Initiative 343 assailed as attack on immigrants
seattlepi.nwsource.com
Initiative 343 assailed as attack on immigrants
Issue is fairness, backers say
Friday, July 22, 2005
By JOHN IWASAKI
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
An initiative aimed at halting voting rights and other benefits to illegal aliens in Washington was derided last night as an "anti-immigrant" movement that threatens the "soul of America."
Initiative 343 is part of a national effort to make immigrants a scapegoat by those uncomfortable with diversity, said Eric Ward, a field director of the Center for New Communities in Chicago, a faith-based organization that seeks social and economic justice.
He spoke at a briefing sponsored by more than 40 immigrant, ethnic, human rights, social service and labor groups. About 75 people of various races and ethnicities attended the meeting at NewHolly Hall in Rainier Valley.
Among other requirements, I-343 would mandate that a voter supply proof of citizenship, a telephone number, occupation and former residence.
Agencies that administer public health benefits would have to verify a voter's eligibility for benefits and report immigration-law violations.
To qualify for the 2006 ballot, the initiative needs 224,880 valid signatures by Dec. 30.
Critics, troubled by what they say are the initiative's racial overtones, aren't waiting for it to qualify. Supporters say the issue is fairness.
I-343 was filed by Martin Ringhofer of Soap Lake in Grant County. Ringhofer had led an unsuccessful recall effort against Secretary of State Sam Reed earlier this year. He had accused Reed of malfeasance and a violation of the oath of office for his role in certifying Christine Gregoire as governor in December.
In interviews before the meeting, both sides laid out their arguments.
The initiative campaign is "being driven by a deeply cynical anti-immigrant movement that's working to divide our nation along racial and ethnic lines," said Soya Jung Harris, who helped organize last night's briefing.
That "brand of bigotry ... threatens to relegate not just immigrants, but families who have been in this country for generations, to second-class citizens," said Harris, grants and program director at Social Justice Fund Northwest in Seattle.
Ringhofer said his initiative has "nothing to do with immigration status (and everything) to do with U.S. citizenship status."
"We have a serious problem with illegal aliens that needs to be addressed," he said. "Illegal aliens are ripped off badly by employers, who hire them at below minimum (wage). Those who are caught in this syndrome are blackmailed into staying illegal. We need to help the illegal aliens become legal. Step No. 1 is to stop the enabling, allowing them to pass as (legal) immigrants when, in fact, they are not."
Ringhofer said he supports legal immigrants because he is one himself, having arrived nearly 30 years ago from Austria.
Michael Scheele of Seattle, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Japan, said I-343 upholds valid elections, national security and fiscal responsibility.
"Why do we want to reward lawbreakers -- illegal immigrants -- by allowing them to receive government services unchallenged?" he asked, calling it an unfair burden on taxpayers.
Ward said I-343 replicates Arizona's Proposition 200, which passed in November to become the nation's first such approved initiative. He said foes of that measure underestimated its support and warned his audience last night not to do the same.
The initiative "does nothing to address immigration reform," Ward said. "What it does is build on people's frustrations with a system that's broken."
Ward said such efforts to curb illegal immigration use "racially coded words. When people hear 'immigrants,' they're not thinking of Canadians coming down from the north."
During the meeting, he called national immigration reform supporters "xenophobic" and stopped just shy of equating them with white supremacists.
King County Councilman Larry Gossett said that in the aftermath of the controversial gubernatorial election, the County Council narrowly defeated a resolution that would require proof of citizenship for voters. I-343 has "a great potential to pass in Washington state," he said.
THE KEY POINTS OF I-343
Initiative 343 would require:
Voter registration applicants to supply proof of citizenship and other information.
Additional identification at the polls to vote.
Agencies administering public benefits to verify citizenship and report immigration violations.
To read the full text, go to the Initiative 343 link at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections...gislature.aspx.
Re: Initiative 343 assailed as attack on immigrants
Quote:
An initiative aimed at halting voting rights and other benefits to illegal aliens in Washington was derided last night as an "anti-immigrant" movement that threatens the "soul of America."
It was narrowly defeated, but still defeated. King County which is Seattle didn't have enough votes on their County Commission to pass a simple resolution that required you be an American Citizen to vote or a citizen/legal resident to receive tax payer benefits.
Quote:
Initiative 343 is part of a national effort to make immigrants a scapegoat by those uncomfortable with diversity, said Eric Ward, a field director of the Center for New Communities in Chicago, a faith-based organization that seeks social and economic justice.
I don't know if you all remember but CENTER FOR NEW COMMUNITIES IN CHICAGO is the same organization that wrote the long derogatory paper about Americans for Legal Immigration even though they didn't know anything about our organization. They are funded by Eli Lilly Foundation the grants arm of the Ely Lilly Pharmaceutical Company.
