PHOENIX (Arizona Republic) February 23,
2004 - A state lawmaker wants to stop cities from spending money on day
labor centers like the one in Phoenix, near 25th Street and Bell Road. Too
bad the law introduced by Rep. Collette Rosati, R-Scottsdale, would do no
such thing.
House Bill 2592 would ban a city, town or country from creating a work center that would "facilitate the hiring of illegal aliens."
If a government-sponsored center did facilitate the hiring of people here illegally, it would be a crime. It could constitute aiding and abetting criminal activity.
So it's good that the Phoenix center does not "facilitate the hiring of illegal aliens."
It facilitates the hiring of workers for menial jobs, who otherwise would be along Bell Road creating traffic hazards.
The center does not ask these workers whether they are here illegally. Neither do the people who pick them up.
Let's not kid ourselves. Most all of those waiting at the center are here illegally. If they were here legally, they could get much better jobs with much less effort.
But the center does not discriminate. You don't need to be here legally to stand there. You just need to be willing to lay tile, tar a roof or plant a tree.
So, if Rosati's law passes, other cities and towns could create a center by simply modeling it after the one in Phoenix.
House Bill 2592 would ban a city, town or country from creating a work center that would "facilitate the hiring of illegal aliens."
If a government-sponsored center did facilitate the hiring of people here illegally, it would be a crime. It could constitute aiding and abetting criminal activity.
So it's good that the Phoenix center does not "facilitate the hiring of illegal aliens."
It facilitates the hiring of workers for menial jobs, who otherwise would be along Bell Road creating traffic hazards.
The center does not ask these workers whether they are here illegally. Neither do the people who pick them up.
Let's not kid ourselves. Most all of those waiting at the center are here illegally. If they were here legally, they could get much better jobs with much less effort.
But the center does not discriminate. You don't need to be here legally to stand there. You just need to be willing to lay tile, tar a roof or plant a tree.
So, if Rosati's law passes, other cities and towns could create a center by simply modeling it after the one in Phoenix.
