Out of exasperation and under pressure from constituents, hundreds of proposals dealing with the illegal alien invasion are being considered by state legislatures around the nation.

Arizona, with its dubious distinction as the nexus of the border issue, was featured prominently in an article at the national level (The Washington Post) on state level activity concerning the illegal alien crises.

Here in Arizona, the House has passed legislation to set fines and other penalties for companies that hire illegal aliens. The bill  is expected to win Senate approval within days.

Others legislation includes bills to:
·        erect an 80-mile fence along the Mexican border;
·        install a multimillion-dollar radar system along the Mexican border;
·        require police to check the citizenship of anyone stopped for a traffic offense.

State Rep. Russell K. Pearce, a Republican who says he is "fed up" with his own party's mismanagement of the issue in Washington, leads the charge. 

"We had high hopes that Congress would do something this year," Pearce said. "But Washington is ducking its responsibility. Our constituents are outraged about that. So they are demanding -- and I mean demanding -- that we do the job instead."  (Hill Impasse Spurs States to Tackle Illegal Immigration, T.R. Reid, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, May 3, 2006; Page A01)

Interestingly polls taken recently indicate that immigration outranks gasoline prices as an issue in Arizona.  Republican Sen. Jon Kyl and his Democratic opponent Jim Pederson are already slugging it out over the airwaves for the November election -- and the main issue is immigration.

The Washington post article went on to say that Pearce's employer-sanction plan has the best chance of becoming law in the next session.  Governor Napolitano said in January that she would sign an employer-sanction bill.

Even business groups concede that approval is probable.  Farrell Quinlan of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and industry concedes that without federal government action the states are under increasing pressure to fill the void.

Backlash anyone?