Brian Bilbray, GOP Rep., Claims Clothes Identify Illegal Immigrants

John McCain has no reason to fear illegal immigrants "intentionally causing accidents on the freeway" -- according to Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.), "trained professionals" can identify undocumented workers just by looking at their clothes.

Discussing Arizona's pending profiling bill on "Hardball," Chris Matthews challenged Bilbray to cite a "non-ethnic aspect" by which law enforcement agents could identify illegal immigrants. "They will look at the kind of dress you wear, there is different type of attire, there is different type of -- right down to the shoes, right down to the clothes," Bilbray replied.

Of course, law enforcement wouldn't detain people based solely on clothing, Bilbray said. They also know to look out for the ways in which illegal immigrants just act illegal.

"It's mostly behavior, just as the law enforcement people here in Washington, D.C. does it based on certain criminal activity," he told Matthews. "There is behavior things that professionals are trained in across the board, and this group shouldn't be exempt from those observations as much as anybody else [sic throughout]."

WATCH:

Comments

[The Vicar]

05:34 PM on 05/12/2010

Say Mr Bilbray,
Maybe you can identify illegals by their slaughtering of OUR language, English. Oh! Kind of like Sarah Palin! Oh! Kind of like W and the nucular option! Oh! Kind of like ol' Dan Quayle! So Bilbray, where are you from anyway!!?? Papers please.

[BLUESTARR]

11:38 AM on 05/08/2010

WOW AN ILLEGAL MEX GETS INTO GUNFIGHT WITH POLICE IN PHX. AFTER KILLING SISTERS BOYFRIEND. NOW CAN SOME OF YOU UNDERSTAND WHY WE WANT TO GET RID OF THESE ANIMALS ???????????????????

[SoulSearch]

10:35 AM on 05/13/2010

Unless you were born with american indian blood in your veins, YOU are just like any of those animals you are talking about and maybe the worse kind. How you dare to talk about human beings that way just for the fact that they are in this country illigaly? Your hate toward those individuals is just sad. Im sure your animal instincts just kicked in...but in this case it just makes you another animal

[redstateblues69]

06:55 PM on 05/02/2010

One they've lived here for awhile, they're a cinch to identify. The 300 pound women wear skinny teens fashions. Check it out.

[BLUESTARR]

10:39 AM on 04/26/2010

ILOOKED AT MY STATEMENT THE NEXT DAY AND THOUGHT, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN EVEN STRONGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALL THE BLEEDING - HEART-LIBERALS WHO ARE TERRIFIED OF OFFENDING A MEXICAN OR OTHER OBVIOUSLY POTENTIAL ILLEGALS, ARE READY TO LICK THEIR BOOTS, ie, "OH PLEASE DONT KILL OR RAPE ME, TAKE EVERYTHING WE HAVE, HERE,GO ON WELFARE,HERE'S SOME FOOD STAMPS AND MEDICAID, HERE'S MY CAR,JUST DON'T HURT ME!!" YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS KIND OF CRAP WHEN MEETING A BRIT,GERMAN,AUSSIE OR CANADIAN, NO, IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS THE HISPANIC WHO BRING THIS KIND OF FEAR INTO THIS COUNTRY. JUST LOOK AT THE TRACK RECORD OF THESE CRIMINALS !!!! THIS IS A VERY GOOD ARGUMENT FOR PROFILING AS IT IS THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMITING THE MAJORITY OF THE CRIMES AND NOT JUST IN ARIZONA, ANYWHERE THEY GO THE CRIME RATE IS OUTTA-SIGHT!! TAKE A LOOK AT THE STATISTICS IN THE JAILS, THE MAJORITY OF THE INMATES ARE HISPANIC!!!!! LOOK AT THE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN MEXICO, COLUMBIA AND THE REST OF LATIN AMERICA. THE CRIMINALS RUN THESE COUNTRIES , NOT THE GOV'T. COME TO THINK OF IT THE GOV'TS. OF THESE COUNTRIES ARE FOR THE MOST PART THE CRIMINALS!!!!!!!!!!! I REST MY CASE!!!!!!!!

[Passenger57]

12:47 PM on 04/26/2010

"Obviously potential illegals"?

[UnaBohemia]

01:49 AM on 04/29/2010

.. and your point is....?

[blueballs]

06:41 AM on 04/26/2010

You gotta wonder whether people like this look at their statements the next day and groan "Oh, God, PLEASE tell me that I didn't REALLY say that"? You'd like to believe so, but probably not.

