Since we are on the front lines and have undocumented workers, it (legislation) will point the way for businesses to come here. They will not have to worry about a potential illegal workforce. They will have a legal workforce.

We know it will be an uphill battle. Establishing a state minimum wage higher than the federal wage will actually hurt job creation and the very people it's supposed to help, the entry-level workers.

I will promote legislation to improve working conditions, wages and benefits for our workers and to provide incentives needed for growth and competition in the small business and manufacturing companies.

This important legislation addresses two harsh realities: an intolerably high percentage of the farm workers who plant and harvest our produce are undocumented - and they are the most poorly paid and poorly treated workers in the United States.

Our position has been that employment of immigrants is a federal issue, and it deserves a federal response. But if the federal government doesn't act, you're going to see the states try to fill the void.

We have always expected that the time was coming very soon when (the federal government) would begin greater enforcement.