Earlier Arizona Bills

By T.J. Woodard

When I wrote the report on Less Well Known Legislation from Arizona I focused on this year's legislative session. But one reader made an excellent comment about a bill that penalized employers who hired illegal aliens to work in their businesses.

Arizona already did this. The bill was called the Legal Arizona Workers Act. The bill entailed provisions that prohibit knowingly or intentionally hiring an illegal alien. It also provides for penalties for businesses that violate the law. The first offense permits up to a 10 day suspension of the business' license and three years probation. A subsequent offense can cause the business to lose its license permanently.

With typical Mexican government hypocrisy, several Mexican legislators came to Arizona to complain. The complaint? "We won't be able to have all the resources to help in case the amount of people are too many people," said Florencio Diaz Armenta. The Mexican government was concerned about a mass return of Mexican nationals.

The most amazing part of this story: the bill was signed by then Governor Janet Napolitano in 2007.

TJ Woodard is a retired US Army officer who lives less than 10 miles from the Mexican border.