Immigration measures move ahead at Capitol

Mary Jo Pitzl
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 19, 2008 12:00 AM

Arizona's conflicted views on immigration surfaced Monday at the state Capitol, as a bill that would create a guest-worker program and another that would make it harder for day laborers to solicit work both won approval in their first outing.

It's the first round of immigration-related bills to be debated by lawmakers. A third measure, which would add illegal immigrants to the list of groups prohibited from carrying a gun in Arizona, died on a tie vote that broke along party lines.

For the second year in a row, Rep. John Kavanagh is pushing a bill that would allow police to cite people for criminal trespass if they are found to be actively soliciting work and disrupting traffic to do so.

It's an attempt to break up the huddles of day laborers who seek work by standing on sidewalks at busy intersections. The practice has been typified by last year's standoffs in front of Pruitts Furniture Store in Phoenix, as people seeking day-labor jobs blocked the entrances to the business and spurred counterprotests.