No Services for Illegals?

An Arkansas lawmaker wants to create guidelines to better identify illegal immigrants. Representative Bill Sample of Hot Springs says he'll introduce a bill to help state officials keep illegal immigrants from accessing services. Rep. Sample says he'll introduce an immigration reform proposal to specify the kinds of documents immigrants must possess to show they are in the state legally. "This has been an issue for quite some time," says Sample. He says his bill will address what he calls a major problem. "If a person goes to take and get food stamps or goes to get health care, then we don't have a good way to ID who's entitled to it," says Sample. Sample says cards like Hispanic community membership ID's can look too much like state-issued ones, and help people who are in Arkansas illegally access services. "With the resources and the limited resources we have, it's very important to people getting entitlements are citizens," expresses Sample. Sample proposes creating specific guidelines that state agencies would have to follow before offering services.

Maricella Garcia is Director of Immigration Services for Catholic Charities of Arkansas. She says the church's stance on the rights of all immigrants is clear. (but the difference between legals from illegal aliens is not) "When you start to talk about we're not going to give healthcare to people who are dying I think you really have to reevaluate where you are coming from on that, (It's a lie to claim that anybody is saying that) is it really about money or do you just not care about the human dignity of people," says Garcia. "Our human rights are given to us by God (illegal immigration is not a God given right),which is what the bishop talks about. They can't be separated by law," says Garcia. In fact, Bishop Anthony Taylor's first pastoral letter directly addressed the topic. " Really what the letter talks about is the human rights of immigrants which includes their dignity as a person, respect for life and their ability to migrate because of that," says Garcia. "It's not about race, it's not about religion, it's not about what country you come from. It's about being in this county legally," says Sample. Representative Sample he's says revising the bill and hopes to have it done, and filed by the end of the week.

A link to the story with some TV footage:
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=78110

We will need to lobby for this bill to get it passed. I will talk more about this at the meeting at the Fletcher Library tonight at 6:30pm. I will also post a link to the bill as soon as it is filed.