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  1. #1
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Guest opinion: Vote for discouraging illegal immigrants in Montana

    11 hours ago • By DAVID HOWARD
    Billings Gazette

    On Nov. 6, Montana voters can demonstrate their concern about illegal immigration by voting for Legislative Referendum 121 to deny many state-taxpayer funded benefits and services to illegal aliens.

    During the 2011 session, our Legislature passed House Bill 638, which placed LR-121 on the ballot. As the state representative who sponsored this bill, I want to explain why you should help me enact LR-121 with your “for” vote.

    There are many illegal aliens in Montana. A brief article in the April 2, 2010, Billings Gazette mentioned arrests in the preceding weeks by Border Patrol officers based in Havre of 20 illegal aliens hailing from Poland, Iraq, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico.

    The U.S. attorney for Montana prosecutes a steady stream of immigration violators, primarily people who have re-entered the U.S. illegally after being deported previously. In 2009, about 6.5 percent of the sentences for criminal convictions reported were for illegal re-entries. This same year one-third of the U.S. attorney cases for Wyoming involved illegal aliens.

    Although the illegal immigration problem is less in Montana, we should learn from the mistakes of other states that waited until it was too late to act.

    In 1990, Georgia had approximately 35,000 illegal aliens, about half of 1 percent of Georgia's 6.5 million population. In 2010, according to the 2011 Pew Hispanic Center, Georgia had about 425,000 illegal aliens of all nationalities.

    In the 1990s Georgians probably thought, "This could cost too much and the problem is just in the southwest border states like Texas and California." So they ignored this problem until their illegal-alien population became Texas and California-sized. Due to their inaction, Georgia now spends more than $2 billion annually on public benefits for families headed by illegal aliens, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

    Consequences for inaction in states with illegal immigration problems are legislative battles dividing the state and litigation by our own federal government, which is failing in every aspect of enforcing the rule of law regarding illegal immigration.

    Liberal legislative critics and left-leaning entities like the ACLU who oppose LR-121 complain about the cost of implementing this referendum. They almost never consider the costs of doing nothing. They do not seem to realize there are only a few ways for illegal aliens to live illegally in Montana, and two of them are living off Montana’s state benefits and taking our jobs.

    No state agency testified against HB638 during the legislative hearings and their cost estimate for complying with LR-121 was zero. If LR-121 passes, our state agencies will be able to do the due diligence necessary to protect Montana citizens. This process will save our tax dollars with the side benefit of discouraging illegal aliens from having a presence in Montana.

    For the sake of Montana’s future generations, please vote for LR-121.

    David Howard of Park City represents state House District 60.

    Guest opinion: Vote for discouraging illegal immigrants in Montana
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  2. #2
    Administrator ALIPAC's Avatar
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    We need to notify all of our supporters about this.

    W
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Ballot measure would deny state services to illegal immigrants

    Posted: Sunday, October 14, 2012 4:17 pm

    By Patrick Record Community News Service UM School of Journalism



    Nobody really believes Montana is overrun by illegal immigrants.

    Recent census figures estimate the state may be home to fewer than 11,000 noncitizens — and that includes legal residents with visas or green cards. One national Hispanic group estimates the state’s number of undocumented immigrants at about 5,000.

    Although that’s less than 1 percent of the population, it’s still a problem for Rep. David Howard and supporters of a ballot issue aimed at denying illegal immigrants access to state services.

    “If you’re an illegal person you can only live two ways: take a job from a Montanan or you have to live on the benefits that we provide,” says Howard, a Park City Republican. “I wanted to create an easy, logical process where our state agencies would go through and be able to create a deterrent for illegal immigrants getting Montana and federal tax money.”

    No services ahead

    LR-121 asks Montana voters to deny illegal immigrants a long list of services and opportunities. They could not apply for state jobs, or enroll in a state university, or apply for financial aid. They could not apply for state licenses, unemployment benefits, or rehabilitation services if they’re hurt on the job. They would not be eligible for state grants or services available to crime victims or people with disabilities.

    Critics fear that, if passed, the measure will expose minorities to racial profiling and force the state to implement an expensive system of citizenship checks that could snare legal citizens along with illegal ones.

    Howard’s idea originated in the state Legislature last session as one of seven bills aimed at combating what he sees as a nationwide immigration problem.

    He says the measure won’t be difficult or costly to enforce. The names of residents who can’t produce a driver’s license as proof of citizenship would be run through a federal database — the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements — to determine their immigration status.

    Montana’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union strongly opposes the measure, saying it would have unintended consequences. They say the database checks could result in citizens being denied services they’re entitled to and that they could delay applications for crucial services for hours or even months.

    “The bill is error-filled,” says Niki Zupanic, an ACLU attorney. “It’s likely that (some) U.S. citizens will not show up in the databases.”

    Targeting minorities

    Kim Abbott, program director for the Montana Human Rights Network, says it’s up to the federal government to pass comprehensive immigration reform, not each state. She worries that enforcement of the measure will single out minorities.

    “In order to avoid racial profiling and assumptions, the state needs to check everyone through SAVE,” Abbott says.

    Howard says his measure would require checks on anyone who applies for services without the proper documents. Each state agency would decide which document or documents are valid for their services.

    “Legal aliens can get benefits; nobody looks at your race,” Howard says.

    It’s hard to say how many Montanans might not have driver’s licenses or other government identification documents.

    A study by the Brennan Center for Justice in November 2006 found that 11 percent of all U.S. citizens lack government-issued IDs. Critics say many of those are poor or elderly or homeless — people often in need of services.

    The cost for implementing the ballot measure is up for debate.

    “It’s interesting, but if you look at the cost of the bill it was almost nothing there,” Howard says. “Agencies couldn’t even dream up a cost.”

    State officials who estimated the measure’s potential costs came up with a figure of $85,915 for the first year and less afterward. But they said costs could easily change depending on the costs of searches, software, hardware and the hiring and training of personnel.

    Howard insists that enforcing the measure won’t be difficult or costly. The effort, he adds, is worth it to prevent Montana from ending up like other states with immigration problems.

    “It’s proactive, so we don’t wake up in 10 years and say we should have done something,” Howard says. “I don’t deal in the ideal, I deal in reality.”

    Howard is confident the measure will pass. A recent Lee newspapers poll of found that 57 percent of registered voters surveyed favored his ballot measure; 14 percent were undecided.

    Ballot measure would deny state services to illegal immigrants - Choteau Acantha: Home
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  4. #4
    Senior Member southBronx's Avatar
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    good they should not get any thing at all just one way pass back home & don't for get obama
    No amnesty or Dream Act

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