DENVER -- A ballot proposal that would bar illegal immigrants from receiving government services won't solve any problems and could end up costing taxpayers, opponents said Thursday in the first salvo of a fight that is expected to dominate Colorado next year.

"This is a national problem. It can't be solved at the state level, and any effort to do so is bound to backfire on Colorado taxpayers," said Wade Buchanan, president of the Bell Policy Center, a liberal think tank.

A recent study compiled by the center determined that legal and illegal immigrants add about $10 billion to the U.S. economy each year. He said most come here to work, not apply for government services, which is the target of the initiative.

"We do need to take immigration issue seriously. We do not need to do it as an enforcement matter," Buchanan said.

The November 2006 ballot proposal would bar services beyond those required by federal law to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen. It would apply to state agencies and all local governments and special districts. It also would allow citizens to sue state or local governments that refuse to enforce it.

The plan is being pushed by Defend Colorado Now, a group of conservatives formed to fight illegal immigration. A similar proposal failed to make the Colorado ballot two years ago.

Buchanan said the new plan would cost taxpayers more than it saves because agencies would have to check immigration records. He also said it would leave the government open to expensive legal fights.

State Rep. Dave Schultheis of Colorado Springs, a founding member of the Republican Study Committee of Colorado, which supports the initiative, said opponents are failing to consider the benefits of deterring illegal immigrants from coming to Colorado in the first place and convincing an estimated 250,000 illegal immigrants in Colorado to leave.

"It's time to make Colorado unfriendly to people who are in this country illegally," Schultheis said.

Additional Resources:

Bell Policy Center
Defend Colorado Now