Pearce Demands End to Sanctuary Cities.

Arizona State Senate

1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007

Sen. Russell Pearce, R-18
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
602-926-5760

NEWS RELEASE


Oct. 21, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pearce Demands End to Sanctuary City and “Catch and Release” Policies

Legislation would crack down on these illegal practices



(STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX) – State Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, J.D. Hayworth, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Mark Spencer and others today demanded the end to sanctuary city and “catch and release” policies and pledged to deal with recent attempts by the federal government to erode the progress made in Arizona in combating this problem. Pearce announced he will file a citizen’s initiative and has the support of the Governor’s Office to eliminate these illegal practices.



“We pledge to work with the governor to end these ‘catch and release’ policies and remove the political handcuffs on our law enforcement. Enough is enough,” Pearce said. “The Governor’s Office has assured me they will work with us to end these illegal policies and support our law enforcement and our Hometown Heroes.”



Pearce points to the federal government and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano for trying to erode the progress made in Arizona with our tough and effective laws.



“If our leaders want to address the growing disdain, they must first restore trust with the American people. If you say you are going to secure our borders, then secure them, if you say you are going to enforce the law, then enforce it. If you take an oath of office then keep it,” Pearce declared.



Pearce unveiled his legislation, the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” that would crack down on illegal immigration in the following three ways:


1. Outlawing sanctuary city policies by prohibiting cities and towns in Arizona from limiting or restricting enforcement federal immigration laws to less than the full extent of the law. This state has seen and continues to see various open border special interests groups constantly apply pressure to give illegal immigrants a pass. Outlawing sanctuary cities makes sure the dedicated men and women in Arizona law enforcement are not handcuffed by bureaucrats who would turn a blind eye to the illegal immigration crisis.



2. The second provision would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor for an illegal alien to enter into or be on any public or private land in Arizona if they are in violation of federal immigration law. The charge is elevated to a Class 4 felony if someone is convicted, deported and they return to Arizona. The charge would rise to a Class 2 felony if this person violates this section of the law while committing other crimes involving illegal drugs, weapons or terrorism.



3. The third provision puts some needed teeth in the state’s employer sanctions law. It would give civil subpoena power to prosecuting agencies enabling them to question witnesses and obtained needed documentation. That’s the same type of authority that is used by the Arizona Insurance Department and the Department of Liquor License and Control. This authority will give prosecutors the ability to more efficiently and more quickly investigate claims. It will essentially open the second half of the employer sanctions law that up until now has dealt primarily with criminal complaints against employees.



“We have seen sharp decreases in both crime and illegal immigration, which demonstrates that enforcement works. What we need to do now is safeguard that enforcement by making some much needed changes in state law. Illegal immigration creates one of the greatest hardships on working families who live in neighborhoods impacted by kidnappings, home invasions, gangs, drugs and drop houses. They see their wages depressed by greedy business owners who exploit an illegal work force. This law will also have a deterrent effect. Until the federal government wakes up to the crisis, illegal border crossers will at least be on notice to stay out of Arizona,” Pearce said.



County Attorney Andrew Thomas said “I greatly appreciate Sen. Pearce’s continuing efforts to reign in illegal immigration by giving law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to address this crisis. By strengthening our employer sanctions law, outlawing sanctuary city policies, and making it a crime to illegally immigrate into Arizona, this legislation would send a strong deterrent message to would-be illegal immigrants and the people who hire them.”



Sheriff Joe Arpaio stated, “This new legislation is very important given the fact that the federal government has moved to restrict my authority to enforce illegal immigration laws. Their recent action in doing so makes this legislation even more critical to ensure that state laws are in place so I can continue to do my job.”



Officer Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association stated, “It’s never wrong to support the rule of law. Phoenix Police officers see a clear connection between illegal immigration and the quality of life in the city of Phoenix. When it comes to illegal immigration, rank and file Phoenix police officers have paid a heavy price protecting our communities. Over 80 percent of PLEA members are supportive of legislation that gives them the discretionary ability to enforce immigration statutes.”



Pearce shifted his plan to address this crisis from a call for an immediate special session to filing a citizen’s initiative and letting the voters decide. He remains open to tackling it in a special session or in the regular session that begins in January. He is pleased to have the support of the Governor’s Office to end these illegal practices.



Supporters of this legislation include the following members of the Arizona Legislature:

Rep. Frank Antenori

Rep. Cecil Ash

Rep. Ray Barnes

Rep. Andy Biggs

Rep. Judy Burges Rep. Steve Court

Rep. Rich Crandall

Rep. Sam Crump

Rep. Doris Goodale

Rep. David Gowan

Rep. Laurin Hendrix

Rep. John Kavanagh

Rep. Debbie Lesko

Rep. Lucy Mason

Rep. Nancy McLain

Rep. Steve Montenegro

Rep. Rick Murphy

Rep. Warde Nichols

Rep. Franklin Pratt

Rep. Michele Reagan

Rep. Carl Seel

Rep. David Stevens

Rep. Andy Tobin

Rep. Jerry Weiers

Rep. Jim Weiers

Rep. Vic Williams

Rep. Steve Yarbrough

Sen. Sylvia Allen

Sen. Bob Burns

Sen. Ron Gould

Sen. Linda Gray

Sen. Jack Harper

Sen. John Huppenthal

Sen. Al Melvin

Sen. Jonathan Paton

Sen. Steve Pierce

Sen. Thayer Verschoor

Sen. Jim Waring



Additional supporters of the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” include:

