Greed Triumphs

Arizona business leaders are increasingly at odds with Republican Party leadership over immigration issues, particularly leaders who aim to crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers. Last week, 32 chambers of commerce sent a letter to state lawmakers and Gov. Janet Napolitano imploring them to hold off on state actions and work for "comprehensive immigration reform" in Congress this year. This puts the business sector, a key component of the Republican Party, in opposition to the party's leadership in the Legislature, which has made immigration reform a top goal this year.

The business leaders say that an Arizona-only immigration crackdown would hurt the state's competitiveness and make it less attractive for prospective employers. And, they complain, there still is not a surefire way to verify the legal status of would-be employees. That would put employers at risk of prosecution if they're later found to have an unauthorized worker on the payroll.

• JJ Commentary: Once again greed tops all other motivating factors. The god of mammon rules.