- Feb 15, 2006
- 3,244
- 274
My fellow co-workers , it is with the greatest displeasure that I must inform you that our companies management has lost it’s nerve , not to mention it’s good sense and taken a political position that over 75 % of Americans disagree with ..
This letter was sent to my state’s senate ….
Chamber of Commerce
Senator Russell Pearce, Senate President
Arizona State Senate
1700 W Washington, Room S-205
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Dear President Pearce,
Thank you for your willingness to serve Arizona as a Member of the Arizona State Senate. We, like you, are concerned about the challenges facing our State, particularly the need to address our structural deficit and insure an economic environment that attracts and retains high quality jobs.
While we recognize the desire for states like Arizona to fill the leadership vacuum left by federal inaction on immigration, we strongly believe it is unwise for the Legislature to pass any additional immigration legislation, including any measures leaving the determination of citizenship to the state.
We agree with you that our borders must be protected first, and now. We also believe that market-driven immigration policies can and should be developed by the federal government that will sustain America’s status as a magnet for the world’s most talented and hard-working people and preserve our ability to compete in the global economy.
If the Legislature believes it is worthwhile to debate the question of citizenship, we believe that debate is best held in the U.S. Congress. Already, Senators David Vitter of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky have introduced legislation aimed at amending the 14th Amendment to deny “birthright citizenship” to those born to individuals living in the U.S. illegally. Iowa Rep. Steve King has introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House.
Arizona’s lawmakers and citizens are right to be concerned about illegal immigration. But we must acknowledge that when Arizona goes it alone on this issue, unintended consequences inevitably occur. Last year, boycotts were called against our state’s business community, adversely impacting our already-struggling economy and costing us jobs. Arizona-based businesses saw contracts cancelled or were turned away from bidding. Sales outside of the state declined. Even a business which merely had “Arizona” in its name felt the effects of the boycotts, compelling them to launch an educational campaign about their company’s roots in Brooklyn. It is an undeniable fact that each of our companies and our employees were impacted by the boycotts and the coincident negative image.
Tourism, one of our state’s largest industries and employment centers, also suffered from negative perceptions after the passage of SB 1070. The fact Governor Brewer directed $250,000 to repairing Arizona’s reputation strongly suggests these efforts – whether fair or unfair - are harmful to our image.
Let us be clear: our dissension with legislative action on the state level does not translate to our being “pro-illegal immigration.” To the contrary, we believe Congress must address border security, identity theft, sound and implementable employment verification systems and policies and the creation of a meaningful guest worker program. Therefore, we urge the Legislature to redirect its energy by joining us in pressing the federal government for meaningful immigration reform. Together, we can get results.
Respectfully,
The letter goes on to name the CEO’s who have signed off on this letter , Doug Parker is among them ..
To those of you not familiar with the political situation in the state , we are battling illegal immigration with everything we’ve got .. Hundreds of thousands of people are flooding in each and every year taking jobs , committing crimes , over burdening our schools , jails and putting strains on our health care system so severe that many of our border hospitals have simply gone out of business …
Our state is doing everything it possibly can in the face of complete and utter federal inaction … is it unfortunate that my state representatives have had to take matters into their own hands and passed some of the most stringent anti illegal immigration laws in the country ? It sure is ,… but the reality is that no one else is doing ANYTHING … meanwhile millions of Americans are unemployed while millions of undocumented workers continue to pull down paychecks …. to illustrate my point I want all of you to read this article about illegal immigrants caught at several local pei way restaurants ..
pei way closed due to lack of workers
After the raids , over 120 jobs were freed for AMERICAN citizens to support themselves ….
I think Mr Parker that you do not understand what it’s like to live in a world where not everyone makes a million dollars a year and their children don’t have to even CONSIDER working at a restaurant or fast food location .. I bet your not even aware that teenage unemployment is at it’s highest levels since record keeping began …
I am an AMERICAN CITIZEN , and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that OUR PEOPLE can find employment in AMERICA , AMERICAN’S come first ….
While our company requires stringent background checks due to our Federal nature ( FAA etc ) many of the other companies on that list do not … I wonder how many of them are employing illegal immigrants at this very moment ..
There WILL be more boycotts Mr Parker , the entrenched interests in the opposition are not just going to leave our country because we have asked nicely …. They will scream racism , they will scream injustice , they will demand boycotts , they will do whatever it takes in order to continue to hold down jobs that belong to Americans , and consume resources that could be better spent taking care of citizens ..
