U.S. Chamber could catch political fire for immigration agenda             
Staff reports

CAREFREE – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s recently announced plans to push Congress to approve an amnesty program for illegal immigrants will likely draw intense political fire here.

“I think they’re going to be in a world of trouble,” said Maryan M. Kelly, interim executive director of the Carefree‑Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce.

In their State of American Business 2007 report, the U.S. Chamber specifically stated it wants an immigration  program that “allows for earned legal status leading to permanent resid‑

ency for qualified, screened, undocumented immigrants now in the country.”

Kelly said the national chamber’s agenda is likely to draw intense criticism because the issue is controversial and the problem overwhelming.

Illegal immigration has always been an issue for border states such as Arizona but only in recent years has the issue became a national issue, she said.

“It’s a hard call–what to do with all these people because they are already here,” Kelly said.

Suspected illegal immigrants line Cave Creek Road in the mornings waiting to be hired for day labor jobs. Their presence and those that hire them illustrate the extent of the problem. Despite an outcry from grassroots citizen groups, elected officials have failed to adequately address the problem and the federal government is failing to enforce existing immigration laws.

“I don’t know what the right answer is,” Kelly said.

Regarding the economic impact illegal immigrant labor is having on the business sectors in Carefree and Cave Creek, Z Kelley said illegal immigrant workers are not taking jobs from American citizens who work in those communities.

Instead, they are working at menial, low paying jobs that do not require them to be fluent in English, she said.