Why Every Arkansas Republican Should Co-Sponsor HB1292, The Illegal Alien Bill

Debbie Pelley

Debbie Pelley, Opinion Column: Representative Jon Hubbard filed HB1292, An Act To Prohibit Illegal Aliens From Receiving Any State Benefit Except In Instances of Emergency Or When Life-Saving Measures Are Required. As of now it has four Co-sponsors: Deffenbaugh, Eubanks, Harris, Stubblefield.  Following are several reasons why every Republican should sign on as a co-sponsor to this bill. If even most of the Republicans would become a co-sponsor, the media would not be able to marginalize any of them.

1.Arkansans are more united on this issue in not wanting to give benefits to illegal aliens than any other issue in Arkansas or the nation. Nationwide 89% of Republicans oppose benefits for illegal aliens.

• In a KAIT-8 poll in 2010, 94% said they would vote for a state constitutional amendment to deny state social services to illegal immigrants. A similar poll in 2008 had the same results.
• A Rasmussen Report poll shows an astounding 83% of Americans believe that illegal aliens should not have access to "government health care subsidies".
• About 72% of voters said it's "very important" for "the government to improve its enforcement of the borders and reduce illegal immigration." The figure jumped to 89% among Republicans, while 65% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters believed enforcement is "very important."  Rasmussen Poll
• This is a winning issue for Republicans, and Republicans should take advantage of it.

2. Republican legislators have a responsibility to the conservatives who put them in office to co-sponsor this bill and make it a priority.

• Eighty-nine percent of Republicans favor reducing illegal immigration.
• Secure Arkansas gathered 78,000 signatures according to their records, and the Secretary of State confirmed the number submitted as 67,542 signatures, which would have been enough to satisfy the requirement for the initiative to become law (but not enough to meet the requirement for a constitutional amendment, the goal of the petition in 2010).
• Republicans legislators, as our representatives, should not sit on the sidelines while citizens put in thousands and thousands of hours in labor (and money) to get a law passed limiting benefits for illegal aliens, especially when a large majority of both parties support such a law
• Senior legislators should support those freshman legislators who have the courage to sponsor these bills.

3. In Arkansas, there was a 437% increase of Hispanics from 1990 to 2003, the first or second in the nation and a 124.7% increase in Hispanic students in the last ten years.

• In 2010 (according to Department of Education website) Arkansas had a 124.7% increase in Hispanic students in the last ten years. That gives a good indication of how many illegal aliens are coming to Arkansas. The per pupil spending in 2007 was $8,348 and is even more now; per pupil spending is even higher for students not speaking English well. At least 2/3 to 3/4 of these students are either illegal or are anchor babies since it takes at least five years to become legalized. Very few of them could have become legal in the last ten years. According to a court decision Arkansas is required to educate the illegal aliens and by federal law has to provide emergency medical care for them, but we don't have to become a magnet for them so we have to spend enormous amounts of money for these required expenses.
• The University of Arkansas in a recent seminar actually said we will see a much greater influx of illegal aliens than ever before in the near future because Arkansas is "soft" on illegal aliens. Their goal was to help them, however, not hinder them; they outlined several avenues that would encourage illegal aliens to come to Arkansas.
• The size of the United States Hispanic community grew by 3.1% in 2009 to 48.4 million people, or 15.8% of the total population, the largest minority in a country that is ever more diverse, the Census Bureau said Thursday.

4. Republicans are supposed to stand for fiscal responsibility. Eliminating benefits for illegal aliens would be equivalent to reducing taxes, especially now that the University of Arkansas in a seminar actually said we will see a much greater influx of illegal aliens than ever before in the future because Arkansas is "soft" on illegal aliens.

• Republicans talk about lowering taxes in this session so why not co-sponsor the illegal alien bill that will save us more money than anyone can probably imagine.
• Governor Beebe even admitted that legal status is not even verified before benefits are awarded in several departments. Republicans should have made an issue of Governor Beebe's admission that he "misspoke." Getting attention to this illegal alien bill would still give the opportunity to show how Governor Beebe and the Democrats are NOT fiscally responsible.
• "U.S. taxpayers are giving more than $9,000 a year in cash or benefits to each immigrant, a third of who are illegal aliens. That's $36,000 for each immigrant household of four." Quoted from Eagle Forum at this link: Eagle Forum quotes from a detailed study "The Fiscal Impact of Immigration, An Analysis of the Costs to 15 Federal Departments and Agencies. Every legislator should read these articles.

5. On the national level the Republicans have established opposition to illegal immigration as a Republican issue.

• Republicans at the state level should establish themselves as the party opposing illegal immigration as well so voters concerned about this issue will know how to vote.
• Republicans should make every legislator take a stand on the illegal alien issue so voters can see who stands up for the law of our land. We conservatives don't see this happening. Instead it appears that Republicans are ignoring the elephant in the room and actually sponsoring bills to increase fees like doubling fees for certificates of title, etc.

6. Republican legislators and candidates who said they signed the Secure Arkansas petition or would sign it if it were presented to them should have no trouble signing on as a co-sponsor to this bill.

• Last summer a few women called and/or emailed every legislator and several candidates to see if they signed or would sign the petition to deny benefits to illegal aliens.  Almost every Republican said he/she had signed it or would sign it if it were presented to him/her. Republicans wanted people to know they supported the petition.
• Then shouldn't the Republicans step up to the plate now and co-sponsor this bill that would do pretty much do the same thing the petition required?

7. Other states, Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, and others, have filled some strong anti illegal alien bills. Illegal aliens are fleeing those states and coming to Arkansas.

• A quote from a newspaper article reads: Tens of thousands of Hispanics have left the Tulsa area because of a tough law passed there. It is reported that "Most immigrants are ending up in either Kansas or Arkansas."
• Arkansas has passed nothing that compares with the other states. Arkansas is left as a magnet to attract illegal aliens.
• Even, "Newly elected Maine Governor Paul LePage, in one of his first acts in office, signed an executive order allowing state agents to check immigration status of individuals they come in contact with."
• Link to some of the laws other states have passed.

8. Arkansas is only one of eleven states in the nation that has made it legal to give prenatal care to illegal aliens. I think this was accomplished just through the governor's handiwork. Some good Republican needs to represent the voters and  file a bill on this issue.
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Debbie Pelley is Retired Arkansas Teacher of 27 years. She is presently a grassroots citizen activist, researcher and writer who advocates for the Arkansans and for transparent and limited government.

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