‘It doesn’t wash’
Danny Hendon, owner of the Danny’s Family Car Wash chain, speaks out against the employer-sanctions law at a recent news conference. “The chain reaction of potential job loss is stunning,” he said.

Wake Up Arizona!, the coalition of business owners opposing the employer sanctions program Napolitano signed earlier this month, launched their effort to educate the public and support a lawsuit challenging the legislation, saying the effect could be devastating on the state’s economy.
Mac Magruder, who owns several McDonald’s restaurants, said the group would join in a lawsuit filed July 13 challenging the constitutionality of H2779 (Laws 2007, Chapter 279). He said the primary goal of the organization would be to educate the public about the unintended consequences of the soon-to-be law, which he termed the “job destruction act.”
“The ripple effect will touch most of the businesses in Arizona and its employees,” he said.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court by the Arizona Contractors Association and Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform.
Other business owners lamented the economy-wide effect of shutting down businesses. Danny Hendon, owner of Danny’s Family Car Wash, said, “The chain reaction of potential job loss is stunning.”
But Gov. Janet Napolitano said she didn’t put much stock in the “predictions of doom and gloom” that Wake Up Arizona! and other critics of the employer sanctions measure were saying would happen.
And Rep. Russell Pearce, who sponsored the legislation and has fought for employer sanctions for several years, said the economic impact will be minimal, if it is even felt at all.
“It opens the door for legitimate businesses,” he said of closing down companies that break the law. “A free market will adjust.”
Ray Arvizu, who operates Arvizu Advertising, said the state is treading onto federal ground with this legislation.
“If they’re going to take on employer sanction, why didn’t they come up with a guest-worker program while they were at it, too≠” he said.
Cheap immigrant labor a myth≠
Other Wake Up Arizona! members, including Jason LeVecke, a Carl’s Jr. franchisee and chairman of Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform, said the notion of immigrants being used as a source of cheap labor is a myth.
“I challenge you to find that cheap labor in this state,” he said, instead saying the demand for jobs is there because the economy adds more jobs each year than American workers can perform.
But Pearce, R-18, says the only reason Wake Up Arizona! and other business groups oppose the employer sanctions provisions is because they hire illegal immigrants.
“Their press conference was almost a confession,” he said. “These people are afraid they’re finally going to have to comply with the law.”
Magruder said the reality of the situation was that those harmed most by the legislation wouldn’t be the business owners, but the legal employees who are out of a job if a business license gets revoked.
“When brown people lose their jobs, white people lose their jobs. That’s a fact,” he said.
For the immediate short term, Wake Up Arizona! will focus on supporting the lawsuit.
“The best of all worlds is not a special session. The best of all worlds is rescinding the bill,” he said. “That probably won’t happen, so the next best thing would be for it to be struck down.”
Magruder also said the coalition was discussing a competing initiative for the 2008 ballot to challenge the Legal Arizona Workers Act initiative, which is being spearheaded by former gubernatorial candidate Don Goldwater.
Other groups may join lawsuit
The state’s two largest business organizations both may join in the lawsuit challenging the new law’s constitutionality.
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry is expected to decide if it will intervene in the suit at its July 20 governor’s board meeting, after the Arizona Capitol Times deadline. Jessica Pacheco, spokeswoman for the state chamber, said the advocacy group is opposed to the sanctions because they don’t “effectively address the problem” of illegal immigration.
“We think it’s bad for Arizona,” she said. “Frankly, we think it’s bad for the United States…
“We need to rethink how Arizona should tackle this issue.”
Like its statewide counterpart, the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce is looking at joining the lawsuit. Spokesman Todd Sanders, who said his organization was asked to join the suit, said a board meeting to consider the matter was tentatively scheduled for later this month.
In the meantime, he said the Chamber is working to help businesses understand and meet the new employment standards.
“Right now, our big focus is to tell our members how to comply with the new law,” he said.
Arizona Capitol Reports reporter Tasya Grabenstein contributed to this article.