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Cries of racism can’t explain away impacts of illegal aliens - Crime,
disease, drugs, health care and education costs staggering
Source:Sonoran News - Cave Creek, AZ
http://www.sonorannews.com/
http://www.sonorannews.com/community.html
By Linda Bentley
PHOENIX – Television and radio stations began running ads in the Valley
last week, paid for by the Coalition United to Secure America,
attributing the 45 percent increase in homicides and 41 percent
increase in home invasions to illegal immigration. Phoenix Police
Department reports confirm those figures and Sgt. Tony Morales believes
there is no doubt that the statistics are tied to illegal immigration.
However, news reports about the ads have brought out comments from Rep.
Steve Gallardo, D–Dist. 13, who was quick to claim the ads were using
scare tactics to promote a racist agenda.
They forgot that adjective ... again
Actually, the ads were using facts to provide information to the
public and were too short to paint the entire picture. The news media
in reporting about the stir the ads have caused, mentioned Protect
Arizona Now (PAN), once again dubbing it an “anti-immigrant” group. PAN
Director Kathy McKee said she finds it tiresome trying to explain that
there is a difference between immigration and illegal immigration.
Because PAN supporters are opposed to illegal immigration, illegally
registering to vote, illegally voting, illegally collecting benefits,
or any other illegal activities, McKee asks how that became racist and
misconstrued to be some sort of “anti-immigrant” sentiment. PAN
supporter Rusty Childress and others have written letters to the editor
of various news media to explain that distinction, to no avail. Use of
the phrase “anti-immigrant,” as opposed to “anti-illegal immigration,”
to describe PAN’s position, appears to have become an editorial policy
embraced by mainstream news media from coast to coast ... a policy that
seems to also promote the racist sentiments of illegal immigration and
amnesty advocacy groups.
Arizona ranks third in country in identity theft
But, the numbers don’t lie. Looking at the crime statistics
provided by the Phoenix Police Department for the first three quarters
of 2003 (all that is available at this time), compared to the same
period in 2002, crime has indeed increased in Phoenix. Homicide is up
by 13 percent; sexual assault is up by 31 percent; aggravated assault
is up by 4 percent; drug crimes are up by 5 percent. However, as crime
rates continue to increase, arrests and clearances continue to decline.
And, according to a census report of law enforcement agencies,
conducted by the Bureau of Justice Services, Phoenix has the
distinction of tying with Nashville, Tenn. for having the lowest
percentage (36 percent) out of the 50 largest police departments in the
country for response to calls. According to a 2001 FBI Uniform Crime
Report, Maricopa County’s crime rates, compared to the rest of the
United States in offenses per 100,000 people, were as follows: Murder
in Maricopa County was 50 percent higher; robbery 32 percent higher;
aggravated assault 5 percent higher; auto theft 173 percent higher;
burglary 53 percent higher; and larceny 43 percent higher. Rape, the
only category where Maricopa County came in below the rest of the
nation was 19 percent less. In 1996, criminal offenses made up 17.9
percent of Maricopa County Superior Court’s caseload. Criminal offenses
have increased each year and in 2002, made up 25.2 percent of all case
filings. The Bureau of Justice Services inmate census data indicates
that violent offenders accounted for the largest source of growth for
all state inmate populations from 1995 – 2001. Those serving time for
violent crimes made up 58.7 percent of the white inmate population,
56.9 percent of the black inmate population and 81.5 percent of the
Hispanic prison population. From 1995 to 2000 the number of inmates for
all federal, state and private correctional facilities, by race,
increased by 17 percent for white inmates, 28 percent for black
inmates, 53 percent for Hispanic inmates and 20 percent for other
races. Identity theft continues to be one of the fastest growing crimes
in Arizona, which now ranks third in the nation with 88 identity thefts
reported per 100,000 people. Washington D.C. is number one with 123.1,
followed by California with 90.7. Twenty percent of Arizona’s identity
thefts are employment related offenses.
