Arizona voters passed Proposition 200 which would deny social welfare benefits to undocumented immigrants. According to a spokesperson, such benefits cost the state "millions of dollars a day". With 365 days in the Arizona calendar, one would expect at least $730 million to be spent on benefits for undocumented immigrants alone.

That is not the case.

According to the state's budget Arizona spent a total of about $1 billion on welfare programs in 2004: $680 million on health care and $320 million on the Health Services Department. Health care spending has increased dramatically in Arizona over the last two years, but not because of a recent tide of immigration. In fact, Proposition 204, adopted in 2001, intentionally expanded eligibility for health care: "The most striking change occurred in Arizona. State voters overrode years of legislative opposition to Medicaid expansion in 2000 by enacting a citizen’s initiative, Proposition 204, that greatly expanded Medicaid coverage to include households up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Enrollment grew from 575,000 in January 2001 to 902,500 in January 2003." Even still, families earning more than $15,670 annually did not qualify for health care benefits for children over the age of 6.

Now Arizona also lies about the growth in Medicaid spending. According to a Kaiser Family supported web site, Arizona spent $650 million on Medicaid in 1998. According to the state's budget, it spent $680 million on Health Care Cost Containment (Medicaid) in 2004. The anti-immigration activists are inflating the cost figure by 50%.

NPR, of course, remains agnostic about facts and lets anybody say anything they want in fifteen seconds or less.

From Reuters, December 22, 2004

Judge Lifts Block on Arizona Immigrant Law

A federal judge lifted a block on a controversial Arizona law on Wednesday forcing state officials to begin restricting some government benefits to illegal immigrants.

In a ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge David Bury said he did not believe that opponents would ultimately succeed in challenging the law passed by state voters in the Nov. 2 general election. Bury said no "irreparable harm" would be caused by lifting a temporary restraining order that he had imposed late last month.

The judge, who was appointed by President Bush, had said at the time there were "serious questions" about whether the measure conflicted with federal law.

Attorneys for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund said the group would go to a federal appeals court to seek a stay of Bury's order.

Arizona's Proposition 200 requires state and local officials to check the immigration status of those applying for certain public benefits. Government workers failing to comply face misdemeanor charges punishable by up to four months in jail and a $750 fine.

Proponents have said the law came in response to the rising tide of illegal immigrants flowing into Southwestern states from across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The legal fight over the measure, which had been opposed by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and a range of business and civic leaders, is being closely watched amid the national debate on immigration reform.

"This is going to be a very Merry Christmas," said Kathy McKee, founder and chairwoman of Protect Arizona Now, the driving force behind the initiative. "We never thought there was any question about it being legal, but you just never know."

A leading critic of the new law said the battle was not over. "We're going to be successful," said Alfredo Gutierrez, a former state lawmaker and gubernatorial candidate.

Napolitano issued an executive order directing state agencies to begin implementing the new law.

Web site: "AHCCCS (Arizona's Medicaid) has exploded from $200 million in 2001 to $1.2 billion in 2003!"

NPR's Morning Edition, December 23, 2004: (my paraphrase until link is available) "We don't know exactly how much providing benefits to illegal immigrants costs, but it's millions of dollars a day.

Freepers say:

Johnson, advisor to ASU's American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International chapters, said the public benefits argument doesn't make sense.
ROFL Yeah, right. Notice that Billion isn't coming out of their pockets. It cost each and every household in AZ $749 per year to subsidize that cheap labor. And they're just the ones that stay in AZ. Most move on to other states.
AZ is a case in point. They move in, those that can vote support the Latino on the ticket. He gets in and the laws begin to change. Businesses hiring them support the politicians who will turn a blind eye. So AZ politicians are pro-illegal and the people are totally against it. Guess who wins.
The same thing is happening here in Vegas. We've had a 40% increase in the illegal population since Bush has been in office. OUr taxes have skyrocketed. Our town isn't safe. We're overrun. Our services are decimated. They're taking over industry after industry in this town. Now they're being registered to vote in this election. Guess who they'll vote for.
Just my Real-Estate taxes alone shot up...with 12% added on and spelled out for "Indigent Healthcare." Guess who they're talking about.
Enough is enough. They're moving into your areas too. Fight now or you'll be sorry. We have to build 12 new schools this year. Our emergency rooms are struggling. Our social services being used to subsidize their low wages instead of US citizens who have fallen on hard times.
OUr insurances have gone sky high to compensate for what they're costing us in crime and accidents. It's totally out of control. Don't let this happen to you. Stop it now before they control your politicians.

Yeah, I am somewhat "touched". Before the election everyone was afraid to talk about illegal immigration. We were even told not to discuss this on this forum.
It wasn't a week after the election that Bush had his cabinet in Mexico asking what we can do for them. Promising more and more taxpayer money.