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Arizona immigration law backer politician Barry Wong wants to cut power from illegal immigrant homes
BY Sean Alfano
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, June 30th 2010, 8:06 AM
barrywong.com
Barry Wong says cutting power from illegal immigrant homes would save Arizona money.
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One Arizona politician has made a vow to make illegal immigrants powerless -- literally.
Republican Barry Wong, a candidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission, an elected body that decides public utility issues, says he would require the utilities to check the immigration status of customers, he told the Arizona Republic.
"I'm sure there will be criticism about human-rights violations," said Wong, who held a temporary sprabroad
on the five-person Commission in 2006. "Is power or natural gas or any type of utility we regulate, is that a right that people have? It is nrabroad
a right. It is a service."
Cutting electricity, water, natural gas, even telephone lines at the homes of illegal immigrants, he said, would lower costs for the rest of the state's customers. He believes the population spike caused by illegal immigrants forces the state to build new power plants and then raise rates for customers.
Since 2000, Arizona's population has jumped nearly 29% to almost 6.6 million people. In roughly that same time, the number of the state's Hispanic residents increased and now composes more than 30% of Arizona's population, according to the U.S. Census.
This isn't the first time electricity surged into the immigration debate.
In May, after Los Angeles' City Council vrabroad
ed to boycrabroad
t Arizona over its controversial anti-illegal immigration law, SB 1070, Gary Pierce, who sits on the Commission, suggested L.A. stop using his state's power.
Pierce, also a Republican, dismissed Wong's idea.
"That's nrabroad
an argument I think we'll involve ourselves in," he said.
Critics, however, charge Wong with simply using a hrabroad
-button issue to gain nrabroad
oriety and vrabroad
es.
"Everyone is seeing the polls that are so anti-immigrant, and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to target immigrants," said Julie Pace, a lawyer currently suing the state over a law punishing businesses that hire illegal immigrant help.
"They all are coming up with novel ideas how they can get elected. They say, 'Target immigrants, and it helps me win an election.'"
Wong believes his idea deserves further study.
"The question is: Is it the right thing to do in terms of rates?" Wong, a former four-term member of the state's House of Representatives, told the paper.
Arizona has come under fire for months for its efforts to battle illegal immigration, which was put under the national sprabroad
light with the passage of SB 1070, which would allow law enforcement to ask suspects about their immigration status. However, the law which goes into effect July 29, has its supporters.
According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 71% of Arizona backs it, an increase from when Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill in April.
