 |
As I see it Tomorrow a great experiment will begin in Arizona. As with any experiment, one must not tamper with the data. Experts such as Judith Gans of the University of Arizona say that the new law will have a dramatic effect on the local economy. If so, it should be not be hard to measure these impacts. Prices of hamburgers, a head of lettuce and the cost of gardening services, all of which Gans says will increase, can be documented quite easily. But during this political year both sides of the debate over illegal immigration will look to the Arizona experiment for data to buttress their arguments. This is where it is going to get dicey. The leading newspapers in Arizona are for open borders. They survive on advertisement paid for by businesses, many of whom profit from illegal alien labor. Can we expect them to be objective and fair? Hardly. What we can expect, probably beginning this week, is to be bombarded with tales of woe and misery designed to elicit a backlash of emotion and compassion sufficient to curtail enforcement of the new law. It will take time for the new law to be enforced and for the impact of that enforcement to be felt and measured. Citizens of Arizona must gird their loins against this onslaught of propaganda and keep their minds focused on the facts. |
| 