Proposition 200 - "Protect Arizona Now"

As the election comes upon us, I feel the need to air my views on the ballot propositions. I thought I'd start off with one that seems to garner the most controversy.

***********

Proposition 200 (Protect Arizona Now) would require documentation of citizenship when registering to vote and to show ID at the polling station. It would also require proof of citizenship when applying for public benefits, and require state and local government employees who discover a violation of federal immigration law to make a written report to federal immigration authorities and those failing to do so could be prosecuted.

*********

Prop 200 was proposed under the guise of stopping election fraud. Election fraud is not a problem here. If I were to show up at my polling station and someone had already signed my name in the book, you'd better believe I'd say something about that. So would everyone else. But it ain't happening here.

********

There is also no clear definition of what public benefits would require proof of citizenship. At this point it could be quite arbitrary. Emergency workers are concerned that they could face a hefty fine for treating an illegal alien. I know of a health care professional who works in one of the local hospitals that frequently treat indigent patients. There's a lot of paperwork concerned with these folks, but she's more concerned about treating the patient.

*******

Granted the effects of illegal immigration are staggering in Arizona. Our health care system and our schools are overburdened and not getting paid for rendering these services. Phoenix is a major hub for the smuggling of human beings.

*********

We also have to contend with coyotes. I'm not talking about the wild dogs we sometimes see out in the outskirts of town. No, coyotes are the scumbags that are are dealing in the trade of human beings, stuffing dozens of them into one small house, or cramming them into the back of a truck with no air conditioning while driving (usually recklessly) across the desert in the 100+ degree heat. Coyotes are right down there with murderers, rapists, child molesters, drug pushers, and terrorists. Arizona has become more dangerous thanks to these buttheads.

*****

Ah, but I digress. Yes, illegal immigration is a serious problem in Arizona. And we do need to send Washington a message. We need to better secure our border with Mexico. But Prop 200 is totally inappropriate. It will not protect Arizona now, or in the future. It will just add more bureaucracy and further burden our state budget, just as it has done in New Mexico, where they still have an illegal immigration problem. I am voting NO on Prop 200.