Arizona senate passes controversial illegal-alien bill
On Monday in Phoenix, Arizona, in a move that drew both applause and condemnation, the Arizona senate with a vote of 17-11 passed senate bill 1070.
What makes Arizona senate bill 1070 controversial is that it expands a police officers authority to arrest individuals who look and perhaps "sounds" illegal and cannot provide ample proof of either being a U.S. citizenship or legal resident. Critics of the bill claim that the bill legalizes "racial profiling" and does not fix the problems of undocumented workers illegally entering the United States. Critics also state that police officers are not adequately trained to distinguish who appears legal and who does not.
Republican state Senator Russell Pearce, who authored the bill, said in a recent interview that, with senate bill 1070, "We're going to take the handcuffs off of law enforcement, we're going to put them on the bad guy. Illegal is not a race, it's a crime."
Senator Pearce further stated, "You know, this is amazing to me. We trust officers, we put guns on them, they make life and death decisions every day. They investigate capital crimes, they investigate sophisticated crimes, but we're afraid they're going to pick up the phone and call ICE." - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -
As the bill is currently written, police officers can only ask for proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residency if a person is suspected in another crime.
Isabel Garcia, an Arizona legal defender, compares the bill to the Jim Crow laws that were written by segregationists who vehemently opposed African Americans sharing facilities with White people.
Isabel Garcia: "I think this bill represents the most dangerous precedent in this country, violating all of our due process rights. We have not seen this kind of legislation since the Jim Crow laws. And targeting our communities, it is the single most largest attack on our communities."
The bill requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times. If Arizona governor Jan Brewer signs the bill into law, police would be required to question people if there's reasonable suspicion that they're undocumented. Police will also be targeting day laborers who illegally hire or knowingly transport them.
The state Senate's Democratic leadership, highly critical of Monday's vote, stated the bill doesn't truly address Arizona's real immigration issues.
Governor Brewer who is a Republican has not publicly sided with either side, promising instead that her actions will be fair to all parties concerned. However, because the governor is aware of a potential election challenge from within her own party, it is highly unlikely that she will not sign the bill into law.
Arguably the most robust illegal-alien measure passed by a state senate, the question that is on the mind of many Americans is, will this anti-undocumented worker / illegal alien law serve as the prototype model for other states that are contemplating legislating similar bills and have elected not to wait for federal direction on dealing with the explosion of undocumented workers in their communities.
Congressman Luis Gutierrez (Dem) Illinois, is warning President Obama that unless there is significant steps made by the government to reform immigration laws, Latin Americans may boycott November elections and could possibly stage an economical boycott as well.
Immigration and what to do with undocumented workers / illegal aliens and most importantly, the businesses that provide employment to these groups are the hot topics that will be debated this summer and fall. In the meanwhile it will be interesting to see if Arizona is the first domino to fall in line of many dominoes / states that are prepared to toughen their illegal-alien laws.
As always Louisianans, the New Orleans Examiner is interested in what you think. Should Arizona Governor Jan Brewer sign senate bill 1070 into law and give police officers unprecedented authority to arrest suspected illegal-aliens? Should the threat of an economical and political boycott by Latin Americans deter the governor from signing the bill? Inquiring minds want to know. Sound off.
Until next time Louisianans, Good Day, God Bless and Good Fishing.
Same with local and state governments... they're quick to hire mexican workers, to do cheap work on any type of construction they need right now... Man, if I was in Mexico, I'd want to do the same thing as them... they can't survive, the way it is down there...
