[THE DREAM ACT] Denogean: Push to redo Prop. 300 an affront

juang · juang

Title: Denogean: Push to redo Prop. 300 an affront to voters' will
Author: ANNE T. DENOGEAN
Publisher: Unknown
Date Published: February 6, 2007

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Denogean: Push to redo Prop. 300 an affront to voters' will
by ANNE T. DENOGEAN

Most of us strive to avoid exercises in futility. Not so members of the Arizona Legislature, who seem to thrive on such calisthenics.
The latest example of useless arm flapping is an attempt by a group of House Democrats to overturn part of the recently voter-approved Proposition 300.

Along with cutting illegal immigrants out of state-subsidized adult education and child care, the measure made them ineligible for in-state tuition rates or financial aid at Arizona universities and community colleges.
To attend, they would have to pay thousands more each year.

The "Arizona DREAM Act" (HCR 2029) would ask voters, by referendum, to restore in-state tuition rates for students brought into the country as minors if they meet all other qualifications for state residency.

The act - which includes Tucson legislators Phil Lopes and Tom Prezelski among its co-sponsors - is a compassionate and reasonable approach to dealing with young people who had no say in how they arrived in this country, who know no other home and whose only crime is in seeking an education.

It's also contrary to the emphatic wishes of the majority of Arizonans.

The voters passed Proposition 300 - 71 percent to 29 percent - in the November election.

The measure's backers aimed to expand upon 2004's Proposition 200, which also prohibited illegal immigrants from collecting certain government benefits and passed with 56 percent of the vote.

With those two ballots, Arizonans made it quite clear that anyone illegally crossing in search of the land of milk and honey - however thirsty and hungry they might arrive - would be lucky to get a glass of water and crust of bread.

I didn't vote for those laws and don't like them. Perhaps you're with me in the minority that views the measures as punitive and ineffective at stopping illegal immigration.

But unkind does not equal unconstitutional. You have to respect the outcome of not one but two elections on this matter.
"More people voted for Prop. 300 than for any elected official," said Dean Martin, who is state treasurer but who sponsored Prop. 300 as a state senator last year.

"There was more support for it than for any individual elected person and I think it's not right that they try to undo the will of the people," he said.

The good news for that majority is the bill is assigned to the education, rules and appropriations committees.

Appropriations is chaired by the state's self-appointed, anti-illegal immigration czar, Russell Pearce, which means the bill has as much chance of making it out of committee as Hitler has of making it out of hell.

So, why are the Democrats spending any time on this?

Prezelski said his support for the DREAM Act "is not so much about changing minds. It's about doing the right thing."

The DREAM Act is inspired by the bittersweet story of the students of Carl Hayden High School who have excelled in national robotics competitions that pit them not just against teams from other high schools, but against kids from from the best universities in the country.

Many of these potential future engineers, these bright youths from poor Phoenix neighborhoods, are illegal immigrants who would struggle to afford in-state tuition, let alone out-of-state rates at an Arizona university.

They do the right thing and succeed in school, but are punished for something their parents did, Prezelski said.

"Despite what happened at the ballot box, I think there is a lot of public sympathy for the plight of kids like these kids, " he said.
The vote on 300 reflected frustration at federal inaction on illegal immigration, he said.

Prezelski said the DREAM Act, though likely to fail, keeps the issue alive and in the public eye.

Maybe. But in this case, it's at the risk of further ticking off an already ticked public.

The Democrats could do more good this session by keeping their focus on health care, highways and K-12 education, causes that Arizonans support.

If Congress ever gets its act together and passes immigration reform (plea from the border states: Pease hurry!), Arizona voters might someday be willing to reconsider the harsher elements of 200 and 300.

But for now, the DREAM Act is just a fantasy and a whole lot of wasted Democratic energy.

Anne T. Denogean can be reached at 573-4582 and adenogean@tucsoncitizen.com. Address letters to P.O. Box 26767, Tucson, AZ 85726-6767.

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qingshu · qingshu

the pessimism in this article is strangling me

Nick · Nick

This is just one person's oppinion. The important thing to get out of this article is that some elected officials are fighting for the DREAM Act no matter what. This article focuses on AZ legislature, which (at least according to this author) is unlikely to pass the DREAM Act on a state level. However, do not forget that the Congress is completely separate and the DREAM Act on a federal level flows via completely different channels over completely different obstacles.

Keep 'em coming juang. Thanks.

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[THE DREAM ACT] Denogean: Push to redo Prop. 300 an affront