Arizona employers group applauds Senate immigration reform compromise

The following statement was issued Tuesday, May 22, 2007 by Sheridan Bailey, president and co-founder of Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform:

“Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform is very encouraged by the remarkable progress gained last week in the U.S. Senate toward reform of our nation’s broken immigration system.  The bipartisan compromise agreement envisioned in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348) addresses the four principle areas that AZEIR believes are crucial to effective reform: enhanced border security; a new employment verification system; a viable temporary guest worker program; and, the settling of the legal status of the 12 million undocumented already in the country.” 

“‘The devil is in the details,’ as the saying goes.  The Senate compromise is not perfect and the nature of compromise is that not everyone will be happy with all provisions.  However, Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform agrees that a standard of perfection should not be used to attack a good compromise.  In the spirit of good faith negotiations to date, AZEIR supports the compromise and will encourage our members and all Arizonans to support this process.”

“Though we may not be in agreement with all provisions and will continue to voice our ideas on how to improve the bill as it moves through the legislative process, we applaud the senators and cabinet members who negotiated in good faith to find fair and reasonable solutions to the many problems posed by our failed immigration system.”

“Arizona Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain deserve special thanks for the constructive roles they played in finding solutions to the immigration crisis.  We encourage all employers to contact the offices of Sen. Kyl and Sen. McCain to express appreciation for their hard work and courage in tackling this issue for the benefit of Arizona and the entire nation.  We also encourage Arizona employers to communicate the urgency of our need for comprehensive immigration reform this year to Arizona members of the U.S. House of Representatives.”