Pearce, R rep

color text below==
az sen recalled

==<p class="speakable-p-1 p-text" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px 60px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Russell Pearce, the hard-right conservative who helped write <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2016/03/30/arizona-illegal-immigration-bill-doug-ducey/82384500/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Arizona’s toughest-in-the-nation law to curb illegal immigration</a> years ago, said the U.S. may have to confront a violent chapter to save itself.<p class="speakable-p-2 p-text" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px 60px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Pearce, the former president of the Arizona State Senate, made the remarks during a right-wing rally Monday dubbed “Patriotism Over Socialism.”The rally included speeches by U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Arizona Republican Party chairwoman Kelli Ward, and right-wing activist Laura Loomer, <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/twitter-bans-far-right-activist-laura-loomer" style="text-decoration-line: none;">who was banned from Twitter and for using Uber and Lyft </a>over her anti-Muslim posts. “And it may take the shedding of blood to keep this Republic,” said Pearce, who is employed by the Maricopa County Treasurer. “And I, for one, am willing to do whatever it takes.”It is unclear what Pearce was speaking about leading up to the quote, which was captured on video.He did not immediately respond to an interview request. <div id="module-position-SCqYk45iy2A" class="story-asset oembed-asset" style="background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);"><div class="story-oembed-wrap " style="margin: 0px 0px 15px 50px;"><div class="js-oembed story-oembed story-oembed- story-oembed-type-" data-oembed-type="" data-oembed-provider="" style="display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; clear: both; text-align: center; width: 540px;"><div class="oembed-frame" style="width: 540px; height: 68px; margin: 0px; border: 0px;">Pearce's comments come against the backdrop of a deeply pessimistic electorate and amid the presidency of Donald Trump, who has said he'd like to punch a protester in the face and has labeled reporters "the enemy of the people."<div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div></div></div>American University professor Susan Benesch said comments such as Pearce’s lower the normal barriers to violence that people have.It is difficult to quantitatively measure whether there has been an uptick in this sort of rhetoric, she said.Benesch said incendiary language is linked to the pipe bombs sent to Democrats last year, and the 2018 murders of 11 Jewish people at the Pittsburgh synagogue.“Both of these men were heavily influenced by other people who made violence seem not only acceptable, but necessary or justified because they were invariably describing threats,” she said. Benesch added of Pearce: “By talking this way, he increases the chance that other people will” engage in violence.Groups labeled "extremist" by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors extremist and hate groups, also attended the rally. They included Patriot Movement AZ, which has posed for pictures with Ward during her unsuccessful run for the Senate in 2018 and has disrupted various Democratic events by protesting, waving flags and shouting.Recently, <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2019/01/31/patriot-movement-az-targets-rep-ruben-gallego/2738358002/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Patriot Movement AZ</a> has protested outside of Phoenix-area churches that have agreed to provide temporary housing and humanitarian assistance to large groups of families being released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being apprehended at the border.Pearce, who is employed by the Maricopa County Treasurer, has come under fire for anti-immigrant emails and comments he has made since voters recalled him from office eight years ago. He lashed out against today’s state legislators during his remarks Monday, according to a <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.azfamily.com/news/politics/arizona_politics/pearce-says-blood-may-need-to-be-spilled-to-protect/article_b4480978-6234-11e9-8457-7f3e50ac78d2.html?fbclid=IwAR1xlXGAPJz64_ivXYKdpWd7zNiNpuW1MN0iEChoTT4tvxZWKxkumolo8JU" style="text-decoration-line: none;">video published by azfamily.com</a>.“We have stupid leaders, stupid politicians, and it’s time we start replacing those that refuse to stand up for the values that we have shed blood for,” he said.ROBERTS:  <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2019/04/19/russell-pearce-shedding-blood-fix-america/3522644002/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Pearce says it 'may take the shedding of blood' to fix . Whaaaaat?

His comment provoked a round of laughter.</a>Pearce, best known for his role in passing the state's hard-line immigration law Senate Bill 1070, served as state Senate president before he was removed in a recall election in 2011. <cta-atoms-container-inline style="display: block; margin: 0px 0px 15px 60px; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);"><gannett-atoms-component-newsletter-cta authenticated="false" transparent-message="true" ssts="news/politics/arizona" link-attributes="https://user.azcentral.com/PPHX-GUP/user/attributes/" link-newsletter="https://user.azcentral.com/PPHX-GUP/user/newsletters/" authorized="false" transparent-label="true" link-help="https://help.azcentral.com/" link-profile="https://profile.azcentral.com/newsletters/manage" link-register="https://login.azcentral.com/PPHX-GUP/authenticate?requested-state=create-account&return-url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Farizona%2F2019%2F04%2F19%2Farizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s%2F3521794002%2F&cancel-url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Farizona%2F2019%2F04%2F19%2Farizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s%2F3521794002%2F&success-url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Farizona%2F2019%2F04%2F19%2Farizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s%2F3521794002%2F®_delivery=atoms®_medium=ONSITE®_source=NEWSLTRCTA®_campaign=newsletters" class="hydrated" style="display: block; width: 540px; visibility: inherit;" /></cta-atoms-container-inline>Back in 2014, GOP candidates swiftly distanced themselves from him after he said on his radio show that women on public assistance should be forced to go on birth control. The remarks cost him his position as first vice chairman of the state GOP. A year later, he caught heat for <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2015/11/03/county-treasurer-defends-russell-pearce-over-immigration-e-mails/75099466/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">using his county-issued email </a>to send send immigration-related missives, against the county’s email policies.<div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAMQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFSgAMAF6BAgDEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.57;"><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2017/01/17/roberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year/96690300/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2017/01/17/roberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year/96690300/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjABegQIAxAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2017/01/17/roberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year/96690300/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2017/01/17/roberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year/96690300/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjABegQIAxAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2017/01/17/roberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year/96690300/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2017/01/17/roberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year/96690300/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjABegQIAxAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">Roberts: How can Russell Pearce get by on a mere $233,000 a year?</a></div></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="font-style: normal; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://www.azcentral.com › opinion › op-ed › laurieroberts › 2017/01/17</cite></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 1.57;">Jan 17, 2017 - Last week, I wrote that Russell Pearce was working on a sweet triple dip. ... that the raise would provide a nice boost to his eventual pension in the Arizona State Retirement System. ... 'Champion of the taxpayer' makes $233k.</div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAIQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFSgAMAJ6BAgCEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.57;"><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">Arizona Republican Russell Pearce: 'It may take the shedding of blood ...</a></div></h3><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.57;">
</div>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="font-style: normal; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://www.azcentral.com › story › news › politics › arizona › 2019/04/19</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Russell+K.+Pearce+arizona&oq=Russell+K.+Pearce+arizona+&aqs=chrome..69i57.4231j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b2" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQ7B0wAnoECAIQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQqR8wAnoECAIQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQIDACegQIAhAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 1.57;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQIDACegQIAhAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"></a>Apr 19, 2019 - <a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQIDACegQIAhAF">Russell Pearce, the hard-right conservative who helped write Arizona's toughest-in-the-nation law to curb illegal immigration years ago, said ...</a></div></div></div></div>...Instead, he’s apparently decided to settle for his $157,000 job plus $76,827 from the three government pension plans.  In all, he's collecting $233,827.<p class="p-text" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Not too terribly bad for a guy who used to call himself a champion of the taxpayer.<cta-atoms-container-inline style="display: block; margin: 0px 0px 15px 60px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250); text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><gannett-atoms-component-newsletter-cta authenticated="false" transparent-message="true" ssts="opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts" link-attributes="https://user.azcentral.com/PPHX-GUP/user/attributes/" link-newsletter="https://user.azcentral.com/PPHX-GUP/user/newsletters/" authorized="false" transparent-label="true" link-help="https://help.azcentral.com/" link-profile="https://profile.azcentral.com/newsletters/manage" link-register="https://login.azcentral.com/PPHX-GUP/authenticate?requested-state=create-account&return-url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fopinion%2Fop-ed%2Flaurieroberts%2F2017%2F01%2F17%2Froberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year%2F96690300%2F&cancel-url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fopinion%2Fop-ed%2Flaurieroberts%2F2017%2F01%2F17%2Froberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year%2F96690300%2F&success-url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fopinion%2Fop-ed%2Flaurieroberts%2F2017%2F01%2F17%2Froberts-how-can-russell-pearce-get-mere-233000-year%2F96690300%2F&reg_delivery=atoms&reg_medium=ONSITE&reg_source=NEWSLTRCTA&reg_campaign=newsletters" class="hydrated" style="display: block; width: 540px; visibility: inherit;" /></cta-atoms-container-inline>==<a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQIDACegQIAhAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">

</a><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zFFSjL7UwvcJ:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/19/arizona-republican-russell-pearce-it-may-take-shedding-blood-save-u-s/3521794002/%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjw2eH7kK7kAhUHVK0KHZgrAgcQIDACegQIAhAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Last year, the </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" title="reference on American Legislative Exchange Council" target="self">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC) attracted attention when reporters revealed Arizona's SB1070 anti-immigration law was pre-approved by ALEC corporations that stood to benefit from its passage. As ALEC's legislative and corporate members descend upon Arizona for meetings this week, <a href="http://site.pfaw.org/pdf/ALEC-IN-ARIZONA.pdf" title="reference on a new report" target="blank">a new report</a> (pdf) shows that ALEC's influence in Arizona goes beyond SB1070 to include bills that suppress voting, attack worker's rights, privatize public education, and limit environmental protections.