You are of course the leader of this company , at the end of the day YOU get to make the calls on which direction we go in … but even though I am one person , I am one person among many and I will not forsake my country in it’s hour of need …
This letter was sent to my state’s senate ….
Chamber of Commerce
Senator Russell Pearce, Senate President
Arizona State Senate
1700 W Washington, Room S-205
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Dear President Pearce,
Thank you for your willingness to serve Arizona as a Member of the Arizona State Senate. We, like you, are concerned about the challenges facing our State, particularly the need to address our structural deficit and insure an economic environment that attracts and retains high quality jobs.
While we recognize the desire for states like Arizona to fill the leadership vacuum left by federal inaction on immigration, we strongly believe it is unwise for the Legislature to pass any additional immigration legislation, including any measures leaving the determination of citizenship to the state.
We agree with you that our borders must be protected first, and now. We also believe that market-driven immigration policies can and should be developed by the federal government that will sustain America’s status as a magnet for the world’s most talented and hard-working people and preserve our ability to compete in the global economy.
If the Legislature believes it is worthwhile to debate the question of citizenship, we believe that debate is best held in the U.S. Congress. Already, Senators David Vitter of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky have introduced legislation aimed at amending the 14th Amendment to deny “birthright citizenship” to those born to individuals living in the U.S. illegally. Iowa Rep. Steve King has introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House.
Arizona’s lawmakers and citizens are right to be concerned about illegal immigration. But we must acknowledge that when Arizona goes it alone on this issue, unintended consequences inevitably occur. Last year, boycotts were called against our state’s business community, adversely impacting our already-struggling economy and costing us jobs. Arizona-based businesses saw contracts cancelled or were turned away from bidding. Sales outside of the state declined. Even a business which merely had “Arizona” in its name felt the effects of the boycotts, compelling them to launch an educational campaign about their company’s roots in Brooklyn. It is an undeniable fact that each of our companies and our employees were impacted by the boycotts and the coincident negative image.
Tourism, one of our state’s largest industries and employment centers, also suffered from negative perceptions after the passage of SB 1070. The fact Governor Brewer directed $250,000 to repairing Arizona’s reputation strongly suggests these efforts – whether fair or unfair - are harmful to our image.
Let us be clear: our dissension with legislative action on the state level does not translate to our being “pro-illegal immigration.” To the contrary, we believe Congress must address border security, identity theft, sound and implementable employment verification systems and policies and the creation of a meaningful guest worker program. Therefore, we urge the Legislature to redirect its energy by joining us in pressing the federal government for meaningful immigration reform. Together, we can get results.
Respectfully,
The letter goes on to name the CEO’s who have signed off on this letter , Doug Parker is among them ..
To those of you not familiar with the political situation in the state , we are battling illegal immigration with everything we’ve got .. Hundreds of thousands of people are flooding in each and every year taking jobs , committing crimes , over burdening our schools , jails and putting strains on our health care system so severe that many of our border hospitals have simply gone out of business …
Our state is doing everything it possibly can in the face of complete and utter federal inaction … is it unfortunate that my state representatives have had to take matters into their own hands and passed some of the most stringent anti illegal immigration laws in the country ? It sure is ,… but the reality is that no one else is doing ANYTHING … meanwhile millions of Americans are unemployed while millions of undocumented workers continue to pull down paychecks …. to illustrate my point I want all of you to read this article about illegal immigrants caught at several local pei way restaurants ..
pei way closed due to lack of workers
After the raids , over 120 jobs were freed for AMERICAN citizens to support themselves ….
I think Mr Parker that you do not understand what it’s like to live in a world where not everyone makes a million dollars a year and their children don’t have to even CONSIDER working at a restaurant or fast food location .. I bet your not even aware that teenage unemployment is at it’s highest levels since record keeping began …
I am an AMERICAN CITIZEN , and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that OUR PEOPLE can find employment in AMERICA , AMERICAN’S come first ….
While our company requires stringent background checks due to our Federal nature ( FAA etc ) many of the other companies on that list do not … I wonder how many of them are employing illegal immigrants at this very moment ..
There WILL be more boycotts Mr Parker , the entrenched interests in the opposition are not just going to leave our country because we have asked nicely …. They will scream racism , they will scream injustice , they will demand boycotts , they will do whatever it takes in order to continue to hold down jobs that belong to Americans , and consume resources that could be better spent taking care of citizens ..
You are of course the leader of this company , at the end of the day YOU get to make the calls on which direction we go in … but even though I am one person , I am one person among many and I will not forsake my country in it’s hour of need …
