Offering sanctuary asks high price

Letter date: 
Friday, February 3, 2017
Letter publisher: 
Register Guard
Letter author: 
James Hoffman
Letter body: 

Has anyone seriously considered the financial ramifications for every taxpayer in Lane County if Eugene becomes a sanctuary city? It will not be the immigrants who come here illegally who will pay. They will arrive with their hands out and immediately get welfare benefits. Where is this money going to come from? Are we not already taxed to the hilt?

With the new administration vowing to strip federal funding to sanctuary cities, what sort of financial crisis will be created for Lane County and the city of Eugene? Can we really afford that? Does our local government really want to create this confrontational disaster for us?

Yes, lawsuits could be filed against it, but who pays for those legal fees? We do. The new administration can, and will, deny those much-needed dollars. More than 300 sanctuary cities are costing state and local taxpayers a minimum of $7 billion and as much as $14 billion annually. This is the bottom line, literally and figuratively.

It is unaffordable both in terms of dollars and the toll it will take on public health and crime. Those federal funds are needed for our local law enforcement. We must pray for those poor souls caught up in the turmoil.