A Modest Proposition

Though we may not like to admit it, there are certain issues in which the ends justify the means. The growing problem of illegal immigration into California is definitely such a case.

Proposition 187 is a ballot initiative being placed before the voters of California today. This iniative, if passed, would deny most social services, including schooling and non-emergency health care, to illegal immigrants. Proposition 187 would additionally require that health authorities and teachers report any-one they knew or suspected of being an illegal alien to immigration agents.

Each year more than 300,000 illegal immigrants cross over the United States' border with Mexico, More than half of them enter California. Currently, more than 1,275,000 illegal immigrants reside in California, nearly half the total for the entire nation.

Once in California, many of these illegals are granted access to free public services. All of this is paid for by the taxpayers of California--taxpayers who have been hard hit by the taxpayers of California--taxpayers who have been hard hit by defense cutbacks and a lackluster economy.

As a result, Proposition 187 has drawn strong support in California, and incumbent Republican Gov. Pete Wilson has made controlling illegal immigration a centerpiece of his reelection campaign.

Outside of California, were the problem of illegal immigration is less urgent, significant opposition to Prop 187 has developed. Attorney General Janet Reno stated on Oct. 27 that she believes Prop 187 is illegal, and that she personally opposes the initiative. So much for the belief that the attorney general was supposed to be apolitical.

Moreover, both President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore '69 have said publicly that they oppose prop 187. However, both of them have also called for tighter control of illegal immigration. Perhaps they believe that by ignoring the problem it will simply go away.

Wilson's recent proposal to establish a documentation system for citizens has only added to the storm of controversy. Specifically, he called for the creation of an identification card that would be issued to all legal residents of the state. The card would need to be presented any time an individual tried to receive state or federally funded non-emergency health care, enroll in a public school or obtain a job.

The pro-immigration lobby was quick to respond. In a typical display of insightful commentary, Vibiana Andrade, national director of the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, labeled Wilson's proposal a form of fascism. She went on to say, "A card like he proposes would be very controlling--and very scary." Andrade, however, remained silent on how such a card would differ from a driver's license or voter registration card.

Indeed, none of the opponents of Prop 187 have dealt with the real issues confronting residents of California. The state's economy has already been battered by defense cutbacks. Illegal immigration has only aggravated the problem. Unemployment is considerably above the national average, a condition that can be partially attributed to the influx of illegal aliens from Latin America.

Urban areas in California have been particularly hurt because large numbers of illegal immigrants tend to settle in these impoverished areas. Hired at below the minimum wage, illegal immigrants deprive legal residents of jobs in the short-term. The consequence is desperate poverty within the inner cities and a growing sense of hopelessness among legal residents as they see illegal immigrants deprive them of jobs and economic opportunities.

Furthermore, illegal immigrants consume far more in social service dollars than they contribute in taxes. A San Diego County study found that each year illegal immigrants paid $60 million in taxes, yet cost the county $206 million in social services. On the basis of similar figures, California's auditor general estimated that illegal immigrants cost California $3 billion a year--$3 billion that comes out of services for legal residents or that must be paid for through higher taxes.

Worse, there appears to be no end in sight without drastic action. On the national level, a study done by Professor Donald Huddle of Rice University estimated that immigration will cost taxpayers $22 billion a year for the next 10 years. While part of this figure can be attributed to legal immigration, much of it is the product of uncontrolled illegal immigration across the Mexican border.

In spite of liberal rhetoric to the contrary, we have to look after the needs of our own people first. Clearly there is a need for Prop 187. Just because an individual manages to slip across the U.S. border, in full violation of the law, doesn't mean he or she is automatically entitled to all the privileges of a U.S. citizen. We as a nation have the right to deny social services to criminals who break our laws and arrive here illegally.

The efforts by the liberal establishment to label Prop 187 as illegal and the card system as fascist are little more than sorry attempts at scaring voters through catch-phrases and hollow rhetoric--McCarthyism at its worst.

This issue is far too important to the future of our country to simply ignore the facts altogether. It has been said many times that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants. No one can dispute that claim, but what relevance does it have to today's problems?

The U.S. has changed dramatically since the end of the nineteenth century. We no longer have a limitless amount of land or resources. Our competitors have grown stronger in recent decade, and we can ill afford the task of absorbing millions of unskilled, largely uneducated illegal immigrants.

Drastic times demand drastic measures. Prop 187, and Wilson's plan for documentation, are the only effective solution we have to the problem of illegal immigration. It is a justifiable means to a most desirable end.