Illegals in Arizona

Illegal immigrants are trying to use Arizona as a major point of entry into the United States:

As U.S. Border Patrol data show, in fiscal year 2004, for the first time, more than half of all illegals caught along the U.S.-Mexico border were caught in Arizona. More illegals were caught there than in California, New Mexico and Texas combined. As a share of the national total, Arizona's burden is nearly four times what it was 10 years ago. The tightening of controls in California and Texas, flat funding increases for Arizona and unfavorable geography on the state's borders are the primary reasons why it happened. As early as 2000, immigration agents were calling Phoenix's airport the "gateway" to the rest of the United States for illegals. Too bad Washington wasn't paying attention.

And it is for this reason that many in Arizona voted for Proposition 200, the ballot initiative to tighten the receipt of public benefits by illegal immigrants and to make public employees report illegal immigrants to federal authorities.