Mexico and Columbia rising stars of the heroin trade
In November 2003, the Executive Office of the President – Office of
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) issued its Drug Policy Information
Clearinghouse Fact Sheet. Under the chapter on Regional Observations it
reported that during 2002, methamphetamine use by adult arrestees was
concentrated in the Western region of the United States. Phoenix ranked
fourth highest out of 36 sites with 31.2 percent of male arrestees
testing positive for methamphetamine, and third highest out of 23 sites
with 41.7 percent of female arrestees testing positive for
methamphetamine. The report also stated that Mexican drug trafficking
organizations have become the dominant manufacturing and distribution
group in cities in the Midwest and the West, taking the lead over
outlaw motorcycle gangs. A decade ago, Mexico was known for its
production of poor quality heroin, such as black tar, and distributed
only a fraction of the heroin sold in the United States. Over the last
decade, Mexico and Columbia have gradually taken over the lion’s share
of the market from Southeast Asia with improved quality, bolder
smuggling techniques and distribution networks in all major cities
across the country with large Hispanic populations. Mexico also serves
as a port of entry for the smuggling of drugs from other countries.
Diseases long gone making a comeback
The illegal alien invasion crossing the southern U.S. border at an
estimated average of 800,000 per year has brought more than drugs and
crime across the border. Many bring with them diseases ... diseases
that were more or less unheard of in this country or ones that had been
all but eradicated making a comeback, including: Hepatitis A, B and C,
tuberculosis (TB), including MDR (multi-drug-resistant), Hansen’s
disease (leprosy), Chagas disease, dengue fever, malaria, polio and
others. Illegal aliens coming across the border are not screened for
anything, neither for having terrorist affiliations nor communicable
diseases. Illegal aliens with undiagnosed diseases crossing the border
quickly spread diseases throughout the nation. Reports have also
indicated that health-screening waivers granted in the past, along with
amnesty and a green card to illegal aliens already here, were later
found to have TB or other diseases. According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of cases of
tuberculosis in foreign-born persons, has risen dramatically in the
United States. In 1992, it represented 27 percent of all cases, with
four states reporting more that over 50 percent of the cases were among
foreign-born persons. In 2000, there were 21 states attributing over 50
percent of its cases to foreign-born persons, with California, Hawaii,
Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Hampshire reporting over 70 percent of
their cases were among foreign-born persons. In 2000, 41 percent of the
foreign-born cases occurred among persons from Central and South
America or the Caribbean. Although the number of MDR cases decreased
from 3 percent in 1993 to 1 percent in 2000, the proportion occurring
in foreign-born persons increased from 31 percent in 1993 to 72 percent
in 2000. Ordinarily TB requires six months of a four-drug regimen to
cure, whereas MDR-TB can require up to two years of treatment with a
complex regimen of far more expensive drugs. In 1999, there was a
dengue fever health advisory for an outbreak along the Texas/Mexico
border. Dengue fever is not usually fatal. However there is a strain
called dengue hemorrhagic fever that can be. Last November, 500 people
were infected with hepatitis A, after eating at Chi-Chi’s in Beaver
Valley, Penn. It was the largest outbreak in U.S. history. Over the
last 40 years, about 900 cases of leprosy were reported in the United
States. From 1999 – 2002, 7,000 new cases were reported. Chagas
disease, a parasitic bug from Latin American countries, where
approximately 18 million people are infected and 50,000 die each year,
has made its way into the blood supply with no tests available to
detect its presence.
“There is a syphilis epidemic in Maricopa County”
While syphilis infections dropped to a historic low in the United
States, Maricopa County saw increases each year as it fought to keep
the sexually transmitted disease (STD) from becoming epidemic. Between
1996 and 1998 infectious syphilis increased in Maricopa County by 137
percent. By the end of 1999, Maricopa County experienced a 10 percent
drop in the number of cases reported. However, it was still three times
the national rate. Douglas Hauth, a spokesperson for the Arizona
Department of Health Services Office of Infectious Disease Services
attributed the increase to the growing Hispanic and black populations,
a group with disproportionately higher levels of the disease.
