“Even
if it’s passed, the question is, will the governor
sign it?” Jenks asked.
Jacobs
oversees a program operated out of the church where
employers can come to find day labor. The program
has been criticized for being nothing more than
a gathering place for illegal immigrants
looking for work.
“We
started this program six years ago because of traffic
on the road,” said Jenks, noting the program is
safer for the job seekers and employers.
“If
there’s a problem, we try and get it resolved,”
he stated.
Despite
the church’s good intentions, it’s unclear what
kind of effect, if any, this law would have on that
operation at this time.
“We
ultimately won’t know until it happens,” said Jenks.
There
is much discussion at the legislative level, with
Rep. Sam Crump, R‑Anthem, in favor of employer
sanctions. But he cautioned that making the law
fair for everyone is the issue.
“We’re
creating a bureaucracy,” said Crump, adding there
are still changes to be made and that the goal is
to “target the bad employers and not create burdens
on the good employers.”
Sen.
Jim Waring, R‑Phoenix, also does not want
to burden employers with more bureaucracy, pointing
out the idea that every single employer in the state
would know whether every person
on the payroll discloses the truth “is not a realistic
expectation.”
Sen.
Jack Harper, R‑Surprise, noted the bill would
create “an awful lot of paperwork for the secretary
of state,” but that “the end result is the state
will have a way of endorsing employer sanctions
without infringing upon areas the federal government
has pre‑empted.”
The
program is expected to cost $3 million a year to
run with the money coming out of the general
fund.
That
cost is minimal compared to what Harper feels the
undocumented immigrants cost Arizona taxpayers.
“The
hidden cost of illegal immigration is pretty high,”
said Harper, citing the cost of educating
children enrolled in local public schools and the
healthcare price tag, as very few of the undocumented
workers have health insurance.
Pearce
did not return calls for comment on the issue.
