Jetton: Lazy Missourians could learn from Mexicans

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A lot of lazy Missourians, including many in Southeast Missouri, could benefit from adopting the work ethic of Mexican immigrants, House Speaker Rod Jetton said Thursday.

Jetton, speaking to publishers, editors and reporters at the Missouri Governor's Mansion, made an example of Wayne County residents in his 156th Missouri House District. In 2004, an employer who considered moving to Wayne County, which had one of the highest unemployment rates in the state at the time, was able to attract only three applicants, Jetton said. The jobs weren't great -- the pay was about $8 an hour -- but the chance to get off government assistance should have been attractive, he said.

"We have a shortage of people who want to go out and bust their tails and do the jobs," Jetton said.

Jetton made his remarks when asked about his statement made to Republicans in Springfield, Mo., that he would like to "trade some of our people for some of the Mexicans who work so hard."

He didn't back away from that remark. "If we can find a way to trade them, I would trade them in a heartbeat," Jetton said.

The statements from Jetton spiced discussions of illegal immigration and the steps Missouri can take to combat the flow of illegal immigrants into the state. He and other legislative leaders speaking as part of the Missouri Press Association/Associated Press Day at the Capitol said the issue is one of their top priorities for this year's legislative session.

More than half a dozen bills have been filed to restrict state benefits for people in the U.S. illegally. The bills would deny driver's licenses, public assistance and scholarships to illegal immigrants and penalize employers who knowingly hire illegals.

Democrats are focusing on the employer provisions, said House Minority Leader Paul LaVota, D-Independence. He called some of the measures "purely political," such as the one denying driver's licenses. Missouri already denies driver's licenses to illegal aliens, he said.

But the proposals on driver's licenses, including one filed by state Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, make it a crime for an illegal immigrant to attempt to obtain a Missouri driver's license.

The driver's license proposal will be rolled into a far-reaching bill touching all aspects of the issue, said Crowell, who chairs the Senate Pensions, Veterans Affairs and General Laws Committee that is handling the measures.

The committee will add several items to a bill requiring employers to verify that their workers are not in the U.S. illegally, filed by Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, Crowell said. Rupp's measure denies tax credits to companies that employ illegal aliens and fines companies that knowingly employ illegal aliens on projects supported by tax credits. The measure also bars illegal aliens from public universities and denies public assistance to immigrants until their right to be in the U.S. is verified.

Another measure that will be added will be a directive that the Missouri State Highway Patrol train troopers in federal immigration law and make inquiries about the immigration status of people they arrest.

"You have got to take care of the incentives for why illegal immigrants are moving to Missouri," Crowell said.

The Missouri Legislature must act on illegal immigration because it has become too big of a problem, Jetton said. Federal agencies "are not doing anything, so we are looking at what we need to do in our state."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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