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Metro/State

December 30, 2005
Immigrant plan called too costly

By PERRY SWANSON THE GAZETTE

Giving government services to illegal immigrants is cheaper than setting up a system to deny the services, the Bell Policy Center said in a report issued Thursday.

The center cited government figures indicating the state would spend $2.6 million in tax money during its next fiscal year to check the legal residency of everyone who applies for services. That compares with a savings of $460,606 that would come from denying services, according to those figures.

The cost of denying services is a main reason the center cited for opposing a possible bal- lot initiative that would ban illegal immigrants from services except those required by federal law and in emergencies.

“It’s hard to imagine a less effective approach to the problem,� center President Wade Buchanan said in a statement accompanying the report. “This is a national problem. It can’t be solved at the state level, and any effort to do so is bound to backfire on Colorado taxpayers.�

State Rep. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, called that reasoning “hogwash.� Schultheis sponsored legislation this year to deny state services to illegal immigrants, but the measure failed. He supports asking voters to approve a similar measure on the Nov. 7 ballot. Backers plan to begin next month collecting the 67,829 signatures needed to put it on the ballot.

Schultheis said government agencies could simply insist that everyone who applies for services show a driver’s license.

“To me, it defies logic to say that the cost of proving citizenship would outweigh the cost of providing whatever the services are,� he said. “The state of Colorado has to become more unfriendly to people who are in this country illegally, and this is one major step to doing that.�

The Bell Policy Center’s report is among the first salvos in what many expect to be Colorado’s hottest political debate of 2006. The group backing the ballot initiative, called Defend Colorado Now, has not issued its own figures on the cost of illegal immigration in Colorado. They point to national research such as that of the Center for Immigration Studies, which says legal and illegal immigrants cost the economy $11 billion to $22 billion each year, mainly from education, criminal justice and medical care agencies.

About 200,000 to 250,000 illegal immigrants live in Colorado, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, which studies immigration issues. Colorado’s population of illegal immigrants accounts for about 2 percent of the national number.

The Bell Policy Center based its cost estimates on a survey by the state Legislative Council staff, which asked government departments how much it would cost to verify the legal residency of all clients. The Department of Regulatory Agencies reported the highest cost forecast at $1.86 million for the year beginning July 1, 2006. The department oversees industries such as banking, insurance and real estate.

The Bell Policy Center said the total cost would likely be higher because the state survey did not include county and local governments. Many levels of government would be affected if voters approve the ballot initiative.

One category that would be exempt is schools, since federal law says they must not exclude illegal immigrants. Schultheis said schools could see an indirect effect because the ballot initiative would result in families of illegal immigrants leaving the state.

“In future dollars, it will save hundreds of millions of dollars over the years,� he said.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

636-0187 or pswanson@gazette.com