Such a Misleading Title to Tucson’s Prop 205 Initiative

By Joseph Morgan, candidate for Congressional District 2

Tucson is set to vote on Prop. 205 this coming November. It is imperative that this be voted down, not just for what it means for Tucson, but what it means for all of Pima County and the surrounding area. One of the driving forces for this deceptively titled “Tucson Families Free and Together” initiative is an opposition to law enforcement agents doing their job of rounding up those in this nation illegally. It is no accident that the brainchild of Prop. 205 is an open-borders, far-left organization called the “People’s Defense Initiative.”

This initiative is little more than a dangerous political gimmick and will undoubtedly create an even less safe environment for the residents of Tucson and surrounding areas, while making it more difficult for law enforcement to do its job. It will also very likely increase the economic pains of a metro-area too long stigmatized as anti-business. In a city marred with high crime and poverty rates, who wants to come when those numbers are only likely to increase? In business, image matters.

Those who support the notion of sanctuary regions say that by declaring themselves a safe-zone of sorts for illegal aliens, it will actually make our community safer and also help our relative economic situation. In the studies that proponents quote to support their spurious claims, the term “sanctuary” is only applied to areas that refuse to detain illegal aliens past what is legally permissible, unless they are suspected of a crime. This is all federal law mandates. These studies also purposely combine legal immigrant populations with illegal alien populations. In fact, it is the undocumented residents who stand to suffer the most by higher crime.  In other words, the studies are deceptive, much like the name given to Prop. 205.

Many Democrat cities labeled “sanctuary” don’t even meet the standards of these oft quoted statistics. Some even actively engage in detaining illegal aliens in facilities that are paid for by ICE, such as Albany, NY. However, in Montgomery County Maryland, you can see the chilling effects of a true sanctuary policy: it seems to attract and protect the criminal, illegal alien population. In the past year alone, seven illegal aliens were arrested on rape charges in that county, with some being released, rather than being held for ICE, even after being arrested on rape charges.

No one can deny that Kate Steinle was killed by a five-time deportee, in a so-called sanctuary city, San Francisco. Democrats across the country openly support sanctuary policies, in various forms, and often employ the language of deception to accomplish their end.  They all criticized President Trump when he suggested deporting all illegal aliens that were exploiting loopholes in our asylum system by claiming asylum AFTER they have illegally entered this country.

The truth is that Democrat supported-policies at all levels of government are increasingly supportive of those in this country illegally. Furthermore, Democrats denigrate and demonize law enforcement agents, particularly ICE, tasked with dealing with the illegal alien population, all to the detriment of the safety of the citizens Democrat leaders are sworn to protect.  Our current CD2 representative, Ann Kirkpatrick, recently recorded a video instructing people in our communities about how they might impede ICE in their law enforcement efforts.

Our elected leaders’ disdain for our laws and their willingness to support explicitly and implicitly public policies that endanger citizens and delegitimize law enforcement create an environment, for the sake of political correctness, that would have a negative impact on business development.

It is time for new leadership!

Joseph “J.D.” Morgan is a native Tucsonan. He published Western Free Press, an online publication, was a conservative columnist for the Arizona Daily Star as well as hosted his own talk radio show on KVOI, prior to announcing his candidacy for Congress in District 2. Holding a Masters in U.S. history with an emphasis on American constitutionalism from the UA with a minor in Aerospace Mechanical Engineering, his work background is as diverse. From working as a financial advisor to teaching history and math at Pima College, he has stayed in Tucson by choice. He is also a cancer survivor. Currently he works for the Upward Bound program at Pima Community College, which assists underprivileged children in pursuing their dreams of higher education. While volunteering ministry work at homeless shelters and nursing homes, he continues to volunteer weekly at the Wilmot State Prison and is a founding member of a local non-profit, the American Patriot Memorial. To learn more about Joseph and his campaign, including his economic plans for Southern Arizona, go to https://josephmorgan4congress.com/.