Group forms to fight immigrant-law push

Execs, ministers join to target local efforts

— Executives of some of Arkansas' largest corporations joined with church representatives Monday to announce the formation of an organization to lobby against "punitive" state and local laws they say target immigrants regardless of legal status.

The Arkansas Friendship Coalition aims to discourage local and state government from tackling immigration laws and to encourage "reasonable and respectful" debate, said the Rev. Steve Copley of Little Rock, a United Methodist minister who is the new group's chairman.

Members include executives from meat producer Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale, investment firm Stephens Inc. of Little Rock and wireless communications company Alltel Corp. of Little Rock, as well as ministers and civic leaders.

"Most faith traditions have a lot to say about a stranger in our midst and how we treat them and that we should treat them fairly," Copley said at a news conference in Springdale.

The group is in agreement that state tax money should not be "wasted to fix a problem" that ultimately is the federal government's to solve.

"State and local governments have no role in trying to solve an issue that the federal government should clear up," Copley said.

That statement led lawmakers who've pushed for statelevel immigration legislation to question the motives of those behind the coalition.

"I can't help but wonder and ask myself if this isn't an organization that's about protecting illegal immigrants," state Rep. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, said in an interview.

Press releases from the new group didn't use the word "illegal." The group focuses on "immigrants" in general.

"We don't presume that people are criminals in America," Court of Appeals Judge Wendell Griffen, a coalition member, said during a news conference in Little Rock.

Proposed legislation being talked about in Arkansas has focused on preventing state dollars from supporting illegal aliens, not legal immigrants.

"Any legislation that targets any group of immigrants in effect begins to target all of them," Copley said.

"Everyone gets lumped together," said Rita Sklar, executive director of the Arkansas ACLU and a coalition member.

She added that the term "illegal" is used by people with an "anti-immigrant perspective."

Woods said most Americans seem to agree that the federal government isn't doing enough to enforce immigration laws and that states must step in. Several of Arkansas' neighboring states have taken steps to tighten enforcement of immigration rules.

When immigration legislation failed this year at the federal level, Copley and others who later became part of the coalition were concerned that Arkansas would follow Oklahoma, Georgia and other states in passing their own versions of immigration restrictions.

This is not Copley's first time to take a lead on an issue. He played a large role last year in urging support for a minimumwage increase in Arkansas. He's also campaigned against payday lenders. He said he likely would be the lead lobbyist for the new group.

Rep. Rick Green, R-Van Buren, who with Woods led a recent study of illegal immigration's effect on state government, argued in an interview Monday that the state has a role in dealing with illegal immigration.

"Certainly the state has a right to set guidelines for business, and one of those areas could be the types of employees they hire," Green said. "I agree that it should be handled at the federal level, but the bottom line is it hasn't been."

Copley said that from a moral perspective, he doesn't differentiate between those who are in this country legally and thosehere illegally.

"Part of our concern is for those who are undocumented, that they are also treated with respect and dignity and fairness, and one of our concerns is any state and local law that might do otherwise," he said.

Archie Schaffer III, a Tysonvice president, said that doesn't mean anyone is in favor of illegal activity. He said Tyson Foods joined the coalition because of its strong stance in favor of a federal immigration overhaul.

Along with other major employers, the company is limited by the tools available to make sure workers have proper documents, he said. That's why federal changes are necessary, he added.

Randy Wilbourn, vice president of communications at Alltel, said his wife told him the immigration debate is "all about cilantro," an herb used in some Mexican dishes, and that Arkansas has enjoyed the "wonderful influence" of new food in recent years.

He said the business community wanted a "fair and equal" approach to immigration. He said it's possible that some working for Alltel could be illegal, given the thousands of employees it has. He said the company has customers from all backgrounds.

Coalition member Stacy Sells of Little Rock, a public relations consultant at Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, said her firm, employs "several Hispanics," including one "working on his documentation. This particular person is a major contributor to our corporation. If he had to leave for three months and go back that destructs our work, it destructs his life."

Members of the coalition said they'd caution local governments that want to train their police forces to enforce immigration law, as several Northwest Arkansas law enforcement agencies have done. Copley said it should be done with "a greatsense of fairness."

Alan Leveritt, publisher of Arkansas Times and El Latino and a founding member of the coalition, said he doesn't think it'spossible to administer such a program fairly.

"If you are a Latino person, do you really want to drive through the city of Rogers with a taillight out?" Leveritt said.

He pointed out that Rogers Mayor Steve Womack said that probable cause for asking for a person's documents in Rogers could be the person speaking English poorly.

"That could apply to a lot of people in Arkansas," Leveritt said. "But I'm sure in Rogers it'll be only Latinos."

Womack didn't return telephone messages seeking comment.

Copley cited findings by this year's Urban Institute study, funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, reporting that Arkansas enjoys a net benefit to the economy and tax base from the legal and illegal alien population.

Green and others argue that Arkansas will become a haven for illegal aliens if the state doesn't pass laws similar to those passed in neighboring states.

Schaffer said he believes those laws in other states will be declared unconstitutional.

Oklahoma's law restricts state issuance of identification and benefits and aims to crack down on harboring and hiring illegal aliens, among other things. It's the subject of a federal lawsuit that attempts to keep it from taking effect on Thursday.

"We hope people will listen and not pass things at the state level that are going to cost state and local governments a lot of money in attorneys' fees," Schaffer said.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has said his state can't wait for the federal government to act and has called on Missouri law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of immigrants the officers encounter.

Arkansas State Police Director Col. Winford Phillips is looking to do the same bytraining troopers to enforce federal immigration law. The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office hadn't responded to the request as of last week.

Copley said those with the coalition agree that Congress has to address the problem. He said if the federal government more strongly enforced immigration laws, his group would stay out of that debate because its members are focused only on state and local legislation.

Green said illegal aliens who come to Arkansas are willing to work for lower wages because they are illegal aliens.

"Is that treating them with respect as human beings?" Green asked. "Are businesses taking advantage of illegals here and paying them substandard wages?"

Woods said big business benefits from an illegal-alien work force.

"Our immigrant community is paid exactly the same as other people doing the same jobs, and they have the same taxes withheld from their paychecks," Schaffer said.

"Those arguments just don't hold water."

The state's largest private employer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is not listed as a member of the coalition.

"We have had discussions with members of the Arkansas Friendship Coalition but we have not made any decisions about participation," said Laurie Smalling, a Wal-Mart spokesman.

Tyson and Alltel are two of the state's largest employers, with about 22,000 and 3,000 Arkansas workers, respectively.

Front Section, Pages 1, 2 on 10/30/2007

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