Giffords: STRIVE needs touchback provision to pass
by Claudine Lomonaco on Apr. 05, 2007, under Edge, LocalMembers of the business community gathered Wednesday to discuss details of recently proposed immigration reform legislation with U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who co-sponsored the bill.
The “Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy” – or STRIVE Act – is a 700-page bill that would create a guest-worker program, increase border security and interior enforcement and set millions of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
Giffords said all three components are needed.
“If we crack down on the enforcement and don’t have a pressure valve to deal with the economic realities of southern Arizona, the State of Arizona, and our country . . . we’re going to have an even larger crisis on our hands,” Giffords said.
Tomás León, president of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, expressed concern over the “touchback” component of the bill, which would require illegal immigrants in the United States to leave the country in order to apply for legal status.
Giffords said that provision was a concession to conservative members of Congress, and said that it likely would not pass without it.
León was reassured that the bill would require only heads of family to make the journey, sparing children, and possibly both parents, from having to leave, and would give illegal immigrants six years to fulfill the requirement.
Dave Sitton of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council said he was concerned that legislators are only addressing the problem on the U.S. side and not putting pressure on Mexico to stop the need for immigration.
Several attendees expressed concern about future measures the state Legislature might take if the federal government fails to act.
Nan Walden of Green Valley Pecan Co. said she was worried about recent attempts by legislators to place what she called a “draconian” initiative on the November ballot that would levy severe penalties for employers that hire illegal immigrants. “The time to act is now,” Walden said.
The STRIVE Act includes elements of the DREAM Act, which would make it easier for children brought to this country illegally to attend college and become citizens.
Former UA President Peter Likins, who attended the forum, asked Giffords what impact the bill would have for Arizona’s Proposition 300 or what he called “other evil things” coming out of the state Legislature.
Giffords said the bill would override Proposition 300, which charges students in the country illegally out-of-state tuition fees.
Sheridan Bailey, a steel manufacturer from Phoenix and co-founder of Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform, praised the efforts of Giffords and other legislatures to reform what he called “bad law,” and look after the long-term interests of the country.
