PARKERSBURG - A candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia said the Obama administration's lawsuit against Arizona's immigration laws underscores a flawed policy against undocumented workers in the United States.
Republican candidate David McKinley, who on Wednesday was in Parkersburg meeting with supporters, said Arizona enacted the legislation because federal authorities are incapable of enforcing "laws already on the books."
"Arizona acted because Washington has been sitting on its hands, turning a blind eye to the laws already on the books," said McKinley, citing the arrest of 11 suspected illegal immigrants after a traffic stop Monday on I-70 near Wheeling. "The people of Arizona stepped forward to fill the void in immigration reform from this White House and Nancy Pelosi on Capitol Hill."
The law which goes into effect on July 29 in Arizona will give local police officers there broader authority to question people they stop about their immigration status. The United States Justice Department on Tuesday filed suit against the law.
McKinley proposes: to secure the border; collect back taxes from illegal workers including the workers who have been deported and not consider the legal status until the taxes are paid, establish a system for non-immigrant work permits in one-year increments and facilitate permanent immigration status for those who are eligible; deport all workers who are ineligible for legal status; effectively enforce immigration laws; require legal immigrants to have a basic understanding of the English language; and clarify the interpretation of the 14th amendment as it relates to children of illegal workers who are born in the United States.
McKinley, a Wheeling businessman, is running against state Sen. Michael Oliverio, an insurance agent who defeated the incumbent Democrat Rep. Alan Mollohan in May.
Oliverio said the first step is to secure the border.
"I'm the grandson of Italian immigrants who came to this country through legal channels. I cannot understand why we cannot demand others to do the same," Oliverio said.
"As a state senator, I can also appreciate the legislature of Arizona needing to protect its citizens in the areas that the federal government has failed," he said. "Immigration must be addressed and reformed, but in order to do so, we must secure the border first to stem the tide of illegal immigrants crossing it."
