause a business with multiple locations to face shutdown
of its entire operation based on an infraction that
occurred at only one location.
My response: Does that mean the Home Depot could get
shut down? I suppose I could live with that.
3. The bill is under-funded. Even though the Attorney
General’s office must establish an entirely new
database and must investigate complaints statewide,
only $100,000 is appropriated for that purpose. Only
$70,000 is appropriated to notify employers of the change
in the law.
My response: Ain’t that just like a typical liberal?
Complaining because a law does not cost the taxpayers
enough money! Why do you need a database to tell who
the illegals are? Everyone knows who they are.
4. There is no expressed provision protecting Arizona
citizens or legal residents from discrimination under
the terms of this bill.
My response: Aaaaawwwww!
5. There is even a typo that has to be fixed. The bill
cites the wrong portion of a federal law.
My response: How hard is it to use a word processor?
The best part of Mr. Lemmons’ editorial comes
at the very end. He says: “Pearce’s law
is part of a broad effort by extremists to pass punitive
legislation against undocumented workers in order to
have them “self-deport” back to Mexico.
Instead, Pearce’s playbook will cause misery and
inflame emotions that could tip over to serious civil
unrest. Of course, that may be the ultimate goal here:
a white-on-brown race war with a Turner Diaries-style
day of the rope. The ugliness has just begun.”
I suppose I should thank Mr. Pearce for all of this.
On top of everything else, he is helping our book sales.
