Illegal Immigrants and Voting

Illegal Immigrants and Voting

I wonder how long it would take them to vote for extended government programs to give stuff to illegal immigrants or to make a move toward legalizing themselves.

Debra Saunders: No history, no study, no debate

The Associated Press and various newspapers reported this month that the University of California at Los Angeles' Chicano Studies Research Center released a "study" that recommended allowing California's 4.6 million non-citizens to vote in local elections.

But there was no study. There was no new research or in-depth information. There was a Latino Policy and Issue Brief written by UCLA law professor Joaquin C. Avila. The brief cited census data which found that non-citizen adults comprise large portions of California municipalities -- such as 32 percent of Los Angeles -- and then concluded that "a substantial number of persons, who contribute to our economy and our government's revenues, are being denied political representation" -- which he dubbed "political apartheid. . . ."

The professor instead acknowledged simply that not being a citizen presents a legal hurdle to voting. He didn't address the implications of extending voting rights to people who deliberately have broken the law. He didn't recognize that citizenship confers responsibilities as well as rights. He didn't address historical arguments. Avila didn't even explore what might be the consequences of allowing non-citizens to vote.

"If you have citizenship, but also this voting rights idea, what you're really saying is that if you've lived here for a while, you can vote, but you're not really one of us," noted Steve Camorata of the Center for Immigration Studies. "In an odd sort of way, it reinforces the oddness of the immigrant. . . ."

Universities are supposed to expose students to the world of ideas. How is that possible when its alleged scholars can't distinguish between scholarly study and propaganda?"