"Working side-by-side with elected officials, ALEC uses its resources to shepherd legislation from the corporate boardroom to the governor's desk," said Marge Baker, Executive Vice President at the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=People_for_the_American_Way" title="reference on People for the American Way" target="_self">People for the American Way</a> (PFAW) Foundation, which produced the report. Several times each year, ALEC brings corporate lobbyists together with state legislators to rub shoulders and push model legislation that tends to benefit the bottom line of member corporations, or advance the right-wing agenda. ALEC boasts that corporations have "a voice and a vote" in approving ALEC model bills, hundreds of which become law each year.

"There's no way ordinary citizens can match the level of access and influence that ALEC provides to these corporations," Baker said. "So Arizonans are subjected to laws that serve the interests of the rich and powerful instead of everyday people."

<h2>Carbon-Copies in the Copper State</h2>

<a href="http://site.pfaw.org/pdf/ALEC-IN-ARIZONA.pdf" title="reference on PFAW analyzed" target="_blank">PFAW analyzed</a> (pdf) around 20 pieces of Arizona legislation that they say are "remarkably similar -- if not identical" to ALEC "model" bills, and demonstrate the likeness with side-by-side comparisons.

The best-known Arizona ALEC bill, SB1070, is almost a carbon-copy version of the ALEC "No Sanctuary Cities for Illegal Immigrants Act," and was approved by an ALEC task force whose members included the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Corrections_Corporation_of_America" title="reference on Corrections Corporation of America" target="self">Corrections Corporation of America</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Bail_Coalition" title="reference on American Bail Coalition" target="self">American Bail Coalition</a>, both of which stood to benefit from immigrant detention. The role of the private prison industry in the bill (which became law in 2010) was documented by Beau Hodai at <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/08/10947/brownskins-and-greenbacks-alec-profit-prison-industry-and-arizona%E2%80%99s-sb-1070" title="reference on In These Times" target="blank">In These Times</a> and <a href="http://www.npr.org/2010/10/28/130833741/prison-economics-help-drive-ariz-immigration-law" title="reference on Laura Sullivan at NPR" target="blank">Laura Sullivan at NPR</a>. Not previously reported is that one year earlier, in 2009, a similar anti-immigrant bill approved by the same ALEC task force was introduced in the Arizona legislature, but failed to pass. SB1159 is a verbatim copy of ALEC's "Immigration Law Enforcement Act," and like SB1070 was sponsored by <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/11/11120/arizona-senator-recalled-over-alec-immigration-bill" title="reference on recently-recalled" target="_blank">recently-recalled</a> Arizona Senator Russell Pearce. Pearce also sponsored ALEC bills in the Arizona legislature that would circumvent the Naturalization Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and mandate the use of the E-Verify system for Arizona employers.

Arizona state flagOther ALEC legislators introduced ALEC-inspired bills to privatize the state prison system, oppose public financing for political campaigns, create new barriers to voting, and thwart federal efforts to implement environmental regulations that might exceed weak state environmental laws, according to the <a href="http://site.pfaw.org/pdf/ALEC-IN-ARIZONA.pdf" title="reference on report" target="_blank">report</a>(pdf).

Like many states, Arizona's ALEC legislators have also introduced bills that undermine public sector unions by privatizing public services through the ALEC "Council on Efficient Government Act" or limiting union funding with the "Prohibition on Compensation Deduction Act." ALEC bills have also been introduced in the state to implement school voucher programs and online, "virtual" public schools.

The text of ALEC model bills have historically been kept from the public, with legislators introducing ALEC bills in their own name and almost never disclosing the fact that corporations crafted and voted on them. Thanks to a whistleblower, in July 2011, the Center for Media and Democracy was able to post over 800 model bills on a new website, <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org" title="reference on ALECexposed.org" target="_blank">ALECexposed.org</a>. PFAW used that resource to track ALEC's influence in Arizona.

"This side-by-side analysis of bills is a stunning look at the vast amount of influence that corporations are having in Arizona public policy," said Bob Edgar, former Pennsylvania Congressman and president of the good government organization <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Common_Cause" title="reference on Common Cause" target="_self">Common Cause</a>. "These companies are putting their muscle behind legislation in Phoenix and investing millions of dollars to elect and re-elect lawmakers who support it."

According to the PFAW report, the 22 corporations on the ALEC Private Enterprise Board spent $16 million on Arizona state political campaigns over the past ten years. Arizona also has one of the highest concentrations of ALEC legislators of any state in the United States.

<h2>Report Released as ALEC Members Convene in Arizona</h2>

The report comes as state legislators and corporate lobbyists assemble at the ALEC "States and Nation Policy Summit," starting Wednesday at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale.

State and national advocacy organizations (including PFAW and the Center for Media and Democracy) are planning events to illustrate ALEC's influence on Arizona's political landscape and the daily lives of state residents. The groups held a panel discussion and forum on Tuesday evening, and plan a press conference at 11am MT (noon CT / 1pm ET) Wednesday. The press conference will be <a href="http://www.livestream.com/theuptake2" title="reference on live-streamed here" target="_blank">live-streamed here</a>.

Other organizations, including Occupy Phoenix, reportedly plan protests outside the ALEC meeting later this week.

---

Russell K. Pearce (born June 23, 1947) is a former <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party%28United_States%29" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Senate" title="Arizona Senate">Arizona State Senator</a> who represented Legislative District 18, which covers most of western and central <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa,Arizona" title="Mesa, Arizona">Mesa</a> and small portions of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, until ousted in a November 2011 recall election by Senator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lewis_%28Arizona_politician%29" title="Jerry Lewis (Arizona politician)">Jerry Lewis</a>. He became President of the Arizona Senate when the Senate began its current term in January 2011. He previously served in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_House_of_Representatives" title="Arizona House of Representatives">Arizona House of Representatives</a>. Pearce is most widely known for sponsoring <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_Our_Law_Enforcement_and_Safe_Neighborhoods_Act" title="Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act" class="mw-redirect">Arizona SB1070</a>, a controversial anti-illegal alien measure, and for subsequently becoming the first state legislator in Arizona history to be removed from office via a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recall_election" title="Recall election">recall election</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-crawford-0">[1]</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Precise_language" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers">dated info</a>]

<h2>Contents</h2>

</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#History">1 History</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#Immigration_policies">2 Immigration policies</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#Controversy">3 Controversy</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#2011_recall">4 2011 recall</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#Personal_life">5 Personal life</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#References">6 References</a></li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2>History</h2>

Pearce, a fifth-generation Arizonan,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-LA_Times-1">[2]</a> was born on June 23, 1947, to Hal Frost Pearce and Norma Crandell.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-bio-2">[3]</a> He grew up in a troubled and impoverished home with an alcoholic father; he recalled in past interviews that when he came home from school, he sometimes found that neighbors had left groceries for the family, but his mother would always put the food to the side, not wishing to accept charity.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-LA_Times-1">[2]</a> Pearce wanted to attend medical school, but his family was unable to afford it, which led him to join the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maricopa_County_Sheriff%27s_Office" title="Maricopa County Sheriff's Office">Maricopa County Sheriff's Office</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-LA_Times-1">[2]</a> Pearce served with the National Guard in Arizona during the Vietnam War.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-3">[4]</a>

Pearce served as a sheriff's deputy for 23 years,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-npr20080312-4">[5]</a> including a stint as Chief Deputy Sheriff under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio" title="Joe Arpaio">Joe Arpaio</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-azc-5">[6]</a> After an incident where he continued to pursue several gang members after being shot in the chest,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-LA_Times-1">[2]</a> he received a Medal of Valor from the Department.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-6">[7]</a> Pearce's son, Sean Pearce, has also been awarded the Medal of Valor for being shot in the line of duty while serving a homicide warrant on an illegal alien.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-7">[8]</a> Pearce claims credit for one of Arpaio's more publicized and controversial actions, that of housing jail inmates in tents.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-LA_Times-1">[2]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-azc-5">[6]</a> Following disagreements with Arpaio, Pearce moved to the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-azc-5">[6]</a>

