Arizona Immigration Law Not Being Enforced
By micro99 at 29 December, 2008, 12:18 pm
An Arizona law punishing businesses that hire illegal immigrants has yet to be enforced on any of the state’s businesses almost a year after it took effect. But state officials say this isn’t because companies are following the law - it’s because it’s too difficult to enforce.
Earlier this year 159 workers were arrested when raids on 12 businesses found illegal workers.
But many of the companies are refusing to talk to investigators or turn over hiring records, making it difficult for prosecutors to enforce the law according to the Arizona Republic.
And while some like Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas are asking legislators to change the law to allow him to subpoena the companies, other say the law was never intended to be enforced on large companies.
“The bottom line is that the county attorney is not equipped to deal with these cases, so it’s easier to pick on the little aliens,” Arizona defense attorney Robert McWhirter told the Arizona Republic. “And at the end of the day, it’s the employers who have the power to contribute to political campaigns.”
Arizona has one of the largest illegal alien populations in the United States. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports that it deported 72,955 illegals from the state between October 2007 and September 2008 - an increase from 44,376 the year before.
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