Arizona initiative inspires others

The passage of an Arizona immigration initiative requiring verifiable identification to vote or receive public benefits has spurred similar efforts in other states and created panic among some Hispanics, who are questioning whether it is safe to go to work, shop or send their children to school.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) — which successfully derailed Proposition 187 in California in 1994, a measure that also would have blocked illegal aliens from receiving public services — has vowed to fight the new initiative, known as the Arizona Taxpayer and Citizens Protection Act.

“We lost the battle, but we’re not going to lose the war,” said Daniel Ortega, a Phoenix lawyer and MALDEF spokesman. “We should have beaten it at the polls, but I truthfully and honestly believe we will beat it in the courts.”

MALDEF plans to ask a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against the new Arizona law as soon as election results are certified Nov. 22. It will argue that the initiative does not specify what benefits can be withheld and does not detail how much implementing the initiative will cost taxpayers.

Initiative proponents, arguing that illegal immigration in Arizona is out of control, said Proposition 200’s passage on Nov. 2 was a crucial first step in reducing a glut of illegal immigration and sends messages to government officials in both Washington and Mexico that illegal immigration will not be condoned.

The initiative — opposed by key elected officials in Arizona, including Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano and Republican Sen. John McCain; several Hispanic advocacy groups; labor unions and community and civil rights organizations — passed with 56 percent of the vote.

Stricter border enforcement efforts by federal authorities in California and Texas have funneled hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into Arizona, where they have placed huge demands on schools, hospitals and other public services.

Janet Murguia, head of the National Council of La Raza, said opponents would have been successful in defeating the initiative if they had more time to reach out to voters. She said the organization “continued to be frustrated by the immigration situation, but we want to remind folks this still is not the answer.”

And Mr. McCain told CNSNews.com yesterday, “I understand the frustration most Arizonans feel with our unprotected border, but I don’t think this is the right answer. It could be very divisive.”

But Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), said the proposition’s decisive victory was a “testament to how strongly people in Arizona and the rest of the country feel about the need to deal with the burgeoning problem of mass illegal immigration.”

“Voters in Arizona told unresponsive politicians in Arizona and across the country that if they do not address mass illegal immigration, the public is prepared to go over their heads,” said Mr. Stein, adding that it was “likely” that voters in other states inundated with mass illegal immigration will see the passage of Proposition 200 “as a model of grass-roots activism that can be replicated in their states.”

Randy Pullen, a member of the Republican National Committee who chaired the Yes on Proposition 200 Committee, said passage of the initiative would inspire similar efforts in other Western states and draw the attention of state and national lawmakers.

“When you have the governor, your senators and your congressional delegation against it, you’re outspent 5-to-1, and you still win … it’s a pretty clear message that people want something done,” Mr. Pullen said. “We believe this is the beginning of illegal immigration brought under control.”

Miss Napolitano said she will sign the bill once it is certified, bowing to the will of the people.

In the days after the initiative’s passage, Arizona state officials and Hispanic community leaders said they were deluged with calls from immigrants worried about whether it was safe to go to work, shop or send their children to school.

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