Former Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce’s SB 1070 Continues to Benefit the Private Prison Industry at the Expense of Illegal Immigrants

By Tatiana Herrera

Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce at his recall election on Tuesday 

November 8, 2011 (Ross D. Franklin - AP Photo)

A historic elections recall on Nov. 8, 2011 marks the first time a state senate President is voted out of office. Ousted Sen. Russell Pearce was not be carrying out his full term, which would have ended November 2012. The message is that voters will not tolerate extreme immigration laws.

Pearce was not only instrumental in drafting the controversial Senate Bill 1070 but he also sits on the board of  a group that helped shape the immigration law, known as ALEC or the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is an organization of state legislators, powerful corporations and associations that has come under scrutiny for their lack of transparency.        

It was in a meeting in 2009 at a Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington that the idea for immigration SB 1070 was first proposed to a select group of people by ALEC, amongst those was the largest private prison company in the country. This is where we see a conflict of interest. Aside from being the architect and pioneer of this bill when in office, Pearce sits on the ALEC task force, who along with the prison companies and other Arizona legislators drafted this bill and seamlessly enacted out a plan that is beneficial and profitable for certain companies that comprise ALEC at the expense of illegal immigrants’ civil rights’ in Arizona.

Arizona Senate Bill 1070 allows police to ask anyone “reasonably suspected” of entering the country illegally for proper documentation. They are then subject to arrest and ultimately deportation. It is referred to by many as the  “show me your papers” bill to crudely surmise what the law calls for. 

SB 1070 was passed spring 2010 with the support of Gov. Jan Brewer. She was also one of the three legislative officials who officially removed Pearce from office on Nov. 22, 2011 according to The Huffington Post. Brewer has come under scrutiny as state lobbying records, uncovered by NPR.org show two of her top advisors –her spokesman Paul Senseman and her campaign manager Chuck Coughlin were former lobbyists for private prison companies.     

Despite any investigations being conducted the law remains in place and those arrested equal big money for privatized jails that are in the immigration business. This includes special prisons for illegal woman and children. A year prior to the passing of this bill, Benson, Arizona’s city manager Glenn Nichols told NPR he was contacted by private contractors hoping to sell a prison for illegal immigrants. He said they spoke with a certain confidence the prison would remain full. “They talked like they didn’t have any doubt they could fill it.”  This was because these private companies were banking on Arizona’s Immigration Law, a law originating from a business idea.   

Fast-forward to 2011 and you see that this law has led to “racial profiling”, a Federal lawsuit, various civil rights groups’ lawsuits and ultimately the recent replacement of Sen. Russell Pearce with fellow republican and Mormon Jerry Lewis.       

                                            

Lewis has garnered the support of many citizens’ activists groups who have gone out and registered voters while spreading his campaign message. Jeff Biggers for AlterNet.com reported Promise Arizona registered over a thousand new voters in the efforts of sending Pearce the message that extremist behavior would not be rewarded or tolerated any longer. These groups are credited with making this recall a statewide effort.

Including, Public Campaign Action Fund, an advocate against special interests groups who spent $47,000 to send over 17,000 voters’ mailers encouraging them to vote for Lewis. He ran on a promise to not take any gifts from lobbyists or special interests groups and to introduce a bill that bans such gifts for legislators according to his campaign site.

Pearce on the other hand is accused of accepting campaign gifts and inappropriate donations on various occasions as was the case when he accepted donations in the form of tickets and money from Fiesta Bowl executives, a college football tournament. The Fiesta Bowl has allegedly made other illegal campaign contributions in the past. Pearce’s ties with the private prison industry have also hurt his credibility.

Pearce denies pushing the bill through for alternative motives other than to enforce the border, saying it’s not about prisons it’s about what’s best for the country. He managed to get this bill passed under the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.” It is the first of its kind and is supported by big corporations who are also members of ALEC, such as tobacco company Reynolds American Inc., Exxon Mobile and the National Rifle Association, a member of Corrections Corporation America, the billion dollar leader in the private prison industry.         

                                               

Pearce says despite private prison companies having had the opportunity to lobby for legislation at these meetings he was not in attendance. According to the investigation conducted by Laura Sullivan for NPR, when the bill was proposed to the state, 36 co-sponsors supported the bill. This unusually high number of supporters was “a sign of ALEC’s influence.” Two- thirds of theses supporters are elected officials who have attended meetings with ALEC members where the bill was first drafted. Some of these co-sponsors have accepted donations from private prison companies and their lobbyists. In particular, Corrections Corporation of America, Management and Training Corporation and The Geo Group.   

Michael Hough, a staff director at this meeting, stated “ALEC is the conservative, free market oriented, limited-government group.” He is running for state delegate in Maryland and says he would support a  bill similar to Arizona’s law.

This immigration law has sparked many copycat bills, with 24 state legislatures introducing the bill. Georgia is leading the way in being the closest to pass a 1070 style copycat bill. This is pending state legislature’s approval but has passed the first round of voting, being approved by the state senate committee. South Carolina has also passed a similar law through Senate, other states include Tennessee and Florida.

   

Opposition from immigrant and civil rights groups, as well as business interests has played a key role in stalling efforts to pass these copycat bills. Only 10 states have killed the bill altogether, demonstrating the potential for a law like this to spread like wildfire if not for the activist groups who vehemently oppose these extreme immigration laws.