America's Voice

ENFORCEMENT PLUS. Bee was a co-sponsor of Arizona’s landmark employer sanctions bill that took effect in 2008. Although his campaign website lists no immigration position, news reports suggest that he is inclined to support piecemeal legislation rather than the comprehensive overhaul that Giffords advocates. While Bee supports stronger enforcement in the workplace and at the border, he also supports a guest worker program to relieve some of the pressure caused by illegal immigration, “so we can focus on the criminal traffic that is coming across the border.” This is in clear contrast to former Republican candidate Graf’s staunch enforcement-only posture. When it comes to dealing with the 12 million undocumented workers in the country, Bee says that “illegal immigrants should have to return to their country of origin in order to apply for citizenship,” illustrating one of the key policy differences between him and Giffords, who supports requiring undocumented workers to obtain legal status from within the United States if they pay fines and clear additional hurdles. [Arizona Daily Star, 8/11/08]