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Louis Provenzano

Louis Provenzano

Posted: May 7, 2010 10:01 AM

Arizona's Immigration Law: Racial Profiling at Its Worst as 10 States Explore Copycat Legislation

What's Your Reaction:

Scrutiny of Arizona's new immigration law SB1070 continues to heat up with everyone from President Obama to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, even Republican candidate for Senate Marco Rubio in Florida denouncing it while at the same time legislators in at least 10 states including Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas and Maryland calling for copycat laws.

There is no doubt in the minds of the Hispanic community and a variety of other legal immigrant groups that this is racial profiling, and there are constitutional amendments and a host of other laws to back up that assertion.

Mark B. Evans, who writes "Caveat Lector" for TucsonCitizen.com, shares these legal conflicts in a recent column: the 14th Amendment (requires equal protection under the law and prohibits racial profiling); the 5th Amendment (protects us from self-incrimination and requires due process); presumption of innocence (we're all innocent until proven guilty; the state must prove its case against us, not the other way around); and proof of citizenship (neither the 14th Amendment nor the 1798 Naturalization Act which establish citizenship require anyone in the United States to carry proof of citizenship).

The federalists are lining up to build their case against the law. Rubio - a proponent of small government who'd still rather see immigration handled at the federal level than by the states - believes immigration policy is one of the things the federal government can do effectively. Villaraigosa called the law "unpatriotic and unconstitutional" and supports a boycott of Arizona by the city of Los Angeles. And, Obama called our current immigration system "broken" but stressed the solution must come from Washington, not the states with harsh consequences if it doesn't: "If we continue to fail to act at a federal level, we will continue to see misguided efforts opening up around the country."

Meanwhile, Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican and the bill's sponsor, simply calls Arizona's new law reasonable. Popular opinion sits somewhere in between at anywhere from 51 percent in favor of the law (New York Times/CBS poll) to 60 percent for it (Investor's Business Daily).

The most stringent immigration law in the country requires anyone suspected - using race neutral criteria - of being in the country illegally to produce a green card or other proof of citizenship, such as a passport or Arizona driver's license. The law goes into effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends, probably in May.

One of the first in the growing list of legal challenges to the law was filed in federal court in Tucson last week by a local police officer, Martin Escobar, who said there is no way "race neutral" criteria can be used to determine whether someone is in this country illegally. Others filing suit include the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders (CONLAMIC), a Washington, D.C., group which represents more than 20,000 Christian churches. The cities of Tucson and Flagstaff both filed suit on Tuesday.

Officer Escobar said more than half the residents in the area of Tucson where he polices are Hispanic and potential profiling targets under the new law. So are the more than 24 million Mexican citizens who visit Arizona each year legally.

That's a lot of people to harass. There has to be a better way.

"Governor (Jan) Brewer and the Arizona legislature have set Arizona apart in their willingness to sacrifice our liberties and the economy of this state," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona. "By signing this bill into law, Brewer has just authorized violating the rights of millions of people living and working here. She has just given every police agency in Arizona a mandate to harass anyone who looks or sounds foreign, while doing nothing to address the real problems we're facing."

Getting lost in the federal vs. state's rights debate is the true composition of this country - the world's greatest melting pot ever. Most experts put the number of spoken languages in the U.S. at nearly 200. They represent hundreds of cultures and ethnicities, and that's a really good thing to be celebrated, not stifled. (Some argue the number of languages in New York City alone is closer to 800.) In fact, more than 24 million of us speak a language other than English, and laws like this one make millions of us targets for harassment. These are legal immigrants who make their homes here, and they deserve to be left alone to live their lives - regardless what language they speak, or the color of their skin, or whether they sound or seem foreign.

Arizona's law is racial profiling at its worst, and it forces police officers who know better but are just doing their jobs to harass millions of innocent legal immigrants who have done absolutely nothing wrong but be born a race other than white.

 
 
 
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01:59 AM on 06/06/2010
" We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

How true this is Nate Jaeck! When I see mexicans, cubans, samoans etc...displaying their flags in their front yard, in their cars or truck, it makes me sick to my stomach. Don't these people know that flying a flag other than the AMERICAN FLAG is DISRESPECTFUL of America?? They need to put their countries flags away and fly them in their own country, not in America. By letting in these people that are illegal, cant speak any english, read english is pretty stupid in the first place. Even the legals that come to America should learn to speak ENGLISH! it is not America or American people's responsiblity to convert all of our reading material into their languages...(there goes ooodles and ooodles of $$$$) Do you think if you went to THEIR country they would accomidate you in the same fashion? Heylll NO.
Arizona and any other state that arrests these ILLEGALS and lock them up to transport to their country is THE RIGHT THING TO DO. GOD BLESS YOU ARIZONA!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!
05:08 PM on 06/01/2010
Those 10 States have more brains than the rest...

This Lecture was done in 1999. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM1YU-Ni_84

Looking at the chart when he gets there,
What they estimated in 1999 for 2010 is spot on what actually happened.
[Estimated in 1999 it would be just over 300 million in 2010.]

When he gets to the gumball demonstration keep in mind the large jar represents the people in the world that are WORSE OFF than Mexicans.

Because of illegal immigration from 1999 to present we've had to:
Build TWICE as many schools.
Build TWICE as many roads.
Build TWICE as many sewer plants.
Build TWICE as many power plants.
Build TWICE as much about anything else.
Add twice as many cops and firemen and teachers. [Or leave areas under serviced.]
Use TWICE as many trees and other natural resources.

Anyone that thinks illegal immigration isn't a significant load on our economy and natural resources is a moron.
Overpopulation from illegal immigration will destroy the US as you know it.
If you don't want every city in the US to become a giant LA Slum within our or our children's lifetimes then illegal immigration has to STOP NOW!

~

Link to just the chart. [Sorry about the quality.]
http://www.numbersusa.com/content/files/imagecache/fpage/files/cck_images/population.jpg...
02:05 AM on 06/06/2010
Wow Az, Great Information! