Backers claim Az immigration law not being enforced

The Associated Press

Published: 03.03.2008

PHOENIX — Backers of an Arizona law that denied public benefits to illegal immigrants asked a court Monday to declare that the law applies to a wider range of benefits than the standard now used by the state.

After voters approved Proposition 200 in 2004, Gov. Janet Napolitano ordered state agencies to enforce the law as outlined in an opinion by the state attorney general's office.

That office said the benefit restrictions applied to only a handful of welfare programs.

Randy Pullen, a top proponent of the law and chairman of the Republican Party in Arizona, said the law applies to a wider range of benefits.

Pullen also said state agencies weren't enforcing the law, though he offered no proof to back up the allegation.