Along with war and economics, illegal immigration has been a hot topic in politics for years. Though it has remained on the back burner recently in lieu of economic issues, it has come to the surface again in Washington state in the form of I-1043, an initiative that, if voted into law, would make it much harder for immigrants to come illegally to Washington — and for employers to hire them and get away with it.

Essentially, the initiative would do three things: give employers the right to turn illegal immigrants in to federal immigration authorities despite “sanctuary city” policies in certain jurisdictions, require employers to instantly verify immigrants’ employment eligibility using the online service “E-Verify,” and require identity and residency verification before employees received taxpayer-funded benefits or were issued a driver’s license.

In order for the initiative to reach the ballot in November, supporters must gather 250,000 signatures by July 3, said the bill’s sponsor, Wendell Hannigan, a member of the Yakama Indian Nation and a strong advocate of stricter immigration laws. Hannigan said he feels illegal immigration is a huge problem, especially with the current economic downturn.

“With the way the economy is right now, there are a lot of desperate, legal people out there who need work,” Hannigan said. “They’d take that work in a heartbeat in order to feed their families and pay their bills.”

Hannigan also mentioned the budget shortfall, attributing part of the cause to illegal immigration.

“I’m not going to say that the budget crisis we’re experiencing in Washington — also in California — is entirely due to the illegal immigrants, but they have contributed to it,” Hannigan said. “They try to claim they’re not receiving benefits, but there are ways they can sneak around the system and get them. For example, when they hurt themselves on the job, many file for worker’s compensation for medical expenses but disappear back to Mexico and continue to receive payments down there.”

Also working on gathering signatures is Craig Keller, a leader of Respect Washington, an organization dedicated solely to passing I-1043. Keller echoed Hannigan’s opinion, citing statistics about illegal immigrants receiving federal benefits.

“Basically, our goal is to accomplish a restoration of hiring ethics and honesty in employment practices,” Keller said. “If illegal aliens aren’t here for work, they’re not going to be here to draw taxpayer-funded medical benefits and education money. That would solve the bulk of the problem. It’s not right ethically, and it’s certainly costing us a lot of money.”

Luis Ortega, a UW junior, Latino Student Union member and Mexico City native, takes issue with the argument that illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes.

“By far, that argument is a myth,” Ortega said. “They buy products and pay sales tax. A lot of them have tax ID numbers and get loans. They continually contribute to the economy and generate millions of dollars from the agricultural industry. If they were to suddenly all disappear, the U.S. economy would definitely feel the hit.”

Keller said an identical effort was made last year to bring an initiative to the ballot under I-409 — however, it failed to reach the ballot after garnering only 42,000 signatures. Now, he’s giving it another try.

“Right now we’re dependent on donations and the generosity of individual citizens to fund our work,” Keller said. “I can only hope we can have more people write us some checks to help us on our way.”

One thing Keller is hoping will help the initiative’s cause is the fact that so many Americans are out of work in this struggling economy.

“One of the main reasons that we have an international boundary is to protect the citizens we have and to help them earn a livelihood,” he said. “That’s not a xenophobic thing, it’s just why we have borders. I heard [about] a Bellingham factory where 20 illegals were detained. The very next day there were over 100 people lining up for those jobs. The bottom line is illegal immigration [is] disadvantaging our native population — there’s just no way you can compete with the low wages they take.”

On the other hand, Ortega said he thinks Keller’s argument is flawed. He said Keller is trying to find a simple solution to a very complex problem.

“The system provides incentives for illegal immigration,” he said. “And then the same system benefits from it, yet punishes them. It’s insane. If we had a better immigration system, this wouldn’t happen.”

Ultimately, what drives these immigrants to come to the United States — legally or not — is a quest for a better life for themselves and their families, Ortega said.

“They are people just trying to make a living,” he said. “If there was an easier way to do it, they would. These parents are just trying to give their kids a better life and save them from a life of poverty and crime. What parent wouldn’t do the same”

Reach reporter Katie Paff at features@dailyuw.com.