TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! COMBAT TAX FUNDS SERVICES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!!

I'm always surprised how much the local news refuses to report.

Furthermore, this juggernaut of a blog is always anxious to bring an uncomfortable bit of political hypocrisy to the forefront.

So let's make it plain:

COMBAT TAX RENEWAL WILL PROVIDE AT LEAST $134,000 TO AGENCIES WHO PROVIDE SERVICES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!!

I'm not bringing up this fact because I want to make life harder for a group of innocent people who are often caught in the middle of political firefights and are pretty much without any legal recourse in this nation.

IN FACT, I COMPLETELY SUPPORT TAX PAYER SUBSIDIZED SERVICES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!!

I just find the contradiction of law enforcement folks advocating this funding that will benefit illegal immigration a bit funny.

First, the data . . .

Check out all of the organizations for yourself on the Jackson County COMBAT site.

There is a complete listing of Prevention Agencies Receiving COMBAT Funding as well as an index of Treatment Agencies Receiving COMBAT Grants.

Here are just a few programs which EVERYONE knows provide services for illegal immigrants:

Guadalupe Centers, Inc. host some wonderful programs that have nothing to do with illegal immigration but they receive $70,550.00 for “Somos El Futuro,” a Drug Prevention Program to which many illegal immigrants are sentenced in order to avoid (much more costly) jail time.

The same situation exists for the Mattie Rhodes Center and their $42,500 worth of COMBAT funding.

Westside Community Action Network Center, Inc. (THE CAN Center) takeS $21,250.00 and they are the most easily identifiable host of illegal immigrants because so many line up outside the offices while contractors from all over the city drive by and pick up day labor. This is a valuable service because it offers a place away from Westside businesses on the Blvd. for these dudes to congregate and it helps them acclimate to life the U.S. but like it or not these folks are illegal immigrants. For the record, KCPD Chief Corwin has been a strong advocate for this program which offers statistical evidence of its impact in preventing crime throughout the Westside.

Now . . . The arguments in support of these places are many and they're mostly on point. These drug programs work and they help reduce the rate of addiction which negatively impacts the entire community. Also, The Westside CAN Center does a great service in preventing crime and creating a dialogue among undocumented workers and local authorities. Make no mistake . . . These organizations help fight crime.

Again, the contradiction here that everyone overlooks is that these programs benefit undocumented workers plain and simple.

Furthermore . . . There is a bit of controversy on this topic in the Latino community given that a focus on services provided to undocumented workers takes away from offerings to legal residents of Latino descent. At all of these great social service agencies and many more the focus is on helping recent arrivals while dropout rates, drug abuse stats and economic data suggest that legal Latino residents also need access to these important programs but are often overlooked in favor of seemingly more desperate clients.

But I digress . . .

The really interesting aspect of this whole thing is that Prosecutors, Law Enforcement People and Elected officials are putting on smiling faces in order to plea for COMBAT TAX renewal without as much as a question from mainstream media as to the illegal immigration aspect of its funding.

Let Mike Sanders say that he supports funding for services provided to illegal immigrants because that's exactly what he's doing when he pitches for COMBAT renewal.

The same goes for the rest of the pitchmen caught up in this eternal tax effort.

In this sense, illegal immigrants have achieved a "role" in Jackson County government. The "nation of laws" argument used against illegal immigration is hypocritical when so many lawmakers endorse a tax that will perpetuate services which make it possible for undocumented workers to live in Jackson County. Like it or not, the high demand for these services from illegal immigrants makes them an INTEGRAL part of the system which desperately wants the COMBAT Tax renewed.

Tragically, this TKC nuanced approach to COMBAT Tax renewal hasn't been discussed in Jackson County. Word is the politicos pushing the ongoing levy won't even let people ask unscripted questions at public meetings discussing the tax. Nevertheless, it's important for people to know exactly what they're voting for or against. COMBAT is being misrepresented as simply a tool for fighting crime but part of that mission is seemingly to facilitate one form of illegal activity in order to curb much more dangerous drug related crime for the greater good.