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Immigration issue enters attorney general's race Thursday, Jul 6, 2006 By Doug Thompson Arkansas News Bureau FAYETTEVILLE - Republican attorney general's candidate Gunner DeLay said Wednesday that as the state's chief legal officer he would sue employers who hire illegal immigrants to recoup the cost of any Medicaid benefits granted to the workers. DeLay also said denying bail to those not legally in this country would be among the measures he would support in a crackdown on illegal immigration. His Democratic opponent, state Rep. Dustin McDaniel of Jonesboro, through his campaign accused DeLay of trying to divert attention from what McDaniel said were the failings of GOP gubernatorial nominee Asa Hutchinson, a former federal Homeland Security Department undersecretary in charge of border security. "That's a pretty weak response to an issue that is first and foremost in voters' minds this year," DeLay said. Hutchinson's campaign also dismissed McDaniel's response as a "weak political attack." DeLay, a former state senator from Fort Smith, outlined his immigration proposals in a news release. He said he would hold employers who knowingly violate U.S. immigration law civilly liable for any public benefits utilized by their illegal employees. He said he would hold accountable employers who supply bogus social security numbers or other documents to employees, or who do not ask for proper documentation at all when they hire someone. "If an illegal employee has utilized Medicaid benefits intended for our citizens, I believe I should be able to recover those monies from the employer responsible for creating that expense to the state," DeLay said. The attorney general's office already has a Medicaid fraud division that could conduct the investigations, and adding the civil litigation authority would require legislative approval, he said. DeLay also advocated an international fugitive database accessible on the Internet, as well as legislation that would make it illegal for a bondsman to provide bail to a criminal defendant known to be an illegal alien who is charged with a felony. Melissa Moody, McDaniel's campaign manager, said DeLay was "just trying to throw a rabbit across the trail so Arkansans don't see how lax Republicans are with regard to illegal immigration." Hutchinson, a former congressman, headed border security as the Bush administration's nominee to the Homeland Security Department. He resigned the post last year to come home to Arkansas to run for governor. "There's a clear contrast between candidates like Asa Hutchinson who are willing to offer substantive proposals for fighting illegal immigration and candidates like Dustin McDaniel ... who have nothing to offer to the debate but weak political attacks," Hutchinson spokesman David Kinkade said. Hutchinson's campaign has often accused Attorney General Mike Beebe, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in the Nov. 7 general election, of offering few specific solutions to the state's problems. "The question I would pose to the Democratic candidates is, what would you do to fight illegal immigration if elected? It seems clear that they have no answer to that question, because that would require leadership," Kinkade said. McDaniel called DeLay's immigration proposals "misguided," and said his biggest concern was creation of the fugitive database. Two databases that the attorney general's office utilizes do precisely what DeLay is proposing, he said. He was referring to the FBI National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, and the database administered by the Arkansas Crime Information Center, or ACIC. DeLay said those databases are available to law enforcement agencies, not to the attorney general's office or the public. He said he proposed a Web site where anyone could access a photograph of the accused fugitive and basic information about the suspect. McDaniel said he voted for legislation last year that became Act 2267 establishing a Class A felony for trafficking of persons, and said he has called for tougher penalties on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. He also said he would support legislation to require all state entities and their contractors to utilize the Basic Pilot Employment Verification Program to verify the employment eligibility of perspective new hires. The program is a free online service offered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Hutchinson has said he supports such a proposal. |
