Proposition 187: Don't Mess With Texas

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illegal aliens are paying just as much as "real
Americans" are in sales taxes, gas taxes, liquor taxes, and cigarette taxes. For
example, illegal aliens in San Diego, California accounted for 26.6 million
dollars in health care costs in 1994 (Serb 63). Not a single person would deny
that this is a lot of money, and therefore would seem to be an excellent reason
to cut funding right this minute. However, the logical person has to realize
how important those same aliens are to filling the state's excise tax coffers
each year. Excise taxes paid by ‘illegals' were accounting for up 60.5 million
in state tax alone (63). In retrospect, it hardly seems right to say that
illegal immigrants are not paying their fair tax share for their health needs.
It also isn't fair that "U.S. businesses need Mexican workers for low-paying
jobs, but don't want them to have access to heath care while they are here"
(Hudson 37).
Another economically based reason, that proponents of 187-like
legislation ...

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than just
economic problems. Texans must be aware of the moral and ethical problems we
would create if we supported a similar plan for Texas. For instance, Catholic
Bishop John Ricard points out that if Texans explicitly set out to identify all
illegal aliens, and stop them from receiving care, we are likely to have a
discriminatory situation. Every American with tan skin and a name ending in "z"
is likely to be perceived as potential illegal immigrants ("Health" 248). The
National Christian Coalition also points out that "to measure national health
care decisions more by economic than moral or compassionate standards is
appalling" (248). But even more appalling is what we are ...

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