Addressing Illegal Immigration at the State and Local Level

Crossposted from Morning Coffee:

Illegal Immigration is not just a national issue in an election year. Virtually every state and community in the nation has felt the effects of those who chose to violate our laws in order to take advantage of our economy & generous social programs and infrastructure.

Here is an example of the cost to citizens of New York:

Analysis based on current estimates of the illegal alien population residing in New York indicates that population is costing the state's taxpayers more than $5.1 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration. That annual tax burden amounts to about $874 per New York household headed by a native-born resident. Even if the estimated $730 million in sales, income and property taxes collected from illegal immigrants are subtracted from the fiscal outlays, net costs still amount to more than $4.5 billion per year. (source)

These outlays alone demonstrate why Immigration is not just a national issue but one of local concern as well. Where there is local concern there will be local action to address that concern. This year, over 500 bills related to immigration have been proposed in more than 40 states, according to a survey conducted by officials at the National Conference of State Legislatures.. This is not counting the various city ordinances that have been proposed or enacted.

Of course the ACLU brings a legal challenge to many of these laws, in some cases delaying implementation or at the very least adding on to the cost the taxpayer must pay to see these laws enacted. The ACLU and other open border activists typically seek to put up barriers between Federal and local law enforcement that prevent local cops from even questioning an individual's immigrtion status. You would think that after the lessons learned from 9-11 and the "walls" preventing cooperation between law enforcement agencies that creating additional barriers would be the last thing any organization would be seeking.

Illegal Immigration is a national issue, but it is a local issue as well, and only through cooperation between Federal, State & Local officials can we hope to come to a solution that protects the citizens of this country without allowing our generosity to be exploited by nations unwilling to establish the economic policies that will support thier population.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.**

Technorati Tags: Coalition Against Illegal Immigration, Amnesty, Politics, Congress, US, Mexico, Illegal Immigration,