It’s the law

Illegal immigration advocates hope that squelching debate on legislative solutions will preserve the status quo: We can’t possibly force millions of illegals to return to their native countries, therefore we mustn’t even try. We must allow them to continue working, we must allow their children to attend taxpayer-funded schools, we must provide free health care through our emergency rooms.

Arizona lawmakers are proving them wrong. In the past month, The Associated Press, The New York Times and other media have reported with a tone of disbelief that illegal immigrants are leaving the fast-growing state in droves. Apartment and rental-home vacancies are up, while school enrollments are down.

Yes, the souring economy has hurt the construction and service sectors across the Southwest, but there’s more to it than that. On Jan. 1, the country’s toughest illegal immigration law went into effect in Arizona, punishing employers for hiring workers who can’t document citizenship or legal residency.

Arizona’s Republican Legislature and Democratic governor didn’t buy the idea that they had no recourse but accept the fiscal and social costs of Congress’ refusal to enforce existing immigration laws. Facing a huge budget deficit caused, in part, by the burden illegal immigrants place on public services, they passed the law in defiance of the naysayers. A federal judge recently upheld the law, ruling against activists who claimed immigration is a federal matter and that states and cities lack the authority to address it.

Oklahoma, Colorado, Georgia and dozens of towns and cities have passed similar laws to compel illegal immigrants to move somewhere else.

The laws deny some public services, such as welfare and in-state college tuition, or mandate that employers and government contractors verify the immigration status of employees. Many of these laws are working as intended.

Which means we can expect to see such statutes spread as illegal immigration once did. During this year’s elections, Nevada voters should ask legislative candidates if they’re paying attention.