Prescott (AZ) City Council Council Addresses Illegal Immigration Problems
In the wake of the overwhelming approval of several state immigration-related propositions earlier this month, the City of Prescott will weigh in on the issue this week. At its regular study session, the Prescott City Council will consider a resolution that urges the federal government to "move expeditiously to seal our borders against this flood of illegal immigrants, criminals and terrorists, and to employ all practical and legal measures required to achieve this end."
The three-page resolution lists more than a dozen reasons for the action, including:
• "Whereas, in the last 10 or more years, the Immigration Act has not been strongly enforced and literally millions of individuals have come into our county in flagrant violation"
• "Whereas, the citizens of Prescott are worried and concerned about the impact of illegal aliens on our national security, our national, state and local crime rates, the increasing illicit drug trade, as well as the negative impacts on property values, public schools, hospitals, taxes, and welfare costs"
• "Since 2001, our city has experienced homicides, aggravated assaults, rapes, burglaries, drug sales and trafficking directly attributable to illegal aliens." The resolution also mentions that polls repeatedly show that citizens "strongly support reform of this country's immigration policy."
The city council's actions are based, in part, from the Nov. 7 ballot approvals of four state propositions that deal with immigration issues, such as availability of public programs to illegal immigrants.