In 1995, Pearce became the Director of the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division. Two notable changes during his tenure were: 1) bringing in IBM to create the first version of servicearizona.com, an online resource for Arizonans to update their Motor Vehicle Department information and 2) more controversially, Pearce enrolled Arizona in the then optional (at the federal level) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Driver_Register" title="National Driver Register">National Drivers Registry</a> program, making collection of social security numbers for drivers' licenses mandatory at the state level to comply with the (then optional) federal program. This caused a controversy at the time because he caused SSNs to be displayed on the face of the drivers license, causing the state legislature to have to later take up legislation to obfuscate the SSN, replacing it with a "D"# which is seen today. However, the SSN is still collected at the time of application or via SSOLV, and remains on the AZ drivers license file. Pearce oversaw the implementation of a law requiring that applicants for drivers licenses provide either a birth certificate proving they are United States citizens, or documents proving they are in the United States legally.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-8">[9]</a>

Pearce was discharged from the position of Director of the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division in August 1999 by Arizona Department of Transportation Director <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Peters_%28Secretary_of_Transportation%29" title="Mary Peters (Secretary of Transportation)">Mary Peters</a>, after an investigation revealed that two of Pearce's subordinates had tampered with a Tucson woman's driving record.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-9">[10]</a> Pearce later said he was cleared of wrongdoing, but Peters told the Arizona Republic "There’s a big difference between being cleared and choosing not to file criminal charges".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-10">[11]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-11">[12]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-12">[13]</a>

He was elected to the Arizona legislature in 2000.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-LA_Times-1">[2]</a>

Conservative tax activist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist" title="Grover Norquist">Grover Norquist</a>'s group, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_for_Tax_Reform" title="Americans for Tax Reform">Americans for Tax Reform</a>, named Pearce a "Hero of the Taxpayers" for 2003.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-13">[14]</a>

<h2>Immigration policies</h2>

In 2004, Pearce supported Arizona's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Proposition_200_%282004%29" title="Arizona Proposition 200 (2004)">Proposition 200</a>, which requires individuals to produce proof of citizenship before they may register to vote or apply for public benefits in Arizona. Prop 200 was approved by voters as a ballot initiative in 2004. Proof of citizenship includes an Arizona drivers license issued on or after October 1, 1996, the date from which AZ DLs were required to contain SSNs on the DL data file.

Pearce was a lead sponsor of Arizona SB1070, which passed into law in April 2010 as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_Our_Law_Enforcement_and_Safe_Neighborhoods_Act" title="Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act" class="mw-redirect">Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-14">[15]</a> The measure attracted national attention as the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in decades within the United States.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-15">[16]</a> After the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Barack_Obama" title="Presidency of Barack Obama">Obama administration</a> challenged the law, resulting in a federal court ruling that most of the law was unconstitutional, Pearce told a gathering of conservative activists, "When you talk about jihad, that is exactly what Obama has against America, specifically the state of Arizona."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-LA_Times-1">[2]</a>

In a recent story on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR" title="NPR">NPR</a>, he was quoted as saying, "I believe in the rule of law ... I've always believed in the rule of law. We're a nation of laws."; and "I will not back off until we solve the problem of this illegal invasion. Invaders, that's what they are. Invaders on the American sovereignty and it can't be tolerated."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-npr20080312-4">[5]</a> In reaction to the federal government's seeking of an injunction against enforcement of the law on constitutional grounds: "It's outrageous and it's clear they don't want (immigration) laws enforced. What they want is to continue their non-enforcement policy," Pearce said. "They ignore the damage to America, the cost to our citizens, the deaths" tied to border-related violence.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-16">[17]</a>

He has also sponsored Arizona SB1097, also debated in the legislature during the 2010 term, which seeks to quantify the impact of illegal immigration on the state's K-12 education system.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-17">[18]</a> The text of the bill states that:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-18">[19]</a>

<ul>

<li>School districts would be required to identify and count all students who are in the U.S. illegally.</li>

<li>The state's Department of Education would be required to report annually on the impact and costs to state taxpayers of the enrollment of these students.</li>

<li>The state Superintendent of Public Instruction would be authorized to withhold state aid from districts that do not comply with the law.</li>

<li>

</li>

</ul>

CNN announced on June 15, 2010, that Senator Pearce is proposing a measure that would deny U.S. citizenship to children born in this country to illegal immigrants in an effort to thwart so-called "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_babies" title="Anchor babies" class="mw-redirect">anchor babies</a>". The vast majority of legal scholars have stated that such a measure would be unconstitutional as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" title="Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution">14th Amendment</a> guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-19">[20]</a>

The endorsement of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Compact" title="Utah Compact">Utah Compact</a> by Pearce's church, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints" title="The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a>, has resulted in accusations that Pearce opposes the social stance held by his own church on illegal immigration. Pearce addresses these accusations by reaffirming that he supports the principles in the Utah Compact such as the importance of the family and showing respect to immigrants. However he disagrees with what he considers to be a deceitful purpose of the Utah Compact being used as a political vehicle for pro-amnesty activists. He disagrees with the compact's failure to differentiate between legal and illegal immigration. The church's adoption of compassion-based approaches to immigration issues has sharply divided Mormons, with an increasing number being opposed to Pearce's immigration platform and desiring a solution more resembling the Compact.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-20">[21]</a>

<h2>Controversy</h2>

Pearce faced criticism in 2006 after he called for the renewal of a 1950's immigration enforcement program, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wetback" title="Operation Wetback">Operation Wetback</a>, that deported or encouraged to deport 1.3 million illegal immigrants in less than a year. Hispanic groups said the use of the word <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetback_%28slur%29" title="Wetback (slur)">wetback</a> was derogatory.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-21">[22]</a>

In October 2006, Pearce included the text of an article by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Alliance_%28United_States%29" title="National Alliance (United States)">National Alliance</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_separatist" title="White separatist" class="mw-redirect">white separatist</a> group, in an email to a group of supporters. The article, titled "Who Rules America"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-22">[23]</a> contained allegations of Jewish control of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media" title="Mass media">media</a> and of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalism" title="Multiculturalism">multiculturalism</a> being a Jewish anti-White <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory" title="Conspiracy theory">conspiracy</a>, as well as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denialism" title="Holocaust denialism" class="mw-redirect">Holocaust denialism</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-pearce-email-23">[24]</a> He quickly apologized to supporters in an email, stating: "Ugly the words contained in it really are. They are not mine and I disavow them completely. Worse still, the website links to a group whose politics are the ugliest imaginable."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-pearce-email-23">[24]</a> Pearce told reporters he did not agree with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitic" title="Antisemitic" class="mw-redirect">antisemitic</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racist" title="Racist" class="mw-redirect">racist</a> statements in the article, and that he had copied it from an email forwarded to him by someone else after "the title and the first paragraphs about media bias appealed to him".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-pearce-email-23">[24]</a>

Pearce was also criticized for his association with white supremacist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.T.Ready" title="J. T. Ready">J. T. Ready</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-24">[25]</a> Pearce endorsed Ready for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa,_AZ" title="Mesa, AZ" class="mw-redirect">Mesa</a> City Council in 2006<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-25">[26]</a> and appeared with him at several rallies. In 2004 Pearce was photographed attending Ready's baptism into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints" title="The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a> (LDS Church). Church documents reveal that Pearce ordained Ready into the LDS priesthood.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-26">[27]</a> Pearce has since claimed he was unaware of Ready's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Nazi" title="Neo-Nazi" class="mw-redirect">neo-Nazi</a> affiliations at the time he made the endorsement.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-27">[28]</a>

In April 2008, Pearce sponsored a measure, Senate Bill 1108, that would bar Arizonan public schools from teaching that "denigrate[s] American values and the teachings of Western civilization", and prohibit the formation of groups at public tertiary institutions "based in whole or part on the race of their membership". Pearce said he didn't want students indoctrinated with progressive ideologies. The Arizona Republic noted the measure could ban groups such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Business_Students_Association&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Black Business Students Association (page does not exist)">Black Business Students Association</a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_State_University" title="Arizona State University">Arizona State University</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Native_Americans_United&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Native Americans United (page does not exist)">Native Americans United</a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Arizona_University" title="Northern Arizona University">Northern Arizona University</a>. Critics of the bill called it vague and predicted its implementation would have chilling effects.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-anti-american_activites-28">[29]</a>

As lead sponsor of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_SB_1070" title="Arizona SB 1070">Arizona SB 1070</a>, Pearce received assistance from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_for_American_Immigration_Reform" title="Federation for American Immigration Reform">Federation for American Immigration Reform</a> (FAIR) in drafting the text for the legislation.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-29">[30]</a> In December 2007, FAIR was identified as a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_group" title="Hate group">hate group</a>" by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Poverty_Law_Center" title="Southern Poverty Law Center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a> (SPLC).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-30">[31]</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_for_American_Immigration_Reform#Criticism" title="Federation for American Immigration Reform">In the early 1990s</a> FAIR received funding from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Fund" title="Pioneer Fund">Pioneer Fund</a>, a eugenics society established in 1937 "to advance the scientific study of heredity and human differences" that the SPLC has described as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Nazi" title="Neo-Nazi" class="mw-redirect">neo-Nazi</a> organization.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-31">[32]</a>

In October 2010, the SB 1070 bill, which Pearce sponsored in the legislature, came under criticism for benefiting private prison companies. Most of the language of the bill had been written as model legislation at a December 2009 meeting of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" title="American Legislative Exchange Council">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC), where Pearce was joined as an attendee by officials of the company <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrections_Corporation_of_America" title="Corrections Corporation of America">Corrections Corporation of America</a> (CCA). CCA "executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market" according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Public_Radio" title="National Public Radio" class="mw-redirect">NPR</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-32">[33]</a>

In November 2010, Pearce launched a push to reject US$7 billion in federal funding for Arizona’s Medicaid program, which serves more than one million people. When asked what those who rely upon this program for health care would do if it no longer has the funds to operate, Pearce said "they'll probably be okay."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-33">[34]</a>

<h2>2011 recall</h2>

On May 31, 2011, Citizens for a Better Arizona turned in 18,315 signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office to recall Pearce.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-34">[35]</a> On July 8, the Arizona Secretary of State's Office officially verified that the recall petitions had sufficient signatures. On July 12, Arizona Governor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Brewer" title="Jan Brewer">Jan Brewer</a> issued an order calling a special recall election in November.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-35">[36]</a> Pearce is the first state lawmaker in Arizona history to be recalled.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-36">[37]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-37">[38]</a>

Mesa Republican <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lewis_%28Arizona_politician%29" title="Jerry Lewis (Arizona politician)">Jerry Lewis</a> announced he would stand against Senator Pearce. Independent Tommy Cattey also filed to become a candidate in the recall election.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-38">[39]</a> Pearce's supporters recruited Republican Olivia Cortes to run in the recall election to split the anti-Pearce vote.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-39">[40]</a> Cortes later dropped out of the race; as of October 2011, several members of Pearce's campaign effort are accused of Class 5 felonies for their role in the sham candidacy.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-40">[41]</a>

On November 7, 2011, the night before his recall election, Mesa voters were flooded with robo-calls from Pearce's supporters, informing them that both Pearce and his challenger Jerry Lewis were Republicans.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-41">[42]</a> The call then encouraged voters to protest this one-sided election by writing in their own candidate. Critics argue that this was a blatant attempt to dilute the votes of those wishing to remove Pearce from office.

On November 8, 2011, Pearce was defeated in the recall election by challenger Jerry Lewis.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-42">[43]</a> Among reactions: Lewis said, "We now have an opportunity to heal the divide in Mesa"; and Pearce said, "If being recalled is the prize for keeping one's promises, then so be it."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-43">[44]</a>

<h2>Personal life</h2>

Pearce lives in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa,_Arizona" title="Mesa, Arizona">Mesa, Arizona</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-official-bio-44">[45]</a> with his wife, LuAnne. He has five children, Dodi, Sean, Colten, Justin and Joshua.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-bio-2">[3]</a> In 1980 LuAnne filed a petition for dissolution of marriage which alleged that he: "is possessed of a violent temper, and has from time to time hit and shoved the wife, when he grabbed the wife by the throat and threw her down." LuAnne was later reconciled with her husband. When asked many years later about the allegations, she acknowledged the 1980 petition but categorically denied ever having been struck, grabbed by the throat, thrown down, or threatened by her husband, adding that she did not know how the allegations came to be part of the court document prepared and filed in her behalf by her legal counsel. Her husband likewise denied the allegations.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-petition_for_dissolution-45">[46]</a>

Pearce's son Justin resigned from the Arizona Motor Vehicles Division in 1999, after he produced counterfeit driver's licenses for himself and four friends with false ages, in an effort to avoid <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age" title="Legal drinking age">alcohol prohibition</a> laws.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-46">[47]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-joshwarrant-47">[48]</a> Justin Pearce subsequently pled guilty to tampering with a public record and received a suspended sentence.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-joshwarrant-47">[48]</a>

In February 2011, Mesa police arrested Pearce's son Joshua Trent Pearce on two outstanding warrants tied to a probation violation and failing to appear in court.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_note-joshwarrant-47">[48]</a>

<h2>References</h2>

<table style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); line-height: 110%; max-width: 175px;"><tbody><tr><td style=" text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Arizona.svg" class="image"><img src="/e2cb8154-642f-5074-bdbf-8bb0a83f63d8.png"/></a></td><td style=" padding: 0 0.2em; vertical-align: middle; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Arizona" title="Portal:Arizona">Arizona portal</a></td></tr><tr valign="middle"><td style=" text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:P_vip.svg" class="image"><img src="/2b5f8666-5dbd-536e-bc73-bc2c15d6209f.png"/></a></td><td style=" padding: 0 0.2em; vertical-align: middle; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Biography" title="Portal:Biography">Biography portal</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

</div>

<li id="cite_note-crawford-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-crawford_0-0">^{</a></span}> Crawford, Amanda J. (November 9, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-09/arizona-senate-s-immigration-law-author-pearce-loses-in-recall-election.html">"Arizona Immigration-Law Author Pearce Loses in Recall Election"</a>. Bloomberg. Retrieved November 9, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-LA_Times-1">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-LA_Times_1-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-LA_Times_1-1">b</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-LA_Times_1-2">c</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-LA_Times_1-3">d</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-LA_Times_1-4">e</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-LA_Times_1-5">f</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-LA_Times_1-6">g</a> Riccardi, Nicholas (January 17, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-russell-pearce-20110117,0,3226314,full.story">"Arizona's relentless conservative voice"</a>. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 19, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-bio-2">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-bio_2-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-bio_2-1">b</a> Pearce, Russell. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100523140422/http://www.mesa18.com/candidates/russell_pearce.htm">"Russell Pearce:Arizona State House of Representatives"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mesa18.com/candidates/russell_pearce.htm">the original</a> on 2010-05-23. Retrieved March 12, 2008.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot">dead link</a>]</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-3">^{</a></span}> Lemons, Stephen (February 17, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2011-02-17/news/why-russell-pearce-running-for-congress-would-be-a-good-thing/">"Why a Russell Pearce Run for Congress Would Be a Good Thing"</a>. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved July 7, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-npr20080312-4">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-npr20080312_4-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-npr20080312_4-1">b</a> Robbins, Ted (March 12, 2008). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88125098">"The Man Behind Arizona's Toughest Immigrant Laws"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR" title="NPR">NPR</a>. Retrieved March 12, 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-azc-5">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-azc_5-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-azc_5-1">b</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-azc_5-2">c</a> Nelson, Gary (May 10, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/05/10/20110510russell-pearce-recall-election0511.html">"Russell Pearce will likely face recall election"</a>. Azcentral.com. Retrieved July 7, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-6">^{</a></span}> Dougherty, John (February 10, 2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-02-10/news/recall-joe/">"Recall Joe! – Page 1 – News – Phoenix"</a>. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved July 7, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-7">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.russellpearce.com">"Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce"</a>. Russellpearce.com. Retrieved July 7, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-8">^{</a></span}> "License law said racist". <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Courier_%28Arizona%29" title="The Daily Courier (Arizona)">The Sunday Courier</a>: p. 1B. September 17, 1996.</li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-9">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/07/28/20110728pearce-montini.html">Don't count out Pearce, Arizona's political Rasputin</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-10">^{</a></span}> "Corrected driving record leads to firing of motor vehicle officials". Arizona Daily Star. August 19, 1999.</li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-11">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/06/06/873242/-Senator-Pearce:-Please-Go-on-Rachel-Maddow">Daily Kos: Senator Pearce: Please Go on Rachel Maddow</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-12">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2011-01-06/news/russell-pearce-s-problem-with-the-rule-of-law-and-andrei-cherny-contends-for-democratic-party-chair/2/">Russell Pearce's Problem with the Rule of Law; and Andrei Cherny Contends for Democratic Party Chair - Page 2 - News - Phoenix - Phoenix New Times</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-13"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-13">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mesa18.com/candidates/russell_pearce.htm">"Russell Pearce"</a>. Mesa18.com. Retrieved September 4, 2010.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot">dead link</a>]</li>

<li id="cite_note-14"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-14">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20110614055311/http://www.kpho.com/politics/23179490/detail.html">"Ariz. Lawmakers Pass Controversial Illegal Immigration Bill"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press" title="Associated Press">Associated Press</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPHO" title="KPHO" class="mw-redirect">KPHO</a>. April 20, 2010. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kpho.com/politics/23179490/detail.html">the original</a> on 2011-06-14.</li>

<li id="cite_note-15"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-15">^{</a></span}> Archibold, Randal C. (April 24, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/us/politics/24immig.html?ref=us">"U.S.’s Toughest Immigration Law Is Signed in Arizona"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a>.</li>

<li id="cite_note-17"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-17">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2010/03/30/20100330tue1-30.html">"Don't put kids at ground zero"</a>. The Arizona Republic. March 30, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-18"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-18">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1097p.pdf">"SB 1097"</a>. Arizona Legislature. Second Regular Session, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-19"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-19">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/15/arizona.immigration.children/?hpt=C1">"Arizona bill would deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants."</a> CNN. N.p., n.d. Web. June 16, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-20"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-20">^{</a></span}> Montero, David. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/51753443-90/pearce-arizona-says-law.html.csp">"Salt Lake Tribune: Arizona immigration law: Buyer's remorse?"</a>. Sltrib.com. Retrieved July 7, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-21"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-21">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2006/09/30/27879-wetback-remarks-dog-rep-pearce/">"‘Wetback’ remarks dog Rep. Pearce"</a>. Tucson Citizen. Associated Press (Mesa). September 30, 2006.</li>

<li id="cite_note-22"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-22">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.natvan.com/who-rules-america/">"Who Rules America?"</a>. Natvan.com. Retrieved September 4, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-pearce-email-23">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-pearce-email_23-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-pearce-email_23-1">b</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-pearce-email_23-2">c</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.webcitation.org/5yeFfHA42">"Pearce e-mail draws apology"</a>. Arizona Central. October 11, 2006. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/1011pearce1011.html">the original</a> on May 12, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-24"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-24">^{</a></span}> Lemons, Stephen (September 22, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2007/09/russell_pearces_willie_horton.php">"Russell Pearce's Willie Horton: White Supremacist J.T. Ready"</a>. Retrieved June, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-25"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-25">^{</a></span}> Juozapavicius, Justin (March 4, 2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/mesa/articles/0304mr-campaign0304Z11.html">"Ready raises nearly $5,000"</a>. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 10, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-26"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-26">^{</a></span}> Lemons, Stephen (December 16, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2010-12-16/news/webline/">"When Valley Neo-Nazi J.T. Ready Converted to Mormonism, Guess Which Prominent Politico Ordained Him an "Elder""</a>. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved July 7, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-27"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-27">^{</a></span}> Nelson, Gary (August 21, 2008). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/08/21/20080821ready0821.html">"Congressmen want J.T. Ready out of GOP post"</a>. Retrieved June 10, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-anti-american_activites-28"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-anti-american_activites_28-0">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/17/20080417unamerican0417.html">"Plan targets anti-Western lessons"</a>. The Arizona Republic. October 10, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2007.</li>

<li id="cite_note-29"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-29">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=22725&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1741">"If Washington Won't, Arizona Will"</a>. April 14, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-30"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-30">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2007/12/11/fair-crossing-the-rubicon-of-hate/">"FAIR: Crossing the Rubicon of Hate"</a>. December 11, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-31"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-31">^{</a></span}> Waters, Rob (2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2009/winter/funding-fair">"Funding FAIR: Key Philanthropist Supports Nativist Hate Group"</a>. Retrieved August 12, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-32"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-32">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130833741">"Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law"</a>. National Public Radio. October 28, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-33"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-33">^{</a></span}> Jilani, Zaid (November 8, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/08/opposing-health-pearce-fashion/">"Opposing Health Funding for A Million Arizonans, Pearce Compares Health Care to High-Priced Fashion Items"</a>. Think Progress.</li>

<li id="cite_note-34"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-34">^{</a></span}> Luige del Puerto (May 31, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2011/05/31/pearce-recall-committee-says-it-will-file-today/">"Group submits 18,000 signatures to recall Pearce"</a>. Arizona Capital Times.</li>

<li id="cite_note-35"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-35">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2011/07/governor_jan_brewer_issues_ord.php">Governor Jan Brewer Issues Order for November 8 Russell Pearce Recall Election (w/UPDATE) - Phoenix News - Feathered Bastard</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-36"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-36">^{</a></span}> Walsh, Jim (June 4, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/06/03/20110603mesa-russell-pearce-recall.html">"Russell Pearce recall supporters face uphill battle"</a>. The Arizona Republic.</li>

<li id="cite_note-37"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-37">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/07/08/20110708russell-pearce-recall-signatures-certified.html">Russell Pearce recall: Enough signatures to force election</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-38"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-38">^{</a></span}> Matt York (July 28, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/arizona/politics/article_20677df2-b87c-11e0-8331-001cc4c002e0.html">"Lewis makes run against Pearce in recall official"</a>. East Valley Tribune.</li>

<li id="cite_note-39"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-39">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2011/09/08/20110908mesa-pearce-recall-election-olivia-cortes-campaign0908.html">Cortes circulator says campaign is pro-Pearce effort</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-40"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-40">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2011/10/russell_pearce_plays_defense_i.php">Russell Pearce's Cortes Scandal: Tom Ryan Challenges the Media, Lester Pearce Flips Out - Phoenix News - Feathered Bastard</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-41"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-41">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kpho.com/story/15981679/robocalls-target-pearce-recall-election-voters">Robocalls target Pearce recall election voters - CBS 5 - KPHO</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-42"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-42">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kpho.com/story/15989405/pearce-ousted-in-recall">Russell Pearce ousted in historic recall election - CBS 5 - KPHO</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-43"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-43">^{</a></span}> Walsh, Jim; Thomason, Art; Nelson, Gary (November 8, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2011/11/08/20111108russell-pearce-recall-vote-reaction.html">"Reaction to Russell Pearce recall election vote"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Republic" title="Arizona Republic" class="mw-redirect">Arizona Republic</a>.</li>

<li id="cite_note-official-bio-44"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-official-bio_44-0">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://azleg.gov/MembersPage.asp?Member_ID=45&Legislature=48">"Member Page: Russell K. Pearce"</a>. Arizona State Legislature. Retrieved March 13, 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-petition_for_dissolution-45"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-petition_for_dissolution_45-0">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2008/07/did_russell_pearce_used_to_bea.php">"Did state Representative Russell Pearce ever beat his wife LuAnne?"</a>. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-46"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-46">^{</a></span}> "ADOT director puts agency chief on leave". <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daily_Courier_%28Arizona%29&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Daily Courier (Arizona) (page does not exist)">The Daily Courier</a>: p. 3A. August 18, 1999.</li>

<li id="cite_note-joshwarrant-47">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-joshwarrant_47-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-joshwarrant_47-1">b</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Pearce#cite_ref-joshwarrant_47-2">c</a> Gonzales, Nathan (February 17, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/17/20110217mesa-russell-pearce-son-arrested0219.html">"Sen. Russell Pearce's son arrested on outstanding warrants"</a>.</li>

</ol>

===

Private Prison Companies Behind the Scenes of Arizona’s Immigration Law

<a href="https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/displayArticle.aspx?articleid=22734&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1">https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/displayArticle.aspx?articleid=22734&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1</a>

by Beau Hodai

“Beside my brothers and my sisters, I’ll proudly take a stand. When liberty’s in jeopardy, I’ll always do what’s right. I’m out here on the frontline, sleep in peace tonight. American soldier, I’m an American soldier...”

So goes the ringtone on Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce’s phone—as performed by Toby “’cause we put a boot up your ass, it’s the American way” Keith. Seconds into any conversation with Pearce on the issue of illegal immigration, you’ll find the song fits. Pearce is—in his mind—the “American soldier.” What’s more, just as he sees himself a soldier, Pearce envisions his home to be none less than the front in a war which threatens the very fiber of the nation.

“There’s been 133 nations identified crossing that border. Not just Mexicans, not just Hondurans, not just El Salvadorians, but 133 nations. Many of those are nations of interest, which means that they either harbor, aid and abet, or are somehow connected to terrorist activities,” said Pearce. “And yet they continue to cross that border. We’ve got prayer rugs that have been found down there, other things that have been found down there—and yet they [the federal government] continue to do nothing.”

Pearce is the primary sponsor of Arizona’s controversial Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB 1070 / HB 2162), which was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010.

The most controversial part of SB 1070 is a requirement that state and local law enforcement officials must try to determine the immigration status of people they come into “lawful contact” with whom they have reasonable suspicion to believe are in the U.S. illegally. This has led to claims the law will be enforced through racial profiling of Hispanics.

The bill has resulted in numerous legal challenges from human rights and civil liberties groups, and has been something of a black eye for Arizona’s national image. Some cities, such as Los Angeles and the People’s Republic of Berkeley, have gone so far as to enact economic contract non-renewal boycotts against businesses based in the state.

Nonetheless, all rhetoric and election year posturing aside, the fact is that some backers of the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (dubbed the “Breathing While Brown” law by critics) are wrapping themselves in the flag all the way to the bank.

Some of these proponents are seemingly as dedicated to grandstanding on border politics as they are to promoting the fortunes of private prison corporations, members of the multi-billion dollar immigrant detention industry which stand to reap substantial profits as more undocumented aliens are run through the nation’s immigration, detention and deportation mill.

The Machinations of a War  on Illegal Immigration

In early December 2009—a full month and a half before SB 1070 was introduced to the Arizona Senate and nearly two months before its counterpart was first read in the House—Pearce formally submitted a version of his proposed legislation to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization to which he and 35 other Arizona legislators are members.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, ALEC bills itself as “the nation’s largest bipartisan, individual membership association of state legislators” and as a public-private legislative partnership. As such, ALEC claims more than 2,000 state lawmakers (a full third of the nation’s state legislators) plus more than 200 corporate and special interest groups as members.

The organization’s current corporate roster includes Corrections Corporation of America (CCA, the nation’s largest private jailer), GEO Group (the nation’s second largest private jailer), Sodexho Marriott (the nation’s leading food services provider to private correctional institutions), the Koch Foundation, Exxon Mobil, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Pfizer, Boeing, Bank of America, Wal-Mart, Inc. and News Corporation, to name a few.

Despite the fact that federal tax law explicitly forbids 501(c)(3) organizations such as ALEC from taking part in the formation of legislation, ALEC is comprised of nine task forces, each responsible for developing “model legislation” that ALEC member lawmakers then carry back to their home states and introduce as their own.

Although ALEC’s legislative members far outnumber corporate members, a look at the group’s finances illustrates not only the price corporations are willing to pay for a seat at the table with state lawmakers, but where the organization’s loyalties likely lie. According to ALEC’s most recent tax records, in 2008 the group reported a total of $6.9 million in revenue—$93,387 of which was brought in through legislative membership dues (a two-year membership is available to lawmakers for $100, or four years at $200). On the other hand, ALEC received $5.6 million (all but $1.3 million of the group’s annual budget) in contributions from its corporate and special-interest members.

According to ALEC promotional material, each year member legislators carry an average of 1,000 pieces of model legislation back to their home states—20 percent of which are passed into law.

As a testament to ALEC’s efficacy as a pipeline for corporate-backed legislation, since the passage of the federal healthcare overhaul package in late March 2010, legislators in at least 38 states have introduced the ALEC-crafted Freedom of Choice Health Care Act (Health Care Act), which, according to an ALEC press release, was modeled after an Arizona proposal defeated on the ballot in 2008. Ironically, given the fetish Pearce and other ALEC lawmakers have for adherence to federal immigration laws, the Health Care Act is marketed as an assertion of states’ sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment.

Pearce is an executive member of ALEC’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force. Private sector executive members of this task force include CCA, the American Bail Coalition (which is comprised of nine of the nation’s top bail bond insurer/bounty hunter associations), the National Beer Wholesalers Association, the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers Association, the National Pawn Brokers Association and Prison Fellowship Ministries. The private sector chair of the task force is currently the National Rifle Association (NRA).

According to Michael Hough, director of the Public Safety and Elections Task Force, every bill introduced by any member legislator or corporation must go through a 30-day review process for approval by both public and private sector ALEC members before it can become model legislation. This process, Hough says, was set in motion for Pearce’s immigration bill when he submitted it to his fellow members of the task force during the group’s December 2009 meeting at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C.

Pearce denies that he submitted the bill to ALEC for any other purpose other than to gain their endorsement and to strengthen its ability to weather legal challenges both in Arizona and in other states.

According to Hough, however, ALEC does not issue endorsements, but rather works with lawmakers on the formation and dissemination of model legislation. And Hough says the model legislation, the “No Sanctuary Cities for Illegal Immigrants Act” (Sanctuary Cities Act), that emerged from the Public Safety and Elections Task Force in early January 2010 is virtually identical to the bill introduced by Pearce in the Arizona legislature later that month.

Pearce says he anticipated that the Arizona law would be challenged by groups supporting “lawbreakers over lawkeepers,” such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Therefore, as Pearce tells it, he turned to the “brightest minds in the nation” and scoured more than 25 years of legislation to help draft his magnum opus immigration omnibus bill. The result, he says, is a law specifically designed to sustain the challenges of the political left.

One of the “brightest minds” that Pearce sought out was Kris Kobach. Kobach served as an advisor to former Attorney General John Ashcroft in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, helping to implement the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System that called for the monitoring of individuals from Middle Eastern nations. Kobach is currently running for Kansas secretary of state and proudly bills himself on his campaign website as an attorney who “litigates against the ACLU in courts across the country.”

Kobach is also the “national expert on constitutional law” at the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), a subsidiary organization of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). IRLI and FAIR are both funded in part by the Pioneer Fund, an organization that unabashedly studies the ‘science’ of eugenics. Consequently, the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated both IRLI and FAIR “nativist hate groups”—a designation that Pearce has no qualms in dismissing.

“The Center for Poverty [sic] is the closest thing you can get to a Communist organization in America,” says Pearce. “They are absolutely a hate-based organization that hates Americans who stand up for the rule of law.” For his part, Kobach says that being labeled as a racist, a nativist or a member of any hate group is “absurd and hurtful.”

According to both Pearce and Kobach, SB 1070, Arizona’s immigration bill, was not the brainchild of IRLI or FAIR as many media reports have claimed.

“The initial first draft of the bill was done by the legislators in the Arizona legislature who were coming up with a broad template of what they wanted to achieve. I was brought in at that point to advise on what was possible and what wasn’t possible, and to refine the language to make sure it stands up in court,” says Kobach.

Indeed, most of the provisions contained in the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act had existed in one form or another in legislative sessions prior to the bill’s introduction in the Arizona legislature this year—though Kobach does claim credit for the provision which outlaws “sanctuary city” policies, previously passed by the Missouri legislature in 2008. As a matter of fact, a bill containing language very similar to the Support Our Law Enforcement Act was passed by the Arizona legislature in 2006, only to be vetoed by then-Governor Janet Napolitano. That bill, HB 2577, was the first substantive introduction of the trespassing and “breathing while brown” provisions to the Arizona legislature.

“Breathing While Brown”

All Arizona is seeking to do, says Pearce, is to enforce federal immigration policy—which he says is deliberately barred by liberal lawmakers and “loudmouth anarchist” leftist groups in so-called “sanctuary cites.”

“It’s illegal to have sanctuary policies in this state under federal law, but we have them all over this country. I mean, L.A. and San Francisco being—if you will—the poster cities of what’s wrong with America,” says Pearce. “I mean, in Arizona, the crime—number two in the world in kidnappings; the home invasions, carjackings—identity theft capitol of the nation. The killings, the maimings—we can go through the list of officers that have been killed in the city of Phoenix. In fact, in the last ten years, 87 percent of the officers killed in the city of Phoenix were killed by illegal aliens.”

To remedy this situation, the ALEC Sanctuary Cities Act model legislation and Pearce’s Arizona bill both feature anti-“sanctuary cities” provisions which prohibit any municipal, county or state policy that might hamper the ability of any government agency from complying with federal immigration law. Both bills also include sanctions aimed at those who employ illegal immigrants and tougher penalties for human smugglers.

The provision of SB 1070 which has drawn the most fire from critics across the nation is the so-called “Breathing While Brown” provision. Under this section, law enforcement personnel may arrest anyone in their presence without a warrant, provided that the officer has probable cause to believe that the arrestee has committed a crime.

While the ability of a cop to make an arrest without a warrant is nothing new, one of the new crimes a law enforcement officer may cite as grounds for arrest based on probable cause is. The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act establishes state level offenses that mirror existing federal offenses under United States Alien and Nationality Code, sections 1304(e) and 1306(a).

Section 1304(e) states, “every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt.”

Violation of this section under federal law is a misdemeanor and carries a sentence of up to 30 days incarceration.

Section 1306(a) states, “any alien required to apply for registration and to be fingerprinted in the United States who willfully fails or refuses to make such application or to be fingerprinted, and any parent or legal guardian required to apply for the registration of any alien who willfully fails or refuses to file application for the registration of such alien shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not to exceed $1,000 or be imprisoned not more than six months, or both.”

Once the Arizona immigration law goes into effect, any person found to be in violation of either of these federal laws in the state of Arizona—after their immigration/residency status has been determined by an agent of the federal government—will be charged with the new state crime of “willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document,” a subsection of the state’s criminal trespass statute. These state offenses carry a maximum fine of $100, along with restitution of jail costs and up to 20 days in jail. A second or subsequent offense carries a term of up to 30 days in jail.

By creating these state-level offenses, the law essentially converts every state, county and municipal law enforcement officer into an enforcer of federal immigration law.

“Basically, you have a mandate for all of the law enforcement in Arizona to question everyone about their immigration status,” said Linton Joaquin, general counsel for the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), a group seeking a federal injunction against the law. “I think it’s inevitably going to be a matter of racial profiling. You have them determining who they have reasonable suspicion as being undocumented ... clearly one factor is race, appearance and ethnicity. You can’t separate that in practice or in reality.”

While the wording of the bill expressly prohibits racial profiling as a means of determining immigration status, Joaquin says the letter of the law will do little to dissuade enforcement through the underlying color of the law.

“[Probable cause] can be incredibly easy to find. If a person looks away, then they are ‘averting their glance.’ If they look right at you, then they’re exhibiting ‘studied nonchalance.’ We see all these terms used to create a sense that there is a basis of suspicion.”

Pearce does not agree with that assessment.

“That’s another lie. They are absolutely not worried about racial profiling. It’s the boogie man thing. It’s like with children, once they believe there’s a boogie man, they have to sleep with the light on—even though there’s no real boogie man,” said Pearce. “It’s fear mongering and they are simply intellectually dishonest.”

According to Hough, one of the differences between the final version of the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act as signed into law in Arizona and the Sanctuary Cities Act, as promoted by ALEC on the floors of other state legislatures, is that the ALEC legislation carries more stringent penalties under the criminal trespass section.

Under the Sanctuary Cities Act, first offenses under the trespassing provision are still classified as a class 1 misdemeanor; however, there is no 20 to 30-day cap on incarceration as the final version of the Arizona law provides. Additionally, where the Support Our Law Enforcement Act classifies subsequent offenses as misdemeanors, the Sanctuary Cities Act classifies repeat offenses as felonies, which carry lengthier terms of incarceration.

Meet the New War,  Same as the Old War

Questions of justice aside, the net effect of the Arizona law and the ALEC-modeled legislation passed in other states will be to greatly increase the numbers of undocumented aliens arrested and jailed, by effectively converting each state and county law enforcement officer into an enforcer of federal immigration law.

The immigration dragnet created by the Support Our Law Enforcement Act in Arizona and the Sanctuary Cities Act as disseminated by ALEC is a win-win situation for private prison companies, and this war on immigration is not the first time corporate-backed legislation has filled the prisons and bank accounts of entities such as CCA and GEO Group.

In the early 1990’s, while the ALEC Public Safety (then Criminal Justice) Task Force was co-chaired by CCA, another task force member and current private sector chair, the NRA, began an aggressive campaign to introduce variants of two pieces of ALEC-backed legislation at the state and federal level: the so-called “truth-in-sentencing” and “three-strikes” laws.

Truth-in-sentencing called for all violent offenders to serve 85 percent of their sentences before being eligible for release.

Three strikes called for mandatory life imprisonment for a third felony conviction. In some states this was interpreted as life imprisonment for a third violent offense conviction, while in others, such as California, the law was enacted in such a way as to include those convicted of petty offenses such as shoplifting. [PLN was the first media to report the instrumental role the NRA played in bankrolling Washington’s Three Strikes law in 1993 (the first in the nation) and Washington State’s “Hard Time for Armed Crime” initiative in 1995.]

The NRA campaign, dubbed “CrimeStrike,” headed by victim’s rights advocate and former Arizona Chief Assistant Attorney General Steve Twist, was seen by many as a reactionary strike at the Clinton administration’s gun control efforts when it moved into high gear in 1993. CrimeStrike was the campaign which set forth the precept that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” As such, CrimeStrike promoted state and federal tough-on-crime legislation and derided any lawmaker backing gun control as being “soft on crime.”

With memories of the Willie Horton disaster of the failed 1988 Michael Dukakis presidential campaign still fresh in the minds of most American legislators, this accusation invariably hit a raw nerve among Democrats and elicited kneejerk support of the laws.

While the NRA was busy pushing these laws through CrimeStrike, ALEC was pushing its agenda in Pennsylvania with the help of former Herbert-Walker Bush U.S. Attorney General William Barr and ALEC member, then-Pennsylvania governor, and future director of the Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge.

In 1995, the Pennsylvania legislature passed several tough-on-crime bills based on ALEC proposals and model legislation. In 2005, while serving as Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, state Rep. John Perzel, an ALEC member and Pennsylvania House Majority Leader from 1995 to 2003, joined GEO Group’s board of directors.

In November 2009, Perzel resigned from the corporation’s board following an indictment handed down that same month for his alleged role in a scandal involving several of his staffers and other lawmakers charged with using taxpayer dollars to fund their campaign activities. Only days before his indictment, Perzel exercised his option as a board member to purchase 5,000 shares of GEO stock, valued at that time in excess of $100,000. According to a GEO Group statement, Perzel left on good terms with the company. [See: PLN, Sept. 2010, p.34].

Incidentally, Pennsylvania was one of the first states to introduce legislation strikingly similar to the Support Our Law Enforcement/Sanctuary Cities Acts, legislators having introduced their own “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” in May 2010.

By 1996, CrimeStrike claimed responsibility for the passage of “three strikes” laws in Washington, California, Georgia, Delaware and North Carolina, as well as truth-in-sentencing laws in Arizona, Mississippi and Virginia.

A contributing factor to the spread of truth-in-sentencing laws was the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The Act provided millions of federal dollars under the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-In-Sentencing (VOI/TIS) Incentive Grant Program to states to build new prisons or contract out beds with private corporations if the states adopted truth-in-sentencing laws for violent offenders.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, by 1998, 27 states and the District of Columbia had adopted federal truth-in-sentencing guidelines and were receiving VOI/TIS funding for corrections expansion. Eleven states had adopted versions of the “three-strikes” legislation.

Several states exceeded the VOI/TIS requirements and imposed broader sentencing guidelines, beyond the realm of violent offenses. Arizona, for example, amended its sentencing laws in a way which would require all prisoners to serve their entire sentences, except that they may be eligible for earned release credits for up to a 15 percent sentence reduction. From 1996 to 2001, Arizona received $57,923,000 in VOI/TIS grants for much-needed prison expansion and operational expenses under the state’s new sentencing guidelines.

According to the Department of Justice, the federal government disbursed $2.7 billion in VOI/TIS grants nationwide during the same five-year period to states that had adopted the guidelines. However, the program was discontinued following fiscal year 2001, leaving states with rapidly-swelling prison populations to foot the bill.

In late 2009 through the first quarter of 2010, several states which had previously espoused the “tough-on-crime” stance promoted through ALEC and CrimeStrike reconsidered and rolled back some of those tough sentencing guidelines in order to slacken the demands wrought on their budgets by overburdened criminal justice systems in the face of massive shortfalls. This, however, has not been the prevailing attitude among Arizona lawmakers—struggling with one of the most severe budgetary crises in the nation—who have stuck by their guns and, instead of revisiting sentencing guidelines, opened nearly their entire prison system to operation by private corrections contractors.

Gov. Brewer signed the Criminal Justice Budget Reconciliation Act (Criminal Justice Act) into law in September 2009. The law required the state to issue requests for proposals (RFPs) for the private operation of up to nine of the state’s 10 prison complexes. This provision of the Criminal Justice Act was quietly repealed by the legislature in March 2010, due primarily to lawmaker concerns that private prison companies were not equipped to handle maximum security facilities. However, the Criminal Justice Act also required the Arizona Department of Corrections to issue RFPs for 5,000 new private medium to minimum-security beds. [Ed. Note: The RFPs for 5,000 additional private prison beds were cancelled by the Department of Corrections in September 2010, though they will be reissued; see: PLN, Sept. 2010, p.42].

The bid for privatization in Arizona was unprecedented. The only other instances of a state legislature even considering opening the state’s entire prison system to private contractors were the Corrections Corporation of America’s failed bids in the mid-80’s and mid-90’s to take over the entire prison system in its home state of Tennessee. During the second bid, CCA projected an additional $100 million annually in state revenues as a result of privatization. Upon review, however, the Tennessee legislature realized that the projections were far from accurate. Interestingly enough, the same $100 million figure was cited by the Arizona state legislature in the Criminal Justice Budget Reconciliation Act—the primary engines of which were Senate President and Arizona State ALEC Chair Bob Burns, as well as Senator Pearce.

Shower in the Desert:  It’s Raining Money

Over the past decade, the private prison industry has increasingly shifted its attention to the burgeoning fields of undocumented and criminal alien detention.

For example, from January 2008 to April 2010, CCA spent $4.4 million lobbying the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, the Office of the Federal Detention Trustee, the Office of Budget Management, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and both houses of Congress. Of the 43 lobbying disclosure reports filed by CCA during this period, only five do not expressly state intent to monitor or influence immigration reform policy or gain Homeland Security or ICE appropriations.

To illustrate the lucrative payoff this activity has had for CCA, the private jailer reported $1.7 billion in gross revenue for 2009, attributing about 40 percent of this business to its federal clients ICE, the BOP and the U.S. Marshals Service, all of which house immigrant detainee populations.

And, according to the story the numbers tell, it is easy to see why the private prison industry is eager to expand its stake in the immigrant detainee market. According to ICE Public Affairs Officer Gillian Brigham, in fiscal year 2009, ICE detained 383,524 individuals with an average daily prisoner population of 32,098 spread across the nation’s 270 immigrant detention centers.

Due to the rising numbers of immigrant detentions in recent years, coupled with the rising tide of economic shortfalls at both the state and federal level (ICE reported a $140 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2010), ICE has farmed the operations of many of these facilities out to either county operators under inter-governmental service agreements or to private prison contractors that operate the facilities on a per diem, per inmate basis.

