LatinaLista — From some of the critical commentary targeting those protesting Arizona SB 1070, the authors see nothing wrong with SB 1070, feel Latinos’ fears are silly and that people are making a big fuss over nada.
One blogger even took issue with President Obama for speaking out against the bill.
President Obama is either uninformed about the current emergency facing the nation due to illegal immigration and the new Arizona immigration law or, as is almost certainly the case, he is playing politics with the situation in order to win the highly coveted Hispanic vote for his Party. In either case, his statement about Latinos being afraid to attend ice cream parlors in Arizona now that the new immigration law has passed border on the absurd, and his use of the phrase “don’t have your papers” can only be intended to hearken back to Nazi Germany.
Unfortunately, this blogger has failed to interview or even listen to those in the Latino community protesting this, to use his own word, “absurd” bill. Otherwise, he would know that fears of being racially profiled by the local police are grounded in the law itself.
What other conclusion can be drawn when the police department is penalized for not demanding proof of citizenship by people they suspect are not in the country legally? Or when everyday citizens can actually take the police to court for not enforcing, a.k.a. making Hispanics prove their citizenship, to their satisfaction?
There’s nothing absurd or paranoid about wondering how this law will be enforced since it will depend on the discretion of the officer. It’s a foregone conclusion that Sheriff Arpaio will enforce this law much differently than 15-year Tucson police veteran Martin Escobar who sued the state of Arizona over SB 1070.
And since this law impels all law enforcement to look for signs of undocumented immigrants, parents fear that even school resource officers will be part of the hunt.
Eve Aguirre, a parent in the Phoenix Union district, said she fears that the law, which makes it a state crime to transport illegal immigrants, could put her daughter and family members at risk.
“She has a lot of friends who are undocumented,” Aguirre said. “Am I supposed to ask these kids, ‘Who has papers? Only kids with papers can get in my car.’ You get criminalized if you have an undocumented person in your vehicle.”
From a Latina standpoint, there’s nothing “silly” about speaking out against this bill.
What’s is silly is expecting the potential targets of the bill to just lie down and take it.
Comment(15)
TheRumpledOne
Is the US CODE UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
US CODE TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER II > Part VIII > § 1325
§ 1325. Improper entry by alien
TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER II > Part VIII > § 1324a
§ 1324a. Unlawful employment of aliens
(a) Making employment of unauthorized aliens unlawful
U.S. Code TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER II > Part IX > § 1361
§ 1361. Burden of proof upon alien
We should treat immigrants like Mexico does:
At present, Article 67 of Mexico’s Population Law says, “Authorities, whether federal, state or municipal … are required to demand that foreigners prove their legal presence in the country, before attending to any issues.”
That would simplify things.
We do NOT need immigration reform. We need immigration ENFORCEMENT!
Simple question:
What happens if someone jumps the fence and wanders around a gated community without an ID? I am sure a resident of the community calls the cops saying someone that doesn’t look like they belong here is roaming the streets. The cops arrive. They would ask the wanderer a few questions. And since the wanderer does not have a valid reason for being inside the gated community, the cops would escort them out, wouldn’t they? Isn’t a country, like the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a “gated community”, too?
WAKE UP AMERICA AND SMELL THE HYPOCRISY
Simple question:
What happens if someone jumps the fence and wanders around a gated community without an ID? I am sure a resident of the community calls the cops saying someone that doesn’t look like they belong here is roaming the streets. The cops arrive. They would ask the wanderer a few questions. And since the wanderer does not have a valid reason for being inside the gated community, the cops would escort them out, wouldn’t they? Isn’t a country, like the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a “gated community”, too?
WAKE UP AMERICA AND SMELL THE HYPOCRISY
The REAL PROBLEM is that people have broken the law and need to be apprehended. All the other issues like racial profiling are SMOKE SCREENS.
We do NOT need immigration reform. We need immigration ENFORCEMENT!
WAKE UP AMERICA AND SMELL THE HYPOCRISY
Mark Stevens
Arizona has become the window to tomorrow. Seattle is a sanctuary city, look at what those six Seattle cops did to a suspected Mexican on May 6th
John
It is an absurd bill, It is Racist, PERIOD.
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still pig. And this is a big hog. And Shit like this shouldn’t be happening in America, SHAME ON AZ, no wonder 10 cities in the US want to Boycott them. And I Applaud The Suns for showing some spine, in such a hard position.
bjohns15@pride.hofstra.edu
A common argument I have seen from SB1070 defenders it the “deflection” variety.
One example is: “they ask for papers in Europe, no biggie then”:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-05-04/show-your-papers-so-what/?cid=bs:archive78
The other one, in reference to Mexico’s criticism goes like: “well, Mexico treats Central American shoddily, so they should shut up!”, which is the equivalent of saying that since the U.S. unjustly detained some people at guantanomo, American citizens have no rights abroad.
Let’s be clear, though. Latinos will be targeted, legal and illegal. But those that will suffer the most are not here legally.
The most egregious part of this law is not, to me, the profiling; it is the criminalization of humans for unlawful presence.
In law, there are two types of crimes: Malum en Se, and Malum prohibitum. The former is an act that is evil, or morally reprhensible, because of the act itself. The latter is a crime based on violation of a statute.
Unlawful presence is not evil or morally reprehensible, by any stretch of the imagination.(of course, ask ALIPAC that and they will bombard you with mierda pura).
