Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., today condemned a Republican state lawmaker's endorsement of a controversial 1950s federal deportation program known as "Operation Wetback."
Shadegg, who unsuccessfully ran for House majority leader earlier this year, also criticized Arizona Republican Party Chairman Matt Salmon for not rebuking Mesa Rep. Russell Pearce's remarks, which were made in an interview broadcast Sept. 27 on radio station KJZZ (91.5 FM).
"I think that was a mistake," Shadegg said. "If I'd have been Matt Salmon, I would have commented. There is no room in this dialogue for that kind of a comment and I condemn Russell Pearce for what he said."
Here's what Pearce said to spark widespread outrage: "We know what we need to do. In 1953, (President) Dwight D. Eisenhower put together a task force called 'Operation Wetback.' He removed in less than a year 1.3 million illegal immigrants. They must be deported."
He also said he's "troubled" by the provocative over-heated immigration-related rhetoric of others in the debate, including colleague Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz.
During a candidate endorsement interview with The Arizona Republic's Editorial Board, Shadegg said:
"I not only condemn Mr. Pearce for his remarks, which I believe damage society and damage public discourse on the topic, but I criticize anybody who takes an extreme position on this issue," Shadegg said. "Those who say round them up and deport them. Most, when you press them, know that's irrational. It can't work. If you tried it, you would destroy the economy of this country."
Shadegg said immigration reform requires "multiple strategies," including the physical securing of the U.S.-Mexico border, but added "a fence won't solve the problem."
Physical and "virtual fencing" is needed to win back the lost confidence of the American people, he said, but workplace enforcement and a guest-worker program also is needed.
Shadegg said:
"My friends who say 'no guest-worker program,' I believe, fundamentally misapprehend the American economy. There are two reasons to have a guest-worker program. One is that we need the labor. I was told within the last month-and-a-half by a gentleman in the farming business that $2 million worth of melons were plowed under because we didn't have the people to pick them."
The second reason cited by Shadegg is that a guest-worker program would help regulate border traffic.
When asked if he'd include border-hardliner Hayworth as somebody "who takes an extreme position" on immigration reform, Shadegg said:
"J.D. and I at times had tense relations. J.D. and I buried the hatchet a number of years ago very successfully. We are now cordial and are friends.
"But you have the right to ask the question and I have an obligation to answer it.
"I believe that anyone who whips up emotions on this issue is doing damage to the ultimate solution. And I am troubled by that."
Hayworth is the author of the border-security book Whatever It Takes and recently appeared in the film Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration. Shadegg today said he hasn't read Hayworth's book.
Shadegg is running for re-election against Democrat Herb Paine in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District. |