[BLUESTARR]

12:36 PM on 04/25/2010

HEY OLD GURU, I DO NOT SEE THE PEOPLE FROM CANADA, FRANCE, AND ENGLAND, COMING HERE TO GET WELFARE AND ALL THE OTHER FREEBIES THE LEFT-WING LIBERAL-GIVE THE- COUNTRY-AWAY A#^HOLES WANT TO GIVE THESE LAZY-CRIMINALLY-PRONE ANIMALS. WHEN I START TO SEE THEM WITH THE SAME BEHAVIOR THEN I WILL WANT TO THROW THEM OUT TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Uncle Bill]

06:01 PM on 04/26/2010

So the President who engineered the largest amnesty for illegal aliens, Ronald Reagan, is a "LEFT-WING LIBERAL-GIVE THE- COUNTRY-AWAY A#^HOLES" who wanted "criminally-prone animals" in the USA? I wondered how Jack Abramoff and Scooter Libby got here.

[BLUESTARR]

12:22 PM on 04/25/2010

HOORAY FOR GOV. BREWER!!!! IT IS REFRESHING TO SEE A GOV. WITH A BACKBONE! NOW LETS GET GOING AND CLEAN UP THIS STATE AND MAKE SAFE FOR THE LEGAL TAX-PAYING AMERICANS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BLUESTARR]

12:13 PM on 04/25/2010

IT IS ABOUT TIME THAT OUR GOV'T HAS DONE SOMETHING TO BEGIN TO PROCESS THESE CRIMINALS OUT OF AZ AND BACK TO MEXICO WHERE THEY BELONG!!I HAVE HAD A FEW ENCOUNTERS WITH THESE ILLEGALS, ALL NEGATIVE. THEY ROUTINELY WILL THREATEN PEOPLE WITH DEATH THREATS OR OTHER HARM IF YOU QUESTION THEIR MOTIVES AND LEGALITY. THEY HAVE TRIED TO ENGAGE ME IN ACCIDENTS ON THE ROAD, THEY HAVE ATTEMPTED NUMEROUS BREAKINS AT MY HOME AND HAVE EVEN ATTEMPTED TO RAPE MY DAUGHTER AT ONE TIME. THEY ARE A DRAIN ON OUR SOCIAL SYSTEM AND I COULD GO ON AND ON. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THEY ARE HERE ILLEGALLY. THEY ARE INVADERS. THEY ARE PRONE TO VIOLENCE AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. NOT ALL OF THEM BUT CERTAINLY THE MAJORITY OF THEM. I HAVE LIVED HERE 40 YEARS AND HAVE MOSTLY SEEN THEI WORST SIDE. I HOPE AND AM CERTAIN THIS LAW WILLPASS AND HELP TO CLEAN UP THIS SAVAGE ELEMENT IN OUR SOCIETY AND SEND THEM BACK TO THE 3RD WORLD GARBAGE CAN THEY CRAWLED OUT OF!!!!!! NO LOVE FOR ILLEGALS!!!!!!!!!!1

[blueballs]

06:44 AM on 04/26/2010

Just heard that scientists have discovered a new disease: FNS (Fox News Syndrome). Apparently, it decreases your IQ by 40 points, makes you drool uncontrollably and lose the ability to unshift the Caps Lock key.

[BLUESTARR]

10:44 AM on 04/26/2010

I LIKE THE CAPS LOCK KEY. IT GOT YOUR ATTENTION,DID IT NOT, BLUEBALLS ?? I THINK YOU SHOULD RENAME YOURSELF TO " NO BALLS " !!

[UnaBohemia]

01:51 AM on 04/29/2010

LOL blueballs! U R FANNED!!

[Passenger57]

12:27 PM on 04/26/2010

Yeah, it's too bad the Native Americans didn't have this policy back in the day...and BTW, I can only assume you work in some type of law enforcement...why else would you be questioning their motives and legality? I might say something to get you out of my face, too!
Looks like the naysayers are only thinking about three feet in front of themselves, as usual...sure,some are involved in criminal activity, but when you get rid of the obvious ones,they'll start going after the ones that have been here for a while, aren't criminals,trying to make a living for themselves and their families - and do the crappy jobs no one else wanted to do...

[Uncle Bill]

11:52 AM on 04/24/2010

5. Context- Here is the strongest indicator of illegal status. When we combine the time and place of LEO contact with the possible illegal alien with all of the above factors, it is possible that the cumulative effect of otherwise inadequate indicators may add up to a reasonable suspicion. If a LEO stops a van crammed full of people whose appearance is stereotypically mestizo, who speak Mexican accented Spanish or who use Mexican slang or idioms, in the middle of the night, carrying small bundles or luggage, near the border or on a route associated with human trafficking, whose explanations of where they came from, what they are doing and where they are going do not match one another or observable facts, wearing clothing that has dust and dirt from the desert, who cannot produce identification from an American issuer or other evidence of an American residence, or immigration papers, an objective observer would have no problem concluding that there is a reasonable suspicion that those persons. But one of those same persons, with the same speech, clothing etc driving a pickup truck stopped midday in Phoenix may simply be a legal immigrant driving his boss' vehicle who has lost his wallet.

[BLUESTARR]

11:20 AM on 04/26/2010

YEAH, AND MAYBE THE MOON IS MADE OF GREEN-CHEESE..............

