Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/14232
4A – Daily News – Tuesday, August 3, 2010 Arizona was once tolerant of illegal immigrants, what happened? PHOENIX (MCT) —Arizona has made a name for itself as the state with the harshest policies against illegal immigration. But as recently as six years ago, this border state was among the nation's most welcoming of ille- gal immigrants. Back then, its two Republican U.S. senators and one of its con- gressmen were among the strongest advocates of legalizing millions of illegal residents in the country. Mexico was the state's largest trading partner, and the governor boasted of her warm relationships with counterparts across the border. Both political parties courted the Latino vote. Now the state government is fighting an order by a federal judge who last week stayed key parts of a law, SB 1070, designed to drive illegal immigrants from Arizona. How did things change so quickly? "The perfect storm occurred," said Mesa Mayor Scott Smith. "There was a combination of demographic changes, the intro- duction of a criminal element that didn't used to be here and the drop in the economy, which has put everyone on edge." Now just about every promi- nent Republican here, including Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain, backs SB 1070 and opposes legal- ization for illegal immigrants. Mexican governors refuse to set foot on Arizona soil. SB 1070 author Russell Pearce, a lawmak- er formerly dismissed by many as an extremist, is poised to become president of the state Senate. "The anger is palpable and measurable by candidates for tuition, made English the official language and dissolved any busi- ness that repeatedly hired illegal immigrants. At the same time, the Republi- can Party in Arizona has moved to the right on all sorts of issues. Susan Gerard, a former GOP state senator who also worked for for- mer Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, was one of more than a dozen Republican moderates in the Legislature at the start of the decade. Now, she said, there are none. "The Republican Party in Ari- zona, and really throughout the country, has taken giant leaps to the right," Gerard said. MCT photo Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer takes questions from members of the news media outside the West Wing at the White House after meeting with President Barack Obama June 3. office," said Stan Barnes, a former Republican state senator and vet- eran lobbyist. "Anyone who wants to hold elected office here will first be questioned on it." The state captured the national spotlight in April, when Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, signed the law, which requires police to determine the status of anyone they lawfully stop and also sus- pect is an illegal immigrant. The law also made it a state crime to lack immigration papers. Brewer said it was necessary to protect residents against drug cartels that smuggle immigrants across Arizona's southern border. Civil rights groups alleged the law would lead to wide-scale racial profiling. SB 1070 polls well in Arizona, winning approval ratings between 55 percent and 70 percent. It has garnered majority support in national polls too, and legislators in more than 20 states have vowed to introduce versions. But SB 1070 wasn't Arizona's first legislative assault on illegal immigration. Since 2004, Ari- zona legislators have passed mea- sures that restricted illegal immi- grants from receiving in-state About 8 percent of Arizona's population is made up of illegal immigrants, nearly all from Mex- ico, according to the Pew Hispan- ic Center. (Thirty percent of state residents are Latino.) Though the growth of that population has slowed somewhat in the last few years, the center estimates that about 500,000 illegal immigrants live in the state, up from about 90,000 in 1990. The population increased after the federal government stepped up enforcement along the Califor- nia border, slowing illegal cross- ings with more agents and a mas- sive fence. That pushed traffic east — to the mountains and deserts of Ari- zona. The boom in construction in Arizona also brought illegal immigrants, changing the makeup of cities and creating unease among longtime residents. There is also widespread fear of crime coming to the state from Mexico, especially as a drug war rages to the south. Arizona has actually become safer since the late 1990s, when illegal immi- grants started streaming in. Phoenix is one of the safest cities in the nation, and crime has not increased along the border either. Still, there has been a series of unnerving incidents not reflected in the statistics — gun battles between drug cartels on the inter- states, "drop houses" in Phoenix where traffickers hold illegal immigrants for ransom and, in March, the slaying of rancher Robert Krentz on his property in southern Arizona. Footprints