Currently, according to Brigham, seven of these facilities are “contract detention facilities” (CDFs) owned and operated by either CCA or GEO Group. However, says Brigham, there are several types of facilities utilized by ICE for immigrant detention which may be operated by private contractors, including facilities such as county or state-owned jails and prisons contracted out by ICE under “inter-government service agreements” (IGSAs), or other “service processing centers,” which are facilities operated by both federal and private detention staff.

An example of one of these IGSA facilities would be the nation’s largest immigrant detention “tent city” facility, the Willacy County Processing Center in Raymondville, TX. This prison, though owned by the county, is operated by Management and Training Corporation (MTC), a private prison firm based in Utah.

Willacy County’s “tent city” facility, consisting of several massive dome-like structures near the Gulf of Mexico, has the capacity to warehouse in excess of 3,000 immigrant detainees awaiting deportation at any given time. [See: PLN, Sept. 2007, p.1].

Unfortunately, according to Brigham, ICE does not keep tabs on who is operating these detention centers at the state or county levels through IGSAs, so it is difficult to assess how many of those prisons are run by private firms.

However, as an indication of what they see to be bountiful times to come, GEO Group and CCA report plans to expand operations or fill thousands of existing immigrant detention bed “inventory surpluses” in Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan and South Carolina in response to what the corporations refer to as “organic growth opportunities,” chief of which is an anticipated increase in immigrant detentions, coupled with the increased inability of the federal and state governments to meet detention needs due to budgetary constraints.

In May 2010, during the GEO Group’s first quarter investor conference call, an investor asked GEO CEO George Zoley what impact Arizona’s immigration law might have on business.

Zoley responded with levity: “What, they have some new legislation? I never heard about it. I think I’m increasingly convinced of their need for 5,000 new beds.”

Wayne Calabrese, GEO Group’s vice chair and chief operating officer, offered a more straightforward appraisal.

“I can only believe that the opportunities at the federal level are going to continue at pace as a result of what’s happening. I think people understand there is still a relatively low threshold of tolerance for people coming across the border and those laws not being enforced,” said Calabrese. “And that to me at least suggests there are going to be enhanced opportunities for what we do.”

The Ties that Bind

Whether or not private prison companies influenced the drafting of the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act during the month that ALEC’s Public Safety Task Force had to review the bill prior to its introduction to the Arizona legislature may be a moot point.

The private corrections/immigrant detention industry has had ample opportunity—and obvious intent—in recent years to influence the drafting of and smooth the way toward passage of this and similar legislation.

According to Pearce, Kobach and Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman, the Support Our Law Enforcement Act went through a lengthy edit and review process from the months before its introduction at the legislature to the day it was signed by the Governor. This review process—aside from the numerous hearings held in both houses of the state legislature—took place predominantly within the office of the Maricopa County Attorney and in the office of Governor Brewer.

A little over a week after Pearce introduced the Support Our Law Enforcement Act on the floor of the state Senate as SB 1070, CCA enlisted Highground Consulting, one of the most influential lobbying firms in Phoenix, to represent its interests in the state.

Lobby disclosure forms filed with the Arizona Secretary of State indicate that Maricopa County also employed the consulting firm during the time of the bill’s formation.

Highground’s influence extends into Governor Brewer’s office. The firm’s owner and principal is Charles “Chuck” Coughlin, Brewer’s top advisor and campaign manager.

In addition to Coughlin, CCA has further ties to the office of the Governor. State lobby reports reveal that Gov. Brewer’s current spokesman, Senseman, had been lobbying Arizona lawmakers as CCA’s chief lobbyist in the state as an employee of Policy Development Group, Inc., yet another influential Phoenix consulting firm, from 2005 to late 2008. Senseman was appointed as Brewer’s spokesman in January 2009—fresh off the job with CCA. Senseman’s wife, Kathryn, remains employed by Policy Development Group, which still lobbies the state on behalf of CCA.

So, in 2005 and 2006, while Arizona lawmakers—many of them ALEC members—were drafting provisions of what would eventually become the “Breathing While Brown” law (incorporated in HB 2577), Governor Brewer’s current director of communications was lobbying on behalf of the largest private prison company and operator of immigrant detention facilities in the nation.

Additionally, Brewer’s Chief Policy Advisor, Richard Bark—a man mentioned by Senseman, Pearce and Kobach as being directly involved in the drafting of the Support Our Law Enforcement Act—remains listed with the Office of the Secretary of State as an active lobbyist for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI). CCA is a “board level” member of ACCI and is the top employer in Pinal County, located just south of Maricopa County, where CCA operates five detention facilities for both state prisoners and immigrant detainees.

Meanwhile, GEO Group employs Public Policy Partners, a consulting firm which, like Highground, also provides consultation and lobbying services to Maricopa County.

While Public Policy Partners, an Arizona-based company, has over 30 clients in the state, it is worth noting that the firm has only two clients at the federal level: GEO Group (based in Florida) and Ron Sachs Communications, a Florida-based public relations firm which, according to lobby records, promotes issues related to prison privatization. Public Policy Partners, as a firm, also appears to be an advocate for expanded use of private prisons.

Federal lobby records from the first quarter of 2010 show Public Policy Partners’ owner, John Kaites, lobbying on behalf of the firm on issues pertaining to “private correctional detention management.”

CCA has also shown special interest in Arizona through several recent choices in its corporate structuring.

In 2007, CCA hired Brad Regens as “vice president of state partnership relations” for the purpose of cultivating new contracts in Arizona and California. In the two years immediately prior to his employment at CCA, Regens had worked in the Arizona House of Representatives as director of fiscal policy. Before his appointment as director of fiscal policy, Regens spent nine years working in the Arizona legislature in various roles, including assistant director of the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

Further, after hiring Regens, CCA elected former U.S. Arizona Senator Dennis DeConcini to its board of directors in February 2008.

Subsequent Events

Since this article’s initial publication in the July 2010 issue of In These Times, several developments have unfolded in the case of Arizona’s controversial “Breathing While Brown” law.

On July 6, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a challenge to the constitutionality of SB 1070 in the U.S. District Court for Arizona. The DOJ’s primary assertion, as stated in a press release, was that the law “unconstitutionally interferes with the federal government’s authority to set and enforce immigration policy.” As such, the DOJ urged the court to issue an injunction before the law, through its implementation, caused “irreparable harm” to the functions of both local and federal law enforcement and immigration efforts.

Numerous chiefs of Arizona law enforcement agencies submitted briefs in support of the DOJ challenge, stating that SB 1070 would cause undue burden on their officers and hamper their ability to perform their jobs by alienating a significant portion of the communities they serve. A Tucson police officer, Martin Escobar, had filed a separate lawsuit in April 2010 challenging SB 1070, claiming that he could be held liable for violating people’s civil rights if he was required to enforce the law. His suit was eventually dismissed due to lack of standing.

On July 28, the day before SB 1070 was set to take effect, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued a temporary injunction in the DOJ’s suit, suspending several of the statute’s more controversial provisions, among them the requirement that law enforcement officers check an individual’s immigration status if they are suspected of being in the country illegally. See: United States v. State of Arizona, U.S.D.C. (D. Ariz.), Case No. 2:10-cv-01413-NVW.

On September 2, 2010, the DOJ filed another federal lawsuit, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his agency, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), to gain access to documents that Arpaio repeatedly failed to produce. The DOJ had requested records detailing how, or if, federal funds received by MSCO had been used to further alleged discriminatory policing practices that targeted Hispanics—such as racial profiling and discrimination against jail prisoners.

According to the complaint in that suit, the DOJ had been seeking Arpaio’s cooperation since March 2009. Ironically, given the fact that “the federal government has failed us!” is the rallying cry of Arizona lawmakers backing SB 1070 and other “tough-on-immigration” policies, the DOJ’s complaint states that Maricopa County (and through it, MCSO) had received nearly $16 million in federal law enforcement and border security grants in 2009 alone.

Where that money went, Sheriff Arpaio won’t say—at least not without a court fight. According to pleadings in the case filed in late September 2010, MCSO denied withholding records from DOJ investigators. Yet according to DOJ documents, MCSO wrote the department as recently as August 27, stating it refused to cooperate fully with the federal investigation. The suit remains pending. See: United States v. Maricopa County, U.S.D.C. (D. Ariz.), Case No. 2:10-cv-01878-GMS.

In regard to the private prison industry connection to SB 1070, it has been learned that private prison executives turned out their checkbooks to show their appreciation to Arizona House Speaker and SB 1070 sponsor Kirk Adams. According to data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, GEO Group founder and CEO George Zoley, along with GEO President and Chief Operating Officer Wayne Calabrese, his wife Rhonda Calabrese and GEO Senior Vice President John Hurley, all wrote checks to Rep. Adams for $410 (the maximum contribution allowed under state law) on the same day in December 2009.

An abbreviated version of this article was first published by In These Times; this expanded and updated version is reprinted with permission from the author.