Colorado and aid for illegals

A Colorado delegate is determined to end government aid for illegal immigrants:

For state Rep. David Schultheis, the choice is clear: The Colorado legislature can pass his bill preventing illegal immigrants from receiving non-emergency state and county services.

Or legislators can watch the proposal ignite an Arizona-style political wildfire as it goes before the voters as a November 2006 ballot initiative.

"The public really wants this," Mr. Schultheis, a Republican who represents northern Colorado Springs, said yesterday. "We are going to do everything we can to get this before the public in some form or another."

It is no accident that his proposal, introduced Friday as House Bill 1271, bears a strong resemblance to Arizona's Proposition 200, the anti-illegal immigration measure that won passage in November after a bruising campaign and despite strong opposition from most of the state's political establishment.

And the goal of the bill is a popular one:

A survey taken in Mr. Schultheis' district found that 86 percent of respondents agreed: "Only legal residents of Colorado should be allowed to receive benefits and services funded with tax dollars."

Let's hope that Rep. Schultheis' bill becomes law.