from the scene led across the bor- der to Mexico. The smuggling-related inci- dents coincided with an econom- ic decline that fueled anger among native-born Arizonans. "Historically, illegal immigration always comes up as an issue when the economy starts to tank," said Lisa Magana, a political sci- ence professor at Arizona State University. But one factor influencing the state in profound ways was Presi- dent Barack Obama's decision to name Napolitano his secretary of Homeland Security. Barnes, the Republican lobby- ist, said the popular Democratic governor had "a dampening effect on activism on illegal immigra- tion issues." But in January 2009, Brewer, who had been secretary of state, succeeded Napolitano. "If Janet Napolitano were still governor, 1070 would not be law," Barnes said. "Because she's not governor and Jan Brewer is governor, 1070 is law, and now the earthquake is being felt nationwide and worldwide." For McCain, immigration dominates on campaign trail GLENDALE, Ariz. (MCT) — Sen. John McCain hasn't always talked tough on immigra- tion. That haunted his pres- idential ambitions, and now his political survival hinges on whether he can show that conversion is genuine. It hasn't been easy. Boy- cotts, vigils and a legal fight over the state's attempted crackdown on illegal immi- grants have kept voters attuned to each nuance in his run for re-election. "Since 2007, I've said we have to secure the bor- der first. I said it in 2008 and 2009 and 2010," McCain told 120 people at a town hall in suburban Phoenix. Leaning against the back wall at the recreation cen- ter, Roseanne Damato, 69, was fuming. Each time he mentioned immigration, she heckled under her breath or shook her head. "We all know what a hero he was," she said qui- etly, adding that she wishes he'd won the White House two years ago. But now? "If he's for amnesty I'm not going to vote for him." He had already insisted that he rejects any sort of amnesty. "He says he's not. But he's said that before," she said. Even many supporters worry that McCain's com- mitment to border security first, guest workers second, is soft. The stakes rose Wednesday when a federal judge halted enforcement of a state law targeting ille- gal immigrants. The issue has dominated the campaign ahead of the Aug. 24 primary. McCain supports the law and tries to deflect critics by pre-emp- tively talking about immi- gration and the border. "Our ranchers and citi- Always a Realtor on call! Homes • Mountain Cabins Commercial • Land Ag • Ranch 530 529-4111 658 Rio St., Red Bluff www.UCAREA.net EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY DRE # 01174300 zens are afraid to leave their homes. They're afraid to leave their children at the bus stop," he told the crowd in Glendale. He revs up voters by describing a recent mass murder a few miles into Mexico, south of Nogales, Ariz., and an attack across from El Paso, Texas, in Ciudad Juarez, where thugs set off a car bomb when officers came to investigate. "This is Baghdad stuff," McCain said, arguing that Mexico's escalating drug violence poses a security threat that rules out a new guest worker program. After struggling initially amid the national anti- incumbent mood, McCain has opened a comfortable lead against J.D. Hayworth, a conservative former con- gressman and talk show host. He has outspent his rival 10-1, pouring $17 mil- lion into the race. Over 90 minutes two weekends ago in Glendale, and at similar events around Phoenix and Tucson, McCain also talked also about the economy and for- eign policy, but voters kept returning him to immigra- tion, peppering him with questions about his stance and its evolution. "Illegal is illegal," insist- ed one woman, prompting McCain to gently note that in 1986, even the iconic Ronald Reagan signed an amnesty law. 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Edward Kennedy on immigration reform, and a clip of Obama saying: "I stood with Ted Kennedy and John McCain and took on this tough issue." At a Hayworth event in Mesa, Richard Holz and his wife made up their minds long ago. "We know John McCain's history very well," said Holz, 65, who ran a Tempe hotel until the economy failed. "McCain would give amnesty. He wanted to give Social Secu- rity benefits to illegals." McCain declined inter- view requests, and ignored a reporter's question about voter doubts. Many supporters laud his evolution on the issue. In Tucson, after an hour- long town hall at a resort hotel, trial attorney Eric Thomson said that in 2000, he wrote the senator — twice — to complain about his push for a comprehen- sive overhaul. "I told him to build a fence and drop Ted Kennedy," said Thomson, 52, holding a McCain yard sign. "His position now is in step with most of Ari- zona. ... He's a man of integrity and when he tells you he'll do something, he'll do it." 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