In an obvious attempt to upstage Governor Blunt’s announcement yesterday of tough new immigration measures, Jay Nixon trumpeted the sentencing of a Lake of the Ozarks developer to five years probation and roughly $1 million in penalties and fees for hiring thirty illegal immigrants.

We’re pleased that Jay’s pollsters and consultants have told him that Missourians, along with the nation as a whole, are fed up with ILLEGAL immigration. Missourians are not pleased when their attorney general releases press releases in Spanish and publishes – at taxpayers’ expense – booklets tilted Conozca Sus Derechos “Know Your Rights.”

Ordinary citizens are commenting on the blogs, talk radio, and in chat rooms that prison terms are the only deterrent greedy executives will truly heed. A one million dollar fine? How many more millions did this developer make from his luxury condominium project by employing illegal immigrants? It is a safe bet that is was significantly more than one million dollars.

Also, how can the occupants of those condos be assured of their safety? An illegal immigrant construction worker doesn’t receive the same level of training that a legal worker does. Relative to the safety issues, the profit that was made, and the total disregard for the law by this developer, his sentence amounts to a slap on the wrist in our opinion.

The Missouri Republican Party had this to say about Jay’s Road to Damascus conversion to enforcing the law:

“In a series of desperate political attacks against Governor Blunt’s tough stance on illegal immigration, Nixon has so far avoided having to directly answer questions about a 1998 Project Vote Smart survey in which he supported the following immigration issue included in the survey: “Prohibit states from passing laws that deny human services (medical care, education) to illegal immigrants or their children.” A copy of the Vote Smart Survey is available here. When asked on April 11 by KY-3 about the survey, Nixon said: “I honestly don’t remember what was on that. I mean I have to look at that. I just don’t remember doing it.”

Related:

KSMU Audio: Governor Announces Illegal Immigration Proposal

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