Migrants prompt election debate
Posted on Sunday, August 27, 2006
Nearly 5, 000 of state Rep. Monty Davenport’s constituents have been urged in a piece of mail from a conservative advocacy group to “Ask Monty why he’s pampering illegal aliens and putting drug dealers back on the street.”
The Coalition for Arkansas’ Future gave the first-term Democrat from Yellville an “Fminus” grade for voting for a bill that would have allowed illegal aliens who graduate from Arkansas high schools to qualify for in-state tuition rates and taxpayer-funded state scholarships at state universities.
The mailer also gave Davenport an “F-minus” for voting for a bill under which people convicted of making methamphetamine could be eligible for parole after serving half their sentences, not the 70 percent of the sentence formerly required. The bill became Act 1034 of 2005.
Davenport said several of his constituents have asked him about the mailer, which was distributed last month.
“Most of the people say, ‘What is this [F-minus grade ]?’,” Davenport said. “The people who have talked to me about them think it is nonsense.”
But, he added, probably not everyone views it that way.
“I’m sure it has had some effect,” he said, “but I don’t know how much.”
Arkansas is not the only place where the issue of illegal immigrants packs a punch.
States are increasingly grappling with immigration-related issues with Congress unable to pass comprehensive immigration legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
And the issues are filtering into state political races.
Davenport represents District 86 in northern Arkansas’ Ozarks. The district includes Marion County and parts of Baxter, Boone, Searcy and Stone counties.
Spokesmen for the state Democratic and Republican parties see the race as one of the most hotly contested legislative races in Arkansas in the Nov. 7 general election. Two years ago, Davenport defeated Republican George Lewis of Bull Shoals by 135 votes. Davenport’s new challenger is Kelley Linck, a Republican from Flippin. Linck said he’s seen a poll that shows that people in the district are more interested in education, jobs and tax issues than immigration. But, he added, “People are concerned about [illegal immigration ] on the federal level and expect their politicians to somehow be involved [in solving the problem ] in any way that we can.”
DISTRICT 76 Immigration is surfacing as an issue in other Arkansas legislative races.
Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro, defeated Republican Byron Holt of Brookland by 16 votes in 2004 in District 76, part of Craighead County.
Illegal immigration isn’t “a hot topic” in the district, Kidd said, but he expects the Republican Party is going to try to make it “a big issue” in his rematch with Holt this year.
Kidd said the district is significantly agricultural and includes many Hispanics, some of whom are legal immigrants and others illegal.
He added that he favors tightening the nation’s borders.
People in the district are more concerned about the rising cost of health care, their jobs, and their schools than about immigration, Kidd said.
Clint Reed, executive director of the state Republican Party, said it’s too early to identify legislative races in which immigration will be an issue.
But whether it’s an issue in District 76 doesn’t depend on any action by the party.
Holt said illegal immigration is “absolutely an issue” in his bid to oust Kidd.
He cited Kidd’s vote for the same bill that would have allowed illegal aliens to qualify for in-state tuition and taxpayer-funded scholarships.
“It is something I am talking to voters about as I go door to door,” Holt said. “I would have never voted in support of that.
“ If you encourage people to come here illegally, so their kids can get lower-cost education, I don’t agree with that. The more you promote bad behavior the more bad behavior you are going to get.”
The bill’s sponsor has estimated that the bill would have cost the state $ 235, 000 in its first year if it had become law.
Kidd said he voted for it because it was backed by Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee, most members of the House Education Committee and most of the state’s higher education institutions, including Arkansas State University, which is based in Craighead County. “It was for kids who.... had made exceptional grades in school and their parents are illegal,” he said. “Looking back I may have made a different vote now,” Kidd said. “At the time I thought it was the right thing to do.” He said he doesn’t regret his vote. Ten states have enacted legislation to allow long-term illegal alien students to become eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain requirements, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. These are California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
DISTRICT 86 Davenport’s foe, Linck, said he would have voted against the bill. “I don’t think we should be using taxpayers’ money to give advantage to illegal aliens,” Linck said. “That is not to say that everyone doesn’t deserve the best education they can get. We would be using our own tax money to fund scholarships for those who are here illegally. It would reward an illegal action.”
Davenport said the bill would have required students to have attended a school in Arkansas for at least three years, graduated from an in-state school and signed a pledge to try to become a United States citizen in order to be eligible for in-state tuition rates and state-funded scholarships.
“I voted for it just because I thought it was a good bill,” Davenport said. “It was just the fairness. Children don’t have a choice of where they live.
“ I don’t think it would promote or condone illegal activities. If someone is here illegally they need to be treated as such.”
Davenport said the bill was part of Huckabee’s legislative package and “close to half” of the Republicans in the House voted for the bill.
