According to the Census Bureau, Hispanic and Asian populations are the fastest growing populations in the country. By 2050, Hispanics will comprise 17% of the total population; many estimate that number will reach 25% by 2050, making hispanics the largest minority in a country that no longer has a majority.

In 2001, there were nearly 13 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, comprising 4.2 percent of the total population., projected to reach 22 million by 2025, and 34 million by 2050.

A ballot initiative that will soon be facing Colorado voters would amend the state constitution by denying all "non-emergency" government services, other than those mandated by federal law, to illegal, or unauthorized, immigrants. This initiative, sponsored by a group with the polarizing name "Defend Colorado Now," has the backing of former Governor Dick Lamm and Congressman Tom Tancredo, both of whom have long been identified with extreme anti-immigrant positions.

Any thoughtful consideration of this initiative must begin from the undeniable fact that the initiative's passage into law would accomplish next to nothing. Will the initiative's provisions bar illegal immigrants from receiving food stamps or welfare benefits? No; they are not receiving these benefits at present. Will the initiative prevent illegal immigrants from receiving emergency medical care, police protection, or education in the public schools? Once again, the answer is no, because these services are required by federal law. The official website for "Defend Colorado Now" does not provide even the roughest of estimates as to how much the state's taxpayers would save if the initiative were passed. The measure's proponents, when pressed by reporters from the editorially conservative Rocky Mountain News, were "unable to say what services illegal immigrants are now receiving that would stop if the initiative passed in November" (Rocky Mountain News, 5 January 2006, 18A).

Most Coloradans readily recognize that the current immigration system is not working adequately. The number of illegal immigrants in our state has increased significantly over the past decade and this increase cannot continue indefinitely without causing serious social problems. The current unsettled situation along the U.S. border with Mexico raises valid national security concerns, and creates grave humanitarian problems for those seeking to cross the border. But the anti-immigrant initiative being proposed in our state does not move us forward in addressing these important concerns. Instead, passage of the initiative would be far likelier to stir up racial and ethnic divisions than provide any answers to the complex problem of illegal immigration.

An informed debate about the presence of a significant number of illegal immigrants in our state will only begin once the voters have considered this issue in all of its dimensions, and not simply in its economic repercussions, as the proponents of the current initiative have mistakenly done. As we are not talking about commodities, such as oil or grain, but about our fellow human beings, the debate about illegal immigration does not only involve economic considerations: it includes social justice, legal and political, and spiritual and religious aspects, as well. Let us now consider these wider dimensions of the debate, beginning with the economic factors.

Download the complete PDF