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Undocumented worker issue may go to voters

By By DANIE HARRELSON The Daily Sentinel

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Voters may be asked next year to decide whether Colorado should deny state services to undocumented workers.

The proposed constitutional amendment failed to make the 2005 ballot, but supporters aim to gather the necessary signatures to get it on the 2006 ballot.

Republican lawmakers who support barring illegal immigrants in the state from getting such government services as food stamps say the time is right to change the way the state handles undocumented workers within its borders.

“The political climate wasn’t there (last year),� Rep. Ray Rose, R-Montrose said.

He and other lawmakers foresee a slew of immigration-related bills on the horizon for the Colorado Legislature to work through next year.

Helping to lead that charge is Rep. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, who met this fall with Arizona lawmakers who pushed through Proposition 200, which prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving government services and benefits.

Schultheis said it’s too early to give details about legislation he intends to push in 2006 to crack down on illegal immigration.

Schultheis applauded President Bush for his call this week to step up efforts to close the border to illegal immigrants, but he doesn’t buy Bush’s insistence on a guest-worker program for people illegally working in the country.

Bush said such a program would bring undocumented workers out of hiding and permit them to work jobs Americans shun.

“We have people in this country who can do the work,� Schultheis said. “But Americans aren’t going to work for slave-labor wages.�

There’s no reason to have a guest-worker program, said Rep. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, “if residents in other countries can just stroll across the border illegally.�

Tighter borders must come first, Penry said.

“The path of least resistance is to walk across the border,� he said. “Ultimately, there has to be a deterrent present.�

Rose said he sees increasing support for stemming the flow of such services as Medicaid to illegal immigrants, but he wants to take the conversation a step further.

He wants to look at those who come to the United States illegally so their children may be born on U.S. soil.

“Citizenship is not a birthright,� Rose said. “The intent of this country is to openly embrace immigration, but the key word is legal. It was never designed for people being in our country illegally.�

Gubernatorial hopefuls anticipate calls for immigration reform to follow them on the campaign trail.

The lone Democrat in the governor’s race, Bill Ritter, said he prefers a federal solution rather than a state-by-state response to the impacts of illegal immigration.

“We need to fix this at the national level ... instead of trying to do this thing piecemeal,� Ritter said. “We would be far better off as a country.�

The former Denver District Attorney said he can recall many instances in which illegal immigrants were arrested and convicted of felonies but not deported. More money is needed to expedite their removal, Ritter said.

Congressman Bob Beauprez supports a citizen-led initiative in Colorado to cut off illegal immigrants from state services.

The proposed initiative, which needs 68,000 signatures to secure its place on the 2006 ballot, would require people have proof of legal residency to receive public services with the exception of legally mandated emergency services and K-12 education.

Dick Leggitt, campaign manager for Marc Holtzman, said his candidate supports the state following the lead of other states in declaring a state of emergency to qualify for federal assistance or waivers to shoulder the cost of illegal immigration.

“He feels very strongly that ... illegal aliens are draining our system,� Leggitt said.