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Government services should not be cut to illegal immigrants, Bell center says


Thursday, December 29, 2005

By ERIK LINCOLN

Special to The Sentinel


A proposed 2006 ballot measure to stop non-emergency government services to illegal immigrants has drawn criticism from a Denver-based think tank.

The ballot measure, which is being proposed by Defend Colorado Now, would require state and local agencies to check the citizenship of people applying for government services.

The Bell Policy Center released a report Thursday on the effects of immigration in Colorado.

According to the report, immigrants pay more in taxes than they consume in government services.

However, state and local government shoulders much of the burden in paying for services to illegal immigrants, particularly those with families, than the federal government, according to the report.

However, federal mandates will still allow illegal immigrants and their families access to K12 education and access to emergency Medicare coverage.

The measure would also allow any Colorado citizen to sue any government agency to ensure compliance.

Bell Policy Center Director of Policy and Research Rich Jones, who co-authored the report, said while there is a need to review immigration policies, cutting government services is not a good idea.

“We think (immigration issues) ought to be dealt with at the federal level and not the state level,� Jones said.

According to the Cato Institute, rising demand for low-skill jobs is a driving force behind immigration from Mexico.

The Bell report cited a study by the National Research Council that said the influx of immigrants has “little overall effect on wages paid to native workers.� The Bell report said immigration reduced wages 1 percent or 2 percent.

State Rep. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, said the wage impacts reported by The Bell were not consistent with a January report by Bear-Stearns that said the impact is 4 percent to 6 percent.

Jones said Bell did use the Bear-Stearns report for other information but decided to use the other figures.

“I think it’s a difference in the how the studies are conducted,� Jones said.

“We went with the (National Research Council) numbers partly because we felt comfortable with those.�

Schultheis sponsored a bill during the last legislative term that would have similarly restricted government services to illegal immigrants. The bill was killed in committee.

The Legislative Council estimated Schultheis’ bill would save $500,000 but would cost the state $3.9 million.

Schultheis said the Legislative Council’s costs were “ultra-overinflated� and said the bill would save hundreds of millions in the long run.