Doing The Fed's Job

As a border state, Arizona has the highest rate of illegal immigrants, so it is no accident that once the immigration bill failed in the US Senate that state took its own action. From today's NY Times:

Expressing frustration with the lack of a federal immigration law overhaul, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona signed a bill yesterday providing what are thought to be the toughest state sanctions in the country against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Ms. Napolitano, a Democrat, called the bill flawed and suggested that the Arizona Legislature reconvene to repair problems with it, but she nevertheless moved forward “because Congress has failed miserably,” she wrote in a statement.

The bill requires employers to verify the legal status of their employees. If they fail to do so, they risk having their business licenses suspended. A second offense could result in the “business death penalty,” a permanent revocation of the state business license, effectively preventing a business from operating in the state.

Ms. Napolitano said she was concerned, among other problems, that under the law hospitals and nursing homes could end up shuttered because of hiring one illegal immigrant. She also said the bill did not provide enough money for the state attorney general to investigate complaints. [Emphasis added]

While the measure is draconian, it at least attacks one often neglected part of the immigration puzzle. Employers of all sizes have found it to be in their best interests to accept bogus work papers with a wink and a nod because it gives them a more compliant labor force willing to work for lower wages under often horrendous conditions. The burden now shifts to those employers to make sure their employees can in fact work legally in the United States.

The problem is that immigration is a federal concern that needs a federal response. The last thing the country needs is a patchwork of laws on the issue, with each state drafting its own system in the hopes that the undocumented workers will seek employment in some other state. I think Governor Napolitano understands this and her signature on the state bill may be designed to force Congress to do its job sooner rather than later.

Still, the flaws in the bill are deeper than Gov. Napolitano suggested in her signing statement. The law is one that has to be passed by Congress.

By the way, and as a footnote, someone needs to inform the NY Times that Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, is from Nevada, not Arizona. That's a pretty stupid mistake for a major newspaper to make.