Arizona Governor against immigrant bill: says crackdown likely to hurt economic growth

Approving legislation with the stated aim of discouraging illegal immigration could hurt Arkansas' chances of landing major economic development projects such as a long-sought Toyota factory, Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday. Speaking on his monthly radio call-in show on the Arkansas Radio Network, the governor said he doubted that Senate Bill 206 by Sen. Jim Holt would get anywhere in the Legislature. But if it did, Huckabee said, it could deter a company like Toyota Motor Corp. or Sanyo Corp. in Forrest City or Nestle USA in Jonesboro from investing in Arkansas. "If we send the message that, essentially, `If you don't look like us, talk like us and speak like us, we don't want you.' It has tremendous economic repercussions," Huckabee told radio listeners. [more]