Illegal Immigration ( MUST BE DONE in LESS THaN 9 hours) Essay

Illegal Immigration ( MUST BE DONE in LESS THaN 9 hours) - Essay Example Considering Janet Napolitanos background sheds some light on her ambiguous positions. She is a native New Yorker that was raised in New Mexico. A life long Democrat, she is governor of a state that is generally overwhelmingly Republican. Twenty years ago she was a lawyer representing a Tucson Arizona church against charges that they were smuggling illegal aliens. She won a major case that barred federal informants from investigating the Southside Presbyterian Church. Now, as Governor of a state at the heart of the immigration problem, she faces the dilemma of squaring her past record with the political realities of the present. Clearly Arizona has an illegal immigrant problem. According to Pomfret, approximately 4000 illegal immigrants enter Arizona every day. That amounts to 1.5 million immigrants a year in a state with a population of 6 million permanent residents. The toll on schools, law enforcement, hospitals, and public programs is immense. Federal funding has skyrocketed and as Pomfret reports, "[...] the Medicaid bill ballooned from $200 million in 2001 to $1.2 billion in 2003, at least partly because of illegal immigration". In 2004, Arizona passed one of the most stringent laws to regulate spending known as proposition 200. Proposition 200 mandated that all non-federally funded programs and assistance to illegal aliens cease immediately. However, Pomfret states that, "Arizonas attorney general, with Napolitanos support, has ruled that the law only pertains to discretionary state programs and not to federally funded entitlements such as food stamps and subsidized school lunches". The propositions advocates have sought court action to demand full implementation of the initial intent of the law. The legislators, caught in an election season have ducked responsibility and have decided to let the electorate decide which, if any,