Lembke Wants Martinez To Answer Immigration Questions

New St. Louis State Senator Jim Lembke has sent a letter to Governor Jay Nixon's nominee to head Economic Development, asking her to outline her views on immigration before she's confirmed.

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Lembke's letter to Economic Development nominee Linda Martinez states he has "a few questions regarding the correlation between job protection and illegal immigration."

These are the four listed in Lembke's letter:

• Over the last two years, the Legislature has worked on measures to curb the proliferation of illegal immigration in Missouri. How will you work with the legislature to see that illegal immigration is curbed in Missouri?
• Do you think Missouri has the constitutional authority to enact any laws regarding undocumented workers/illegal aliens? If so give an example.
• How would you protect the prevailing wage from being devalued by undocumented workers?
• Do you believe state-funded welfare benefits should be available to illegal immigrants?
  

Some conservatives are upset/energized over Martinez's previous comments about illegal immigration that she made during appearance on Lou Dobbs' CNN program back in 2006. At that time, Martinez, a St. Louis attorney, represented opponents of an ordinance designed to prevent landlords from renting to illegal immigrants.

During her CNN appearance, Martinez said local ordinances should not be able to address the issue. "The power to control immigration issues is addressed by the Constitution and delegated solely to the federal government. It's not to be administered on a local basis by cities and states. It's supposed to be mandated on a national basis -- a consistent national policy so there's not a patchwork of ordinances," Martinez said.

Read the rest of the transcript from her appearance HERE.