Never let bad policy get in the way of good politics. That's the cynical motto of the growing class of political copycats bent on replicating Arizona's controversial new immigration law in other states, including California.
Arizona's law, SB 1070, requires local police to act as federal immigration agents. Now police officers in Arizona can detain someone if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that she's an illegal immigrant.
Despite a broad, national backlash, the urge to score political points on the fringe seems irresistible. Last week, a California Assembly candidate promised to introduce an Arizona-style immigration law if he's elected. And in ten more states--Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Ohio, Missouri, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, and Maryland--politicians looking for a boost have called for laws that would mirror Arizona's law.
California cannot afford an Arizona-style immigration law. It is bad policy and the worst kind of politics.
Protecting public safety was supposedly a main justification for Arizona's law. As a career prosecutor for nearly two decades, I can tell you that transforming our local police officers into immigration agents will seriously harm our crime-fighting efforts. We have the nation's largest population of immigrants, with nearly 10 million California residents born abroad. If they don't report crimes, for fear of being interrogated about their immigration status, crimes will go unsolved and criminals will walk free among us. I've personally prosecuted hundreds of serious and violent crimes--robberies, murders, and rapes--where the case depended on an immigrant who was scared to come forward, but, because they did, we got a conviction.
We need to encourage, not discourage, people to report violent crimes. In every community, there are predators who literally stalk immigrants precisely because they count on them to "keep quiet" if they're victimized. In domestic violence cases, abusers routinely threaten their spouses that they'll "turn them over to immigration" if they report the abuse. Other criminals rob their neighbors, scam people out of their homes, and sexually abuse children, counting on the fear of police to keep victims from reporting the crimes. Turning police officers into immigration agents will only push them further into the shadows and make them reliably easy victims for criminals.
But, of course, the predators don't stop there. The same people who victimize immigrants quickly turn their attention to other victims, as well -- citizens, bystanders, and others. Ultimately, then, it is our community that wins when people report crime, and ours that loses when they don't.
We also can't afford to divert scarce local law enforcement resources to enforcing federal immigration laws. Law enforcement budgets have been cut to the bone across California; many cities are laying-off police officers, firefighters, and prosecutors. We need to focus every resource on fighting violent crimes. We don't have extra officers--or local tax dollars--available to moonlight as immigration patrol, which is a federal responsibility.
There's no doubt that the federal government needs to pass meaningful immigration reform and that we have a serious illegal immigration problem in California, but "politics now, think later" measures like SB 1070 aren't the solution.
Kamala Harris is the District Attorney of San Francisco, and a candidate for Attorney General of the California. For more information, see kamalaharris.org.
Follow Kamala D. Harris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KamalaHarris
The BP arrests an average of 900 illegal immigrants a DAY, most county jails in CA would not be able to handle that number of arrestees. 1.5 tons of marijuana is seized per DAY by the BP. There is also an average of 1 kidnapping related to drugs and smugglers per day in PHX. Smugglers and illegal aliens routinely attack BP agents, sheriff's deputies, and even civilians along the border.
While officers should focus on violent crimes as Harris says; following the "broken windows theory" would support cracking down on illegal immigrants near the border would solve a lot of problems. I don't think the Arizona law solves this problem, but Harris's support of sanctuary city policies is would make the situation much worse.
Illegal aliens are like line cutters. No ethics!
I've never liked a person that cuts in line, and just because you do not seem to mind makes your reasoning all the less persuasive.
You have bllod on your hands. Shame on you. Shame.
A cursory reading will show the legislation only permits inspection of residence documentation while already in connection with a legal contact:
FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE, WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON.
Read the dang thing for yourselves instead of all the media hype...
At the core of the legalization movement are two Hispanic movements. The first is the push for Astlan, a separate country carved out of the US, consisting of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada into which Mexicans too gutless to undertake the revolution necessary to reform their own country would be free to start a new country free of the constraints of Mexican politics.
The second, related, movement seeks to expand Mexico to República Del Norte, consisting of most of the same southwestern states, via “Reconquista” through the tactic of expanding the current immigration invasion.
These hopes rest on America’s generously conferring unwarranted rights on illegals, including legalization, followed by their ability as an interest group to prey on American guilt to “reclaim” Astlan or República Del Norte.
My suggestion is that we don’t wait for the process to work itself out over time, but give them Astlan or República Del Norte now – if they take the left with them, effectively dividing the nation into a free half and a social democratic half. The only caveat would be that they take ALL of the left with them, never to be heard from again.
An interest short film about a day worker at dinner with a suburban family. on vimeo
http://vimeo.com/10695021
Arizona has a severe state budget crisis. They are cutting police officers, schools, medical clinics, and public services ( as is California). What is the cause of this crisis ? It was caused by the great bank heist of 2008, finance capital and banking, mostly on Wall Street , Goldman Sachs, Chase Banks, Bank of America, AIG, and others, robbed the banks. This cost millions of jobs and the pension savings of millions. BTW. Almost all of the bankers who stole the money were White.
The Republicans and the Tea Party in Arizona is responding by assaulting U.S. citizens of Mexican descent, immigrants, and anyone who might look like an immigrant. Peter Wilson and the Republicans in California did the same in 1994- and won re-election. But, that did not resolve any of the problems.
Arizona, like California, has a crime problem. If you want to be responsible about this issue, we should increase significantly the number of police on the streets. And, to avoid making the problem worse, we should significantly increase the number of teachers in the schools.
Duane Campbell