Saying, "We cannot wait any longer for the feds to get the job done," state Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, called Wednesday for the formation of a state police force to patrol California's border with Mexico.

The announcement came as Haynes sent the initial draft of the "California Border Police Initiative" to the state attorney general's office Wednesday, a first step toward getting the measure on the ballot in June 2006.

On Tuesday, Haynes also presented the same proposal in the Assembly as an amendment to the state constitution. If the Senate and Assembly approve the amendment proposal by a two-thirds majority, it would also go on the ballot, though there is little likelihood of getting legislative approval, a spokesman for the assemblyman said.

"With the nature of this Legislature —— predominantly liberals who don't want to touch the immigration issue —— we don't believe that will ever happen, so we decided to go to the people," said Haynes spokesman Chris Wysocki.

The initiative calls for forming a state police force, similar to the Highway Patrol, that would be charged with patrolling the borders and aiding the U.S. Border Patrol in its work.

Haynes said Wednesday that while the cost of hiring 1,000 to 2,000 sworn officers could run between $200 million and $400 million a year, he sees it as an investment that will quickly pay for itself.

"I figure that for every dollar we spend on enforcing immigration laws, we would save $9 in taxpayer money," he said. "We spent in our current (state) budget about $10 billion on services for illegal immigrants."

He said that if the attorney general's office approves the language in the summary of the measure and its title, he expects volunteers to immediately begin gathering the approximately 600,000 signatures of registered voters needed to get the measure on the ballot.

The measure also calls for building new jails to house the illegal immigrants that California Border Police might capture before turning them over to the federal government, according to a news release from the advocacy group, Rescue California Secure Our Borders.

Under a different name, Rescue California Recall Gray Davis, the organization was a key player in gathering the signatures for the petitions that led to the vote to oust Davis.

The group will be helping to gather signatures for the initiative, a spokesman for that organization said Wednesday. Two things should make it relatively easy to accomplish that task, said Dave Gilliard, a political consultant with the group. The organization has thousands of volunteers and many Californians agree with Haynes that something must be done to stop the tide of illegal immigration, he said.

"We think it will be very popular," Gilliard said.

A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office said Wednesday that the governor has not yet taken a position on the proposed ballot measure. Last week, Schwarzenegger ignited a storm of controversy and drew national press attention when he praised the work done by the Minuteman Project, a group of volunteer activists patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border in Arizona.

A Minuteman spokesman said Wednesday that Haynes' proposal sounds like a good move.

"This is the most logical solution that anybody has brought up, because the federal government has abrogated its responsibility for protecting every state in the union against the invasion of illegal immigrants," said Gray Deacon.

On Wednesday, immigrant advocate and UC Riverside Professor Armando Navarro slammed Haynes' proposed initiative as just one more sign of a growing tide of racism in the United States. Navarro in April traveled to Arizona and Mexico to lead protests against the Minuteman Project,

"The Latino community in this country is under siege," Navarro said. "They are proposing creating a police state. Every reactionary movement needs a scapegoat."

Haynes bristled at the allegation. "It's not racist to enforce our laws," he said.

The racists are those who exploit illegal immigrants, transporting them or hiring them at less than minimum wage, he added.

Haynes' proposal for a state immigration police force comes as no surprise, but is misguided, said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing U.S. Border Patrol agents. There is only one way to stop illegal immigration, he said.

"The major attraction here is jobs and until you address that by going after employers who hire illegals, you are just going to be shoveling sand against the tide," Bonner said.

Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or wbennett@californian.com.