Plus, the University of Central Arkansas and some other universities have done on their own what the bill would have allowed, he said.
The bill cleared the House on a 63-31 margin, with 11 House Republicans voting for it and 17 against it.
The Senate later rejected it. IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
Davenport and Kidd also voted for a bill that became Act 907 of 2005 to allow the Arkansas State Police and the Highway Police branch of the Highway and Transportation Department to enforce immigration laws on federal highways and interstates in Arkansas.
The law allows the director of the state police to reach “a memorandum of understanding” with the federal Homeland Security Department by which troopers could gain training paid for and provided by the federal department.
State Rep. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, sponsored the bill. He’s a nephew of Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson of Little Rock, a former undersecretary of the Homeland Security Department.
Advocacy group The Coalition for Arkansas’ Future supports allowing the director of the state police to designate trained patrols to enforce immigration laws, according to its Web site, www. cfaf 2006. org. The coalition is largely financed by Republican groups.
THE METH BILL Asked about the group’s criticism of his vote on the bill to advance the time when makers of methamphetamine might be eligible for parole, Davenport said the bill was part of a package aimed at slowing the growth of the state’s prison population and the cost of operating the prisons. Davenport said the other option is raising taxes to pay for more prisons. STATEWIDE RACES Immigration also has surfaced in statewide races. Republican lieutenant governor candidate Jim Holt of Springdale has touted his proposal to deny state services that aren’t federally mandated to illegal aliens.
The proposal has been criticized by Huckabee and Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Bill Halter, who’ve said it would cut a two-year-old state program to provide prenatal care to pregnant immigrants.
The program cost $ 4. 3 million in fiscal 2005 after being projected at $ 3. 2 million and cost $ 7. 6 million in fiscal 2006 after being projected at $ 3. 6 million, said Julie Munsell, a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
John Whiteside, political director for the state Democratic Party, said that the number of illegal aliens in the United States increased by more than 1 million during Asa Hutchinson’s 25 months overseeing border security for the federal Homeland Security Department based on data from the Pew Hispanic Center.
But Asa Hutchinson’s campaign spokesman, David Kinkade, said Democratic opponent Mike Beebe and his supporters “have been trying to smear Asa’s record of achievement at Homeland Security since this campaign started, and folks aren’t buying it.”
He said Hutchinson “is the only candidate in this race who proposes giving state law enforcement the ability to fight illegal immigration, and holding employers accountable for hiring illegal aliens, while Mike Beebe says we shouldn’t do anything at the state level.
“ Beebe’s outdated line of thinking shows his lack of experience and engagement in this critical area of security — one that affects state governments as much as the federal government,” Kinkade said.
Beebe spokesman Zac Wright said Beebe’s position is that the nation’s borders are “a sieve” with a half million illegal aliens sneaking into the nation each year.
That’s compromising national security, costing jobs and is the single biggest source of illegal methamphetamine coming into the United States, he said.
He said Beebe believes that the federal government, particularly the U. S. Homeland Security Department, “failed us and we need to significantly increase border security and tighten enforcement of immigration laws.”
Beebe also wants to work with the federal government to go after employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, Wright said.
“Our approach must be tough, fair and responsible. It must be tough to restore the order of law and [be ] fair to taxpayers of our state,” he said.
Two months ago, Asa Hutchinson said he would offer legislation to require law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of anyone taken into custody.
He said the state should partner with federal officials to provide training to local and state law enforcement officials on making immigration arrests. He’s said he would propose measures to reduce employment opportunities for illegal aliens in state agencies and companies that do contract work for the state and to create more-sophisticated state identification documents to reduce document fraud.
IN OTHER STATES More than 550 bills relating to illegal immigration were introduced in statehouses this year, and at least 77 were enacted, according to a survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
These measures covered a range of topics, with many states focused on employment, trafficking, public benefits, education, identification, voting rights, law enforcement and legal services, the conference said.
Colorado enacted a law that restricts public benefits from those who are not U. S. citizens or legal permanent residents, said conference analyst Ann Morse.
Applicants for public benefits who are 18 years old or older must show a valid ID, such as a Colorado driver’s license or an identification card, before receiving benefits under the new law, she said.
Restricted benefits include retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, post-secondary education, food assistance and unemployment.
All Colorado residents, regardless of legal status, can receive emergency medical services, immunizations and treatments for communicable diseases, other services necessary for life and safety, prenatal care, and short-term emergency relief, Morse said.
Morse told lawmakers at their conference earlier this month in Nashville that a 1986 federal law forbids states from enacting stricter criminal or civil penalties for illegal immigration than those adopted by Congress, according to The Associated Press.
She said she believes that many of the new laws ultimately will be tested in court.
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