AZ Immigration Initiatives Fail to Qualify for November Ballot!

Arizona continues to be ground zero in the state regulation of immigration.  The Arizona Republic reports that two voter initiatives designed to toughen Arizona immigration laws will not appear on the November ballot.  The measures each failed to collect the 153,365 petition signatures required to put the proposed measures before voters on Nov. 4.

One initiative, Support Our Law Enforcement, would have required law enforcement officials to inquire about the citizenship status of people they encounter while on the job.

The second initiative, Legal Arizona Workers, would have revoked the business license the first time an employer is caught knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant. The current Fair and Legal Employment Act allow two strikes before businesses lose their license.

The failure of the employer sanctions initiative clears the way for a competing business-friendly measure, which is expected to appear on the fall ballot. The Stop Illegal Hiring initiative, which would provide more protections for businesses while targeting the pay-in-cash labor market and identity theft, submitted signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office on Tuesday.

KJ