Your Letters for May 30, 2025

18 U.S. Code § 611

It shall be unlawful for any alien to vote in any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commissioner.

Article 1 of the Constitution. This gave states the responsibility of overseeing federal elections. The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 created new ways to register to vote. It also called for states to keep more accurate voter registration lists.

The Supreme Court has determined that, under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, states may require a duration of residency as a qualification to vote. The Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause. That states have the limited power to establish qualifications for voting,

A legal alien is any foreign national who is permitted under the law to be in the host country.

Illegal alien, when foreign nationals, known as aliens, violate U.S. immigration laws by entering the United States unlawfully, or by lawfully entering but then remaining after the expiration of their visas, parole or temporary protected status

USCIS welcomed 818,500 new citizens in fiscal year 2024 during naturalization ceremonies.

In general, an alien must spend at least 5 years as a lawful permanent resident to be eligible for naturalization

The current surge of illegal immigration is unprecedented. Some 2.7 million inadmissible aliens have been released into the country by the administration since January 2021. Plus 1.5 million “got-aways.”

The illegal immigrant population grew to 12.8 million by October of 2023, up 2.6 million since January 2021

69% of adult illegal immigrants have no education beyond high school.

Using the National Academies’ estimate of immigrants’ net fiscal impact by education level, we estimate that the lifetime fiscal drain (taxes paid minus costs) for each illegal immigrant is about $68,000.

Illegal immigrants make extensive use of welfare. Based on government data, we estimate that 59% of households headed by illegal immigrants use one or more major welfare programs.

Based on their use rate of major welfare programs, we estimate that illegal immigrants receive $42 billion in benefits, some with Medicaid and Snap.

Based on average costs per student, the estimated 4 million children of illegal immigrants in public schools created $68.1 billion in costs in 2019.

5.8 million uninsured illegal immigrants in the country in 2019, accounting for a little over one-fifth of the total population without health insurance. The costs of providing care to them likely totals some $7 billion annually.

Illegal immigrants do pay some taxes. We estimate that illegal immigrants in 2019 paid roughly $5.9 billion in federal income tax, $16.2 billion in Social Security tax and $3.8 billion in Medicaid taxes. However, as the net fiscal drain of $68,000 per person cited above indicates, these taxes are not nearly enough to cover the cost of the services they receive.

An estimated 11 million immigrants live in the US without authorization

Immigrants who do not have a valid visa or other proof of legal status are not eligible for an SSN. Instead, these workers can apply through the IRS for an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN, to file their taxes.

According to the Pew Research Center, there were over 25 million people living in the U.S. in 2020 who were not U.S. citizens. This included approximately 12 million permanent residents living in the U.S. with legal permission, as well as 2 million temporary residents Pew's figure also includes approximately 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections, including elections for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections.

Opponents of allowing noncitizens to vote think that people should accept the duties of citizenship before being allowed to vote, that noncitizen voting could allow foreign influence in American elections, and that allowing noncitizens to vote discourages them from seeking citizenship.

Ben Pecora
St. Joseph

Balustrade Removal an Assault on City Hall

Recent decisions at City Hall propose the removal of the west balustrade, tree plantings and grand stone staircase. While structures do deteriorate, often overlooked is the newer technologies of epoxy and partial replacement of important details. I, as a preservation architect, know about and have used consolidants and ways to repair stone in need of renewal. Both the City Hall and Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City continue to repair, clean and consolidate stonework built in the nearly same period as the Civic Center in St. Joseph.

Built in the Italian Renaissance style, the St. Joseph City Hall and all its decorative parts is integral to the history and beauty of downtown. Heralding the beginning of the eastern downtown district, people remember ambling up this stairway, strolling through the park trees, sitting down and viewing monuments. The removal of all this, people may see as yet another assault on the aesthetics of St. Joseph. This gives no consideration to the style or importance of this ornamental grace to the Civic Center.

One may wonder who is thinking about anything artful or the importance of the art of the built environment. Can we afford the expedient route, once again, of what costs less, is less exercise in renovation or what makes things simpler to take care of. The fact is, we already have a grand City Hall with a surrounding balustrade that is integral to the overall Civic Center design. Tearing things apart many see as not the way to go but is only thinking from a budgetary and expedient manner. Citizenries remember things that instill pride and a sense of place. People want to be proud of a place called home. People who grew up here, moved away and visitors as well are looking, when they visit places, want something beautiful and memorable.

Please consider the better plan to not destroy this part of the western side of the Civic Center. This is too high a cost to make under the guise of we need to do something here. New is not always best. The dignity of the current city hall, its environment and the integrity of St. Joseph is at stake each time we make hurried and diminishing decisions like this. Please think about the future of the city and what is best for all. The city of St. Joseph, its history, its monuments, its heritage and even the growth of the city is all tied to this, and other decisions made at City Hall.

Paul Helmer
Kansas City, Missouri