Ulcerative stages of syphilis also significantly increase the risk of
HIV infection. An abstract from the 1999 National HIV Prevention
Conference, issued by the Maricopa Rapid Ethnographic Community
Assessment (RECAP) Team stated, “It was discovered that syphilis
disproportionately affected disenfranchised individuals and groups
associated with high risk behaviors. These individuals and groups
included sex workers, homeless persons, jail inmates and migrant
workers.” In 2001, Superior Court Judge Mark Armstrong issued an order
authorizing and directing Maricopa County Department of Public Health
and/or Correctional Health Services to draw blood for a syphilis
serology test on any person arrested for prostitution prior to that
person’s normal release from jail, subject to consent. Armstrong noted,
“There is a syphilis epidemic in Maricopa County,” citing, “In 1999,
Maricopa County had 463 cases of early syphilis, 228 late cases and 17
cases of congenital syphilis. “In 2000, Maricopa County had 394 early
cases, 314 late cases and 23 congenital cases. Armstrong stated that
the overall number of syphilis cases in Maricopa County has increased
every year since 1994, a direct contrast to the nation as a whole where
syphilis continues to decline. He also pointed out that syphilis in
Maricopa County was centered in the inner city, urban Phoenix area. In
1998, Maricopa County reported 29 cases of congenital syphilis, or
syphilis infection of a newborn; 19 cases in 1999; 23 cases in 2000 and
29 cases in 2001. “Congenital syphilis is a completely preventable
condition with prenatal care,” wrote Armstrong. However, due to lack of
identification and treatment there is a 25 percent fatality rate. The
cost to taxpayers for each case of congenital syphilis is estimated to
run $300,000 in medical and long-term costs. The cost to taxpayers from
1998 – 2001 would be about $30 million.
Hospitals inundated with non-pay emergency room patients
During a Dec. 13, 2000 meeting at the Arizona State Legislature of the
State-County Fiscal Committee, Alan Stephens, executive director of
County Supervisors Association (CSA), made a presentation explaining
the complex relationship between the county and the state. Stephens
discussed counties having expenditure limitations based on population
growth and inflation, leaving no room for emergencies. He cited a
“budgetary emergency where two counties had to endure a tuberculosis
outbreak, which was terribly expensive.” He also cited a capital case
in Yuma that cost 75 percent of its total budget in witness fees alone.
Stephens explained a survey taken by CSA on indigent health care costs.
He claimed it was not thorough and didn’t include the $66 million that
the counties contribute to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment
System (AHCCCS) program, or $150 million for long-term care that
counties contribute for the state matching funds. Counties also have to
pay for emergency costs when a person is admitted to a hospital prior
to being deemed eligible for AHCCCS. Stephens referred to it as county
“residuality.” He went on to say, “Many times the counties are subject
to litigation because hospitals submit a lot of claims to the county
hoping the county will absorb a lot of their uncompensated care
numbers,” and cited Maricopa County had $200 million in claims
submitted in 1999. Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley said that
Maricopa County had been settling those claims at 14 to 20 cents on the
dollar, due to poor record keeping, lack of good records and because of
the sheer volume of claims. He said there were 120 million new claims
submitted since January 2000 and nonprofit hospitals were submitting
claims because they were being inundated with non-pay, emergency room
patients. He said the residuality was “flowering to a degree that is
out of control now.”
Illegal alien children enter schools without health screenings
The Center for Immigration Studies did a report not that long ago
citing immigration, both legal and illegal, as the reason for virtually
all increases in the nation’s student population. Since school
officials either can’t or won’t ask if a student is in this country
legally or illegally, there is no way to know if that student or that
student’s family have had required health screenings. Schools in the
metro-Phoenix area have reported cases of TB as well as meningitis.
School districts will not disclose the nationality or legal status of
any infected child and cite the patient’s privacy as the reason. So,
critics say, as parents send their children off to school, do they know
or care if the non-English-speaking student sitting next to their child
in class has hepatitis, TB, leprosy, chagas or any other parasite or
disease? How about children or workers at the centers where they drop
off their younger children? What about the kitchen help preparing food
in their favorite restaurants? American citizens are paying to: Build
new school after new school, in order to provide an education for all
the children on the planet; provide free health care for all those who
come here illegally; provide illegal immigrants with food stamps,
welfare benefits and subsidized housing; incarcerate criminal illegal
aliens; obtain additional uninsured motorists insurance because of the
increasing numbers of illegal aliens who drive without licenses or
mandatory insurance. When citizens can no longer afford to provide for
themselves and their families because they are providing for the rest
of the world, or they or their family come down with a disease,
previously unheard of, through the blood supply, the impacts of the
illegal invasion may look a little more real. |