The rhetoric coming out of Arizona is contrary to what undocumented individuals are. “illegal is not just illegal”. Alas, on at least the pro-sb1070 side, distinctions are not made; that would lessen the level of vitriole they need to continue to forcefeed, through emotional appeal, their skewed, dangerous agenda of deporting them all, regardless of what the consequences are.
Jim B
The President is just paying lip service to the illegals that actually think immigration reform will ever get passed.
Robert Emery
I live along the border and I don’t know when murder became a race issue and the solution “Legalization.” Fereral law contains the same provisions AZ law has regarding profiling and I am stopped all the time.
The sad part is a Boycott of Arizona targets industries that are predominantly Latina and will result in Illegal and mainly Latina residents losing their jobs. The ignorance of some and deception by others to further their agendas at the cost of the innocent never fails to amaze me.
Kansas City News
There are several great arguments for each side of this debate. One should consider all of the facts before speaking out about it 🙂
El Guapo
“Silly” would be the anti-immigrant fanatics who are paranoid. Those that drafted and supported this law are silly.
I don’t think it’s silly to be concerned about your friends. I don’t think it’s silly for a child to be concerned that his/her parents might be deported.
For a lot of immigrants, I am the only white guy they know. I used to meet immigrants on the bus or at parties, and they would be so delighted to meet an American. They were so optimistic about being in America, the land of the free, the land of opportunity. The Minute Men (“los hombres diminutivos”) and Arpaio and others like them send a message that they are not welcome. Now immigrants aren’t as excited as they were ten years ago about meeting an American. It’s sad.
Michael Kuhn
I believe that the hoopla over Arizona taking a legislative action is being blown out of proportion to the actual issue.
For example, if you have taken a plane trip recently – you know that you have to present documentation in order to board the plane. You also know that only some people get asked to do a further search of their person. This is profiling based upon similar names and probably similar features that a computer is suggesting a further search is warranted. This affects about 1 million passengers every day in the US. You do not hear and see huge rallies of people protesting this harsh treatment of every airline passenger.
And why is that? It is simple — 99.99999% of the passengers know that they are Not intending to blow up the plane or are wanted for some other criminal activity. So they have nothing to fear.
So, also, today, any person pulled over in a vehicle, is asked to show a drivers license, car insurance and car registration. Now in Az, one more question may be asked, for a SSN card or number. A quick check will show whether the name on the driver license matches the SSN name. If it doesn’t — then busted. For all naturalized citizens, this is not an issue — it will match. For children, they will need a naturalized citizen document of some kind.
However — persons who are undocumented and are here in the US illegally – having broken the US federal law of trespass, and possibly fraud in the case of a fake SSN card and possible fraud in case of a fake drivers license, etc., should be in fear. They are trying to come in the back door to the US – which the government has left wide open by not enforcing the immigration laws. Now Arizona is saying they are closing the back door. If you want to come here (the US) then use the front door.
That is how simple this is. Just knock on the front door and ask permission to come in, just like you would with a neighbor on your street. You don’t go sneaking in their back door. It is wrong. Not knowing that it is wrong doesn’t excuse the behavior and make it ok. Arizona is just saying “use the front door”, be a citizen, pay taxes, learn English and US history, worship at a church and raise your children to do the same.
We need workers here in the US. We need hard working folks who WANT to be here and become part of the US. But this requires learning about our history, learning our language which is English and swearing an Oath of Allegiance to the US. People who just sneak across the border do not deserve to be in the US. It is like cutting in line in front of all the people who are using the Front door of normal naturalized immigration.
So — if people do not want to be pulled over for transporting undocumented persons, then they need to show them where the Front Door to the US is. It may take a few years, but if they REALLY want to be part of the US, then it will be worth the effort. And I will welcome them here.
With 70% of the citizens of the US in favor of the Arizona legislation and action, I do believe that most states will be passing similar legislation over the next few years. So the time to find the front door to naturalized immigration is now, to get the process rolling for those who do not want to be harrassed and sent back with a bad mark on their record.
This is how simple the issue is. For all those persons here illegally — this is not good news — it does mean they should be making plans to become naturalized citizens and probably leaving the country until that process is completed. They should not count on the US government to issue some form of amnesty – free ticket into the US. If anything — there will definitely be significant money cost and several years process. If a person wants to be free in the US and a citizen, all they have to do is follow the process. I expect that it will become faster to enter the US as new legislation is passed. And then the law protects you instead of pursues you.
Marisa Treviño
Kansas City News — One needs to get their facts straight as well 🙂
Chicano future tense
“El Road Runner” sez..
SB1070 will be thrown into the garbage can when it goes before the supreme court!
..>>…”BEEP BEEP”..>>….
Kansas City News
Marisa, we apologize for quoting you out of context. The sentence was worded in a confusing way and we misinterpreted it. We have corrected this on our site and thank you for pointing it out!
Texan123
Why is this an emergency? Illegal immigration has always been a violation of law. Just because Latinos violate the law more than other races or ethnic groups, does not make the law racist.
Pepito
If proof of citizenship / legal residence is the law, it needs to apply to all. Why leave it up to the discretion of a 21 year old rookie police officer to decide who should be carrying proper documentation? In an attempt to target a specific population, Arizona has open themselves up to ridicule and litigation.
Texan123
The target of the new law is illegal immigrants. The police will turn them over to Immigration officials if proof of citizenship is not provided. The target will then have another opportunity to prove legal status and go before an immigration judge.
This law is not much different from the 287G law that allows jail personel to check status of criminals. Immigration databases do not profile by race.
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