[Uncle Bill]

11:32 AM on 04/24/2010

Sorry for the inverted order. 3. Clothing- most Americans wear clothing manufactured in other countries and American styles are quite popular both here and in other countries. Americans also often wear clothing with foreign styles and foreign languages imprinted on them from all over the world. Outside of folk dress or some ethnic or national costume, there is not much help here either. Even if we acknowledge that it is rare for Americans to wear wear dashikis, saris, obis and serapes etc and that wearing such clothing might merit further investigation and form the basis for reasonable suspicion, we have to remember that foreign nationals who are authorized to be in the US are as likely to wear such clothing as ones who are not authorized to be in the US. Again, clothing is either ambiguous to a weak indication of immigration status.
4. Behavior- How familiar is the average American with the behaviors and cultural habits of other nations? Can we expect the average Arizona LEO to be more versant in those culturally based behaviors than the average American. Will they frequent eating establishments looking for inverted forks in the right hand or the most dexterous use of chopsticks? Will Arizona start training in hand gestures, interpersonal distance, and body language used in the various cultures of the world as an investigational tool? The same complications discussed in accent above will apply, making it difficult to know whether someone grew up in Monterrey, California or Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

[BLUESTARR]

11:23 AM on 04/26/2010

IT IS NOT THE CLOTHING, IT IS WHEN THEY CANNOT ANSWER A QUESTION IN ENGLISH, NO MATTER WHAT COLOR THEY ARE.............. YOU SAVVY KEMOSABE ?????

[Passenger57]

12:41 PM on 04/26/2010

Uh...what was the title of this thread? Let me look again...Ah! here it is (in caps so it can get your attention) : "BRIAN BILBRAY, GOP REP.,CLAIMS CLOTHES IDENTIFY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS"...so apparently clothes has SOMETHING to do with this, ya think maybe?
And who are you kidding? The first criteria the cops are looking for is skin color and facial features.They will pass ten, say European immigrants with white skin to question the one man or woman who looks like a Mexican.
And not being able to answer a question in English doesn't mean squat...

[Uncle Bill]

05:56 PM on 04/26/2010

There are people who are here legally who cannot speak English as well as Americans who cannot reason. I offer Bluestarr as exhibit 1.

[Uncle Bill]

11:06 AM on 04/24/2010

2. Accents aren't much help either. Many Americans grew up in homes where English is not the first language and have accents from their first language. Even if English is their first language, but their parents first language is not English and they speak with a strong accent (and especially if they grew up in a community where another language is widely spoken) people often have the accent associated with that language. There are small towns in my home state where there are still substantial numbers of people who speak English as their first language with a Czech accent because their parents, extended families and hometowns included native Czech speakers and people with strong Czech accents. I have close friends who's father was born in Ireland and some of the siblings have some measure of Irish accent while the rest have none. I have also known persons who are foreign nationals who speak with a midwestern accent that only a linguist could detect any influence of their native language, one of whom was born in Mexico City to a Irish born Mexican father and a Mexican mother.
Again, when we consider that unauthorized foreign nationals can be native English speakers as well as people with every possible foreign language, the problem of accent as the basis for reasonable suspicion is essentially insurmountable.

[Uncle Bill]

10:45 AM on 04/24/2010

What will a Arizona law enforcement officer use in spotting a possible unauthorized alien? 1. The physical appearance of the person, 2.their speech, 3. their clothing, 4.their behavior and 5. the context of their contact with the person. Let's look at how helpful or unhelpful each of these factors would likely be.
1. Outside of east Asia, the predominant complexion in the world is some shade of brown- it is the predominant complexion found in the the people of Oceania, the Subcontinent, Arabia, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Central and South America and many Native Americans in Mexico, the US and Canada. These people usually have black hair, brown eyes and straight to wavy hair. If the officer concentrates on spotting Mexicans, he has to account for the reality that the largest segment of the Mexican population is racially mixed, but substantial subgroups of the Mexican population are European and Native American (take a look at an audience from a Telemundo or Univision show sometime and see how many blondes and red heads you see, and the people with fair complexions). The same can be said for the majority of US citizens (though just barely) Add to this the further complication that illegal immigrants can be from any country in the world, which adds East Asians, Africans, Europeans, Melanesians, Polynesians, and Australian Aboriginals to the potential profile of an illegal immigrant and the inescapable conclusion is that physical appearance alone is worthless as a basis for reasonable suspicion.

[BLUESTARR]

11:28 AM on 04/26/2010

NO,IT ISN'T, BUT IT IS A GOOD PLACE TO START.............

[philosopher3000]

10:16 AM on 04/24/2010

Hey lets send Mr. Bilberry an new wardrobe, complete with sombrero, and poncho, and see if he gets deported!

[TobyPLD]

10:09 AM on 04/24/2010

Well if the pants legs are covered in cactus prickers.

[copperbrown]

09:10 AM on 04/24/2010

We have no shortage of

"New idiots "

in Arizona today.