New Haven Independent

Posted by: Ralph | October 16, 2006 12:05 PM

Great,

So if an illegal alien continues to avoid paying taxes but wants police protection, then that is OK while the rest of us residents have to contribute to the general fund. Has anyone looked into that tiny little matter called Homeland Security? I hope this policy gets denied before it costs the City in lawsuits. Anything for a vote John, right? Oh wait - illegals can't vote or can they? Maybe we can ask Registrar of Voters to let them vote (but only if they vote for John). Ridiculous policy.

Posted by: Ed Weirdness | October 16, 2006 12:30 PM

Hopefully, the Police Union will show the character and courage we expect from law enforcement professionals, and they will choose to enforce all the laws, and not just those that politicians and community special interests find political expedient.

If a police officer pulls someone over for a taillight violation, and determines they have outstanding warrants, they should act. If an officer is on any sort of call, and determines that probable cause exists, they should act.

Illegal immigrants have committed several crimes besides "illegal entry into the country". They routinely engage in fraud and identity theft, misrepresentation of all types, in order to remain and thrive at the expense of our communities. Were police officers to willfully avoid acting on "illegal immigrants", or turn a "blind eye" on immigration violations, I would demand that any portion of my federal tax dollars that goes to these "sanctuary communities", be denied.

Posted by: Joe | October 17, 2006 2:44 PM

Ralph - your assumptions are rather inaccurate:


Illegal aliens pay the vast majority of the taxes that you and I pay. Specifically, illegal aliens do pay the primary taxes that support police services, those being property taxes. But let's go through the whole list:

Property Taxes: ($ goes to the city to support operations): Paid by all landowners, and through them by their tenants (aka illegal aliens who rent land).

Sales taxes: $ go to the state and pay for about 22% of the state budget, and make it back to cities like NH to pay for services): These are paid by anyone that buys things, including illegal aliens.

State Income taxes:
$ go to the state and pay for about 40% of the budget. It's currently estimated that the employers of about 50 to 60% of illegal aliens pay payroll taxes - meaning just like you and me they pay state and federal income tax, social security, and medicare.

So, roughly totaling this up: Illegal aliens pay property taxes and sales taxes, and more than half pay income taxes. Factored as a proportion state and town/city budgets in CT, the only revenue not contributed to by illegal aliens is about 40 to 50% of the income tax (which is 40% of the whole for the state government, and probably closer to 10 to 15% of the whole of state and local spending in CT).

Thus, all in all - illegal aliens are probably only paying $.90 for every $1 they owe, as opposed to the "0 taxes" rehetoric that people like to throw around. And as to the issue of city sponsored police protection referenced by Ralph - they're probably paying closer to 100%, the same as you and me.

Posted by: contessa | October 17, 2006 4:19 PM

As a Latina whose parents immigrated here legally over 50 years ago and as an American citizen I am outraged that law enforcement officials paid to protect and serve the law-abiding citizens and legal residents of the jurisdictions in which they operate are now imbedded with people who put the interests of illegal aliens, their employers, their profiteers above the safety of the community. Illegal aliens don't deserve any special protection from law enforcement. So-called "sanctuary policies" have destroyed cities like Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles.
It's time that elected officials and especially our law enforcement officers put the safety, health and welfare of law-abiding citizens and legal residents above those of illegal aliens. Enough is enough.

