State Rep. Tony Cornish said he’s planning to sponsor Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s proposed legislation targeting illegal immigrants.

“It’s dubious whether it has a chance (of passing), but we’ve got to try something,” said Cornish, R-Vernon Center.

Pawlenty held a news conference this week outlining a plan to combat illegal immigration, the second time the governor has done that early in an election year. The controversial topic is a top issue for some voters, particularly conservatives, and the state Democratic Party immediately accused the governor of promoting a wedge issue.

“Pawlenty makes his proposal at the beginning of each election year, it goes nowhere, and its only purpose is to divide Minnesotans,” DFL state Chairman Brian Melendez said.

Cornish said he doesn’t see illegal immigration as a partisan issue.

“It would seem there’s a national concern about illegal immigrants,” Cornish said.

The governor’s proposed legislation that Cornish hopes to sponsor or co-sponsor includes penalties for companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, creates tougher penalties for forging public documents and forces cities to drop rules restricting when police officers can ask about a person’s immigration status.

Cornish, the Lake Crystal police chief, said he disagrees with some Minnesota law enforcement leaders that it’s counterproductive to push local police to enforce immigration laws. The concern, along with distracting officers from other crimes, is that illegal immigrants will be reluctant to report crimes or step forward as witnesses of criminal activity if they’re afraid they will be arrested for immigration violations.

“We can’t solve that problem by ignoring our state laws,” Cornish said. “... We have to enforce our laws.”

Cornish didn’t sponsor the Pawlenty proposal in 2006. His doubts about whether it will become law come in part from the fact the legislation made no progress last time even though the House was then controlled by Republicans and now is solidly in the hands of the DFL.

He said the failure of the legislation to advance even under a Republican House came in part from opposition by cities and by businesses that may be employing undocumented workers.