Nov. 8, 2006
IMMIGRATION PROPOSITIONS
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.08.2006
Arizona voters resoundingly passed three anti-illegal-immigrant ballot
measures Tuesday and established English as the state's official
language.
The landslide victory — all four passed by about 3-to-1 ratios statewide
— sends a message that the state won't tolerate illegal immigration,
said proponent Don Goldwater.
"The people of Arizona have said, 'Enough,' and that they want this
issue taken care of," said Goldwater, a gubernatorial candidate who lost
in the Republican primary in September. "If the federal government won't
stand up, then by God, the state of Arizona will."
Election night proved a sad outcome for immigrant advocates who carried
out a grassroots campaign of rallies, fliers and news conferences to try
to defeat the measures.
The results send a negative message to children that there are two
classes of residents in Arizona, said Lorraine Lee, vice president of
Chicanos por la Causa, a nonprofit community-development corporation.
"It makes me very fearful of what the future holds because I think that
this may potentially send out a message that it's OK to continue to bash
immigrants," Lee said.
The four measures passed in each of the 15 counties. Pima County, which
was one of three counties to defeat the anti-illegal-immigration
Proposition 200 in 2004, passed the measures by about a 2-to-1 ratio,
results showed.
The overwhelming victory was no surprise to proponents, who were so
confident that they spent no money on a formal campaign or
advertisements.
"It's been pretty much a bipartisan issue. People want something done
about illegal immigration," said Sen. Dean Martin, R-Phoenix, the
sponsor of Prop. 300. "I'm not surprised to see this reaction at all,"
said Martin, who was elected state treasurer Tuesday.
Voter intimidation by anti-illegal-immigration activists at some South
Side precincts affected the results, said Ramón Garcia of the Campaign
for Community Change. It opposed the measures and worked to get
Hispanics registered to vote.
"We understood that we probably weren't going to be able to beat all the
propositions, but we anticipated our numbers would have been much
closer," he said.
Assuming they survive court challenges, the measures will prevent
illegal immigrants from taking adult-education classes, getting
state-funded child-care assistance and paying in-state tuition at state
colleges and universities, automatically keep those charged with serious
felonies in jail without bail, and prevent them from receiving punitive
damages in civil lawsuits.
Proposition 103 establishes English as the state's official language, 18
years after voters passed a similar proposition in 1988 that was later
overruled by the Arizona and U.S. Supreme Courts.
● Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or
bmccombs@azstarnet.com.