Posted by: robinson | October 17, 2006 11:58 PM

you have to be kidding joe, right? illegal aliens most certainly do not pay takes, without social security numbers, without INS work permit cards, without drivers licences, without any documentation whatsoever, illegals don't pay takes, plain and simple. my cousin married a woman from peru and it took them 5 years and almost $3K to get all the paperwork done to make her 100% legal (and they did it themselves, they didn't use a lawyer). you can't pay takes if you don't carry an Alien Registration Number card, a permanent resident card or a green card. now in fairness to aliens who are here legally, they have their I-9 stamped at USA point of entry and are tracked from that point. those who come in illegally have fake ID's at best. it is not a question of quality of people or want and need by illegals - it's a matter of Homeland Security. Let some illegal alien plant a bomb at Yale or something like that and see what happens. the bottom line is that the police can't descriminate but ortiz & co. think it is a laughing matter to do so. The REAL culprit is John DeStefano, as he just wants the liberal vote in new haven to spread, if you can't see that then i guess you don't know the inner workings of city hall. if it were popular to give rapists and ax murderers work study programs at city schools, john would do it for a vote. he has no integrity and does not care about new haven, only him self and his pipe dream of becoming govenor. i am a trained professional working on complex payroll systems and believe me, you simply cannot pay an illegal alien - unless you pay cash "under the table". i guarantee you if new haven had an illegal population anything other than latino (majority) this would not even be in the mayor's radar, it's just political and unconstitutional. in fact if this policy is passed i urge new haven residents to file a class action suit against the city of new haven, chief francisco ortiz and john destefano for violation our right to homeland security.

Posted by: Anonymous | October 18, 2006 12:35 PM

Those who oppose a policing policy that would provide protection to all residents, regardless of documentation, are ignoring reality to the detriment of our community as a whole. Today, immigrants and non-immigrants live together in communities that rely on policing to maintain a safe and productive environment. Denying some the protection of the law is denying all as it allows crime to fragment neighborhoods already challenged by a wide array of economic and social problems.

Yes, entering the country without documentation is considered an illegal act. But until we have an immigration policy that does not contradict itself endlessly and, instead, takes into account the reality of markets and human migration, we cannot ignore our country’s diverse composition.

Finally, I would just like to remind others to look back on our history at the moments when our government and communities supported practices of exclusion and racism toward immigrant groups who simply looked for better living conditions. Those are not moments we are proud of, and now we have an opportunity to do something positive for a change. I applaud those who can see beyond the simple and ridiculous label of “illegal� to develop an approach to policing that can only bring about positive and much needed change for all.

Posted by: Joe | October 18, 2006 10:03 PM

Robinson:

On the issue of property taxes and sales tax, I'm sorry to say you are simply incorrect. The same way that a citizen who rents pays property taxes via his or her landlord, an illegal alien who rents does the same. As for sales taxes, the person at the cash register doesn't stop charging an illegal sales tax just because they're illegally here.

On the issue of income taxes, I agree it's much more complicated and less obvious. Here is an interesting Washington Post article on the subject, which does a nice job laying out some of the issues.

The best excerpt is:

The controversy over immigrants and taxes generally centers on illegal immigrants. Reliable numbers are hard to find, but researchers generally agree that 50 to 60 percent of illegal immigrants nationwide work for employers who withhold income taxes and Social Security and Medicare payments from their paychecks. The authors of the Urban Institute study assumed 55 percent do. To get jobs, many of those immigrants use false Social Security numbers. That means they pay into the Social Security system for benefits they will never receive and pay income taxes without ever filing a return to determine whether they have overpaid.

Posted by: Ned | October 19, 2006 8:24 AM

If someone is here and he is not causing any problems, I don't see why he should be denied police protection. Using the economic contribution argument the US should be deporting people on welfare, rather than working "illegal" people. The local police are supposed to enforce local, not federal law. The US should change the policy of granting automatic citizenship to children of "illegal" immigrants born in the US, so that if you enter the country, illegally, and have a child, the kid would be a citizen of whichever country the parent(s) is from. Ideally the borders with Mexico and Canada would be open so people could come and go as they please - nice to dream anyway...

Posted by: Tom | October 19, 2006 11:08 PM

To Joe above:

Many illegal aliens live 2-3 familles per home. Therefore they do not pay their fair of property taxes thru rent or mortgage. That means less money to pay for services back to the community. In places where entire neighborhoods are made up of illegals the impact can be huge.

Those illegal aliens on the payroll and paying taxes got there by illegally obtaining false documents to prove they are legal residence. That is a felony. Beyond that if the SS# stolen and belongs to someone else that is another felony. I have no pity for people who commit these crimes and spit on our rule of law. The taxes they pay are not enough to make up for the crimes they commit and the hardships they place on American citizens who had they ID stolen and their credit ruined.

Oh and by the way 40-50% work under the table and don't pay any payroll taxes. Sweeeet!!