Letter to the Editor 4/29

Editor:

A letter regarding the ability of illegal aliens to vote in elections contained several inaccuracies which need to be corrected.

1. Aliens can’t legally vote in any state or territory in the United States, whether they’re here legally or not. That action would constitute a felony. You have to be a citizen in order to vote. You don’t need a driver’s license in every state to vote, either. You just have to register. None of the states mentioned specifically allow aliens to vote. There are loopholes there, however, when aliens get registered as voters in some states’ systems when issued a driver’s license. I agree that this does need to be corrected.

2. There is a popular conspiracy theory that only illegal aliens (not the legal ones) are voting in droves for Democrats for some reason. There is no evidence of this, and it’s somewhere between difficult and impossible to see how enough of them could vote to swing an election in any state. If someone can come up with evidence, it would no doubt be quite a scandal. As it is, it’s just a popular talking point to delegitimize Democratic votes.

3. Statements like, “Our tax dollars are going to house illegal immigrants”, “We have medial care going to illegal immigrants”, “We have food going to immigrants”, and “…teachers that are being paid to teach illegal immigrants”, etc. are overly broad and general, geared to gin up emotions, and devoid of any specific detail or evidence. As opposed to overly-simplistic slogans, here are some pertinent facts:

4. Immigrants pay more than their fair share of taxes and make vital contributions to the United States. Despite their hard work and the fact that their wages are often low, immigrants are not eligible for food stamps or other basic safety-net services on the same basis as U.S. citizens. Undocumented immigrants are not, and NEVER have been, eligible for food stamps.

5. In 1996, most lawfully residing immigrants were cut from the Food Stamp Program, including many immigrants who had been living and working in the U.S. for several years. However, most lawfully residing adults cannot receive food stamps on the same basis as citizens until they have been in the U.S. in a specified “qualified” immigrant status for five years.

6. As for who can access healthcare, The Trump administration and especially many Republican governors in Red states have tried to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act out of pure spite, denying Federal Medicaid coverage to their OWN citizens. Many poor and low-income American citizens in those states have to go over state lines to adjoining states to access care such as dental, etc.

7. Again, “turn this country into a circus” is another misleading statement that provides no specific information, data, or evidence.

I realize that, in a Democracy, there are different points of view that deserve consideration but a debate that provides clear verifiable data and specifics seems much more productive.

William E. Conti, PhD
Honolulu, HI