The wisdom of PAN I-03-2004...
This was a piece I wrote a while back in regards to the Protect Arizona Now Initiative...it was published on Intellectualconservative.com and was quite well received. Enjoy.
While illegal immigration has exploded onto the forefront of American politics in recent months due to President Bush’s proposed guest worker amnesty program, this issue has been a hot topic here in the States for years on end with no foreseeable end in sight. And while illegal immigration is a national epidemic, the situation in our Southwestern states deserves a closer look, as the conditions there seem to worsen on a daily basis.
Southern and Southwestern states such as California and Arizona have begun complaining, as of late, that the flood of illegal immigrants pouring daily through the sieve that is the U.S./Mexican border, are taking advantage of state social programs and social services by the thousands and are running the states' coffers dry. Hospital visits, healthcare, and welfare programs, for example, are readily available to illegal immigrants in
In
There is also the problem of rampant voter fraud. Illegal aliens are voting in elections illegally -- up to 13,000 in the last year alone. By federal law only
Going so far as to call the bill illegal, Napolitano apparently doesn't think poor people have the brains or means of acquiring the legal identification required for such daily interactions as cashing a check or renting a video.
So after years of facing voter fraud, with
And so PAN -- Protect Arizona Now -- was born, with its newly formed Initiative Petition #I-03-2004, which Arizona taxpayers believe will go a long way; not in preventing illegal immigration (a responsibility held by the federal government), but toward upholding the integrity of the electoral process in Arizona and reducing the millions spent on illegal aliens who pay no income tax and give no money back to the state.
I-03-2004 stands on three principles:
(1) Requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote
(2) Requiring proof of identity when voting; and
(3) Requiring proof of eligibility for non-federally mandated public benefits.
Proponents of the initiative seem to have lost all faith in Arizona Governor Napolitano; their official web-site states,
Section 12 of the
These proponents are not calling for an end to illegal immigration, but to the voting fraud and social spending on illegals that is bankrupting their state and compromising the integrity of its voting system. The initiative seems straightforward enough, but it has come up against some intense opposition around the nation.
Former Democratic Presidential frontrunner and Vermont Governor Howard Dean said this about the initiative,
“The Protect
Joe Lieberman, ex-candidate for the office of President, called I-03-2004 a “mean-spirited reaction to the inadequate current immigration system,” and said, “The undocumented workers who will be victimized by this proposal don't deserve it.”
The group Derchos Humanos stated through the Arizona Independent Media Center that, “Protect Arizona Now, the proposed initiative which calls for state and local governments to act as immigration officials, will only serve to chip away at the human rights and civil liberties of all individuals. These anti-immigrant measures will create division, fear, and hate in our communities. Much like the
But despite anti-initiative sentiment from across the nation, the supporters of I-03-2004 have asked this question -- if the federal government doesn’t stem the tide if illegal immigration, is it not up to the state and its citizens to protect their financial interests and electoral integrity? To many across the state of
“As the initiative's name says, it seeks to protect Arizona taxpayers and citizens… those who believe citizenship and the precious rights of citizens are not something people illegally crossing our borders by the millions are entitled to just because they got past the Border Patrol,” states the official PAC web-site.
Supported by 21 state Representatives and seven Senators, I-03-2004 is shown by a GOPUSA Poll to be drawing support from a staggering 96% of the Arizona voting public. And according to a PROJECTUSA Poll, 95% of the same voting populace support halting the flow of funds and voting rights to those illegally crossing our borders in
On a national level, the ROPER POLL shows 85% of the American population supports tightening our enforcement of immigration laws.
And that brings us back to the main premise behind Initiative I-03-2004. Although many opponents of the initiative -- such as Salomon R. Baldenegro of the weblog Latino Political Wire -- have called it a “divisive and racist” piece of legislation, those in favor of I-03-2004 remind us that this initiative is not racially driven. Initiative # 03-2004 does not single out those entering the state from
As someone who has experienced and studied the repercussions of illegal immigration into
I believe the ratification of the Protect Arizona Now initiative would prove a win-win situation for
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