Latest poll: 89 percent of the public
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas
Mark Spencer, president, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association
Ed Tuffly, Local 2544 president, National Border Patrol Council
Brian Fieros Thomas Hardie, Local Union No. 394 Plasterers' and Cement Masons
Arizona Republican Party by a unanimous resolution
Rob Haney, Maricopa County Republican Party Chairman
Tom Husband, Maricopa County Republican Party executive director
Sandy Doty, member-at-large, Maricopa County Republican Party
Pinal Co. Sheriff Babeu
Mohave Co. Sheriff Sheahan
Yavapai Co. Sheriff Waugh
Cochise Co. Sheriff Dever
Gila Co. Sheriff Armer
Navajo Co. Sheriff Clark
Graham Co. Sheriff Allred
Greenlee Co. Sheriff Tucker
The Maricopa Deputy's Law Enforcement Association
Arizona Highway Patrol Association
Bryan Stoller, Arizona Fraternal Order of Police
Col. Albert Rodriguez , president of You Don't Speak for Me
Arizona African American Republican Club
Arizona Republican Assembly
Anna Gaines, president, American Citizens United
NAILEM
The Pachyderms
9-11 Families for a Secure America
United Sovereign America (USA)

Adams vs Crump

Arizona Representative Sam Crump (R) LD 6, was removed as Chairman of the House Government Committee by House Speaker Kirk Adams (R) LD 19, on Monday. Crump and some freshman conservative Republican legislators opposed Speaker Adams over funding for the 21st Century Fund, which was a pet project of former Governor Napolitano.

The Gila Courier Blog, http://www.gilacourier.com/, has identified the freshman conservative representatives as; Carl Seel LD 6, Steve Montenegro LD 12, David Stevens LD 25, Frank Antenori LD 30, and David Gowan LD 30.

The Arizona 21st Century Competitive Initiative Fund ( 21st Century Fund ) was established by law for the statutory purpose to: 1) build and strengthen medical, scientific and, engineering research programs and infrastructure with an emphasis on bioscience and, 2) actively engage scientific research, academic and medical institutions.

The fund is administered by the Commerce and Economic Development Commission of the Arizona Department of Commerce under a Memorandum of Understanding with Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz), a nonprofit corporation.

For those taxpayers who like to know where their tax dollars went: so far they has traveled from the general fund; to the Arizona Department of Commerce under the watchful eye of the Commerce and Economic Development Commission; and then to a nonprofit corporation in the private sector, Science Foundations Arizona.

So what is Science Foundation Arizona? It is a 501 (C) (3) nonprofit corporation formed in 2006 by: Greater Phoenix Leadership Inc., The Southern Arizona Leadership Council and, a group called the Flagstaff 40. In other words, it was formed by some people who think they are somehow elite and own Arizona. They want to use your tax dollars to build and strengthen scientific, medical and engineering research programs to help make Arizona competitive in a global economy. The excuse use to be that your tax dollars were given to the private sector by government because it was, "for the children," now it's, "to make Arizona competitive in a global economy."

The Arizona Legislature and Governor Jan Brewer were forced to cut the Arizona budget by $1.6 billion, including major cuts in education, Department of Corrections, transportation, and across the board cuts for legitimate government functions performed by other state agencies.

The economy is in decline and therefore revenue to the state has been drastically reduced and the state must watch every penny of taxpayer money in order to provide essential governmental services to the people of Arizona, this is not the time to waste tax dollars on nonessential items like the 21st Century Fund. Making Arizona competitive in a global economy may be a worthy goal for the private and public sector, but it shouldn't be funded with your tax dollars. Every citizen is free and encouraged to donate to any charity or non profit they wish to, but government funds are the people's money, it is taken out of the pockets of the people by the force of law and should be used, as Lincoln said, to do those things the people can't do for themselves.

Becky Blackburn, a spokesperson for Speaker Adams, said of Sam Crump, "He was chairman of a key committee and he put his personal interest ahead of those of the caucus." I'm assuming Ms Blackburn is referring to the Republican Caucus, the one that stands for less government and less taxation. Sam Crump happens to be my representative and I was under the impression he works for me and not for the caucus, not for Kirk Adams and, certainly not for some elites who think they can use the people's money for whatever they wish.

The American Conservative Republican agrees with Sam Crump when he said, "I don't want to say we took $120 million out of K-12 education and gave $22 million to the Century Fund."

We salute; the Honorable Frank Antenori, the Honorable Sam Crump, the Honorable David Gowan, the Honorable Steve Montenegro, the Honorable Carl Seel, the Honorable David Stevens and every member of the Arizona legislature who showed the political courage to do what is in the people's best interest when under great pressure to do otherwise, they put country before party and principle before politics, they are all American Conservative Republicans.