Proposed guest worker program hits snag

Efforts to enact the first-ever state-run guest worker program hit a snag Monday over the question of which industries should be able to benefit. Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said he is willing to back legislation by two southeast Arizona legislators to allow foreign nationals to come into the state to fill certain jobs.

Pearce also said that Sen. Marsha Arzberger, D-Willcox, and Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, have included some safeguards to prevent these temporary workers from becoming permanent U.S. residents or getting taxpayer-subsidized services.

But Pearce said that unless two provisions are changed, he will lead the charge to kill the plan.

Pearce's opposition could prove fatal: He is not only the author of the state's new employer sanctions law but also has been able to marshal votes in the Republican-controlled Legislature to gain approval for various other immigration and border security measures.

Arzberger and Konopnicki filed a new version of their measure Monday in hopes of finding a politically acceptable state solution to what they say is a shortage of workers in certain industries. Efforts to expand federal work visa programs have gone nowhere in Congress.

The main hang-up, though, is how broad to make the plan.

Pearce wants the program limited to agriculture. He said that is the area of the economy most in need of foreigners.

Arzberger, the Senate minority leader, said that restriction is unacceptable. She said there are other industries that are unable to fill certain jobs with legal U.S. workers.

"We've got small businesses that are in danger of leaving the state," she said. "We've got other industries that need these workers."

"It's just not true," Pearce responded. He said if U.S. companies "pay the right wages they will get the right workers."

"I can't support importing workers when we're having Americans laid off," he said. Pearce cited the construction industry in particular.

The latest figures from the state Department of Commerce show another 1,900 jobs were lost between January and February. And the 203,900 people working in construction in February is 30,500 less than two years earlier.

He said the "free market economy" should be allowed to work, with the value of labor based on what it takes for companies to attract qualified people.

Arzberger, however, said a company can't qualify to import foreign workers solely based on an unwillingness to pay more.