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GUEST OPINION
Rep. Pearce Demands Action on Social, Economic Impact of Border Invasion By State Rep.
Russell Pearce (Republican-Mesa) We the citizens of Arizona demand immediate action
on the following steps to halt the terrible social and economic impact
of illegal immigration: We ask the governor to: 5) Deny or revoke state licenses, grants to any
employer who knowingly hires illegal aliens. The failures of the current policies are so evident and oft-repeated that it is time act and to look forward. What a massive failure of government, like Hurricane Katrina, the failure is at all levels, federal, state and local. The cost is in billions of dollars (nationally): *$70 billion in federal public benefits. *$200 billion annually I lost American wages. *1/3 of our federal prisoners are illegals (cost $1.6 billion). *$1.6 billion in displaced American workers. *$80 billion in the war on drugs. *$8000 per student plus 1200 additional for English Learners in K-12 (times 1.5 million). *$27 billion to provide forms, ballots, interpreters and brochures for languages other than English. *$350 billion in unpaid taxes due to the underground workforce. *$2 to 3 billion in "child earned income tax credit" welfare for the working poor in addition to other welfare programs. *$40.2 billion, business deductions for wage and benefits tax deductions
Today, conditions are probably as bad or worse than they ever have been
on the border. What we find is a mass migration of historic proportions:
individuals running through backyards, breaking down fences,
slaughtering cattle, cutting their dogs' throats if they bark, and
terrifying people. Men and women who live on the border walk around
armed. Women accompany their children to the bus stop with a gun in
their purse in the heaviest cross-corridors. We find that people are afraid to go out at night. Husbands and wives can't go out together unless somebody is home because someone may break-in and tear the place up. Water tanks are emptied. Stock gets killed. Fences are destroyed. It's a very, very negative situation for people in the rural countryside. Talking about illegal immigration is not polite: it just simply is not polite in society. 5 Myths of illegal immigration:
You pay an American a decent wage and they will do the job. 18 million Americans in unemployment lines, over 60 percent of adult black males are out of work (between ages of 18 & 24), and a bloated welfare system.
Barrons report $311-350 in unpaid taxes due to the underground workforce. A great majority of illegals make $6 to $8 per hour, and qualify for the earned income tax credit (welfare). Public education cost from $7000 to $, 10,000 per child, multiply that times 2 to 4 children. Add free and reduced breakfast and lunch, fee medical, food stamps, housing subsidies. Harvard Univ. put the cost of public benefits at over $70 billion annually.
It already cost you over $3. You make a down payment at the grocery store. Government finances the other $2. Healthcare, education, food stamps, subsidized housing, criminal justice cost, etc. Farmers and Corporate America get cheap labor while you and I pay billions in social and economic cost.
Los Angeles, as of Jan. 2004, 95 percent of all outstanding warrants for homicide (about 1500) target illegal aliens. 66 percent of all fugitive felony warrants are for illegal aliens. Largest and most violent gangs are made up of illegal aliens, the MS-13 gang (30,000 strong, in over 33 major cities) most violent and ruthless gang ever known. The 18th street gang in L.A. is 20,000 strong made up of illegal aliens.
1996 Immigration Control Act made it clear local law enforcement could enforce immigration law. Muehler v Mena: a 9-0 Landmark Supreme Court Decision (April 1st), Stated the officers didn’t need to have reasonable suspicion. The Court held that asking questions about immigration status was ok and yes the law does allow local law enforcement the ability to arrest. Any decision by law enforcement not to enforce immigration laws is a political decision by politicians and local police chiefs, not a lack of authority. A recent memo by the U.S. Department of Justice makes it clear local law enforcement can enforce immigration laws. Every Arizonan who watches local television news knows aliens likely kill more people per year than the 1,100-plus who perished in Katrina’s waters. As slow as the response was to Katrina disaster, they did respond. Yet we observe the disaster on our border and get little response from Washington. Freedom and security are neither cheap nor easy. They are, quite simply, needed to ensure this country remains free and prospers. The alternative is dyer. It seems the debate is heating up in Washington. Lawmakers and leading immigration reform advocates at both the federal and state level have put forward numerous proposals to make our borders more secure, reduce crime in our cities and reduce the amount of taxpayer money spent on services to illegal aliens. With inertia setting in at the federal level, it is time for individual states to act also. The states must partner with the feds on this issue. So next legislative session, legislative Republicans will be busy pursuing a common-sense strategy to cut down on the number of illegal aliens allowed to roam our neighborhoods and terrorize out citizens. New technology married with old-fashioned techniques can go a long way securing our borders. The comprehensive strategy will include:
Still, some politicians don't get it, after deaths in the desert, depressed wages, billions in lost taxes and additional billions in wasted taxpayer dollars to undeserving recipients, some politicians want to pander to the pro-illegal alien lobby. I have laid out my agenda for the next year. It is filled with real reform that can provide true savings of life and money. With the federal government taking a backseat, the state needs to step up to the plate. If Napolitano will work with the Legislature to fight illegal immigration, together we can create a safer and more prosperous Arizona.
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