Editorial: Guest workers complement sanctions law

Arizona needs a guest-worker program to slow the stream of illegal immigration and to help businesses find workers for certain jobs.

The federal government’s inability to solve the immigration crisis led the state to pass an employer sanctions law. It penalizes businesses that knowingly hire illegals.

The employer sanctions law was flawed without a guest-worker component. The state House and Senate have started working in the 11th hour of this legislative session to correct the oversight. Hearings are expected this week in both houses.

An Arizona guest-worker program, if passed and signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano, would need approval from the federal government, which oversees immigration.

Senate Minority Leader Marsha Arzberger, D-Willcox and a sponsor of the proposals, has been pushing for the guest-worker program. She rightly surmised the state cannot wait for Congress to overhaul immigration policy and the visa system.

Under the legislation, employers would be able to recruit workers from other countries if they can document a labor shortage and efforts to find local employees.

The hiring of workers from Mexico to work in agriculture and housing is crucial to the Green Valley area economy. The proposals would admit an unlimited number of workers and place no bounds on businesses that could recruit foreign employees.

Here’s how the plan would work: An approved skilled foreign worker would get an ID card valid for two years and could travel to and from Mexico through ports of entry in Arizona. They would be prohibited from traveling to other American states.

Some legislators are concerned about enforcement. If businesses and employees do not comply with restrictions, will businesses give back ID cards of guest workers?

Republican state Rep. Bill Konopnicki, another sponsor of the proposals, said employers who don’t meet the requirements to give back ID cards would become ineligible for the program.

“If they don’t comply, they’re out,” Konopnicki said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The guest-worker legislation would have been dead this legislative session without the support of House Speaker Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix, and Senate President Tim Bee, R-Corona de Tucson.

Weiers was criticized by some business leaders for his support of the employer-sanctions law. Most turned the criticism into a push for a guest-worker provision to fill jobs many U.S. citizens will not take.

The effort is progressing without the support of state Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa. We disagree with his attempt to limit the program to the agriculture industry.

We also disagree with his attempt to bar foreign workers who are pregnant or become pregnant while working in the state.

“We don’t want anchor babies,” Pearce told The Arizona Republic.

“Anchor babies” are children born to illegals in the United States. Under the 14th Amendment, they are protected as citizens. Opponents of illegal immigration say “anchor babies” are used by Mexicans as a way to gain a foothold in the state.

While we oppose Pearce’s attempt to ban or deport pregnant women, we agree with the tough elements requiring a criminal background check.

Arizona has been at the forefront of fighting illegal immigration. The guest-worker program can be a model for other states and the federal government.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of this newspaper. Respond by e-mailing letters@gvnews.com. Comment online at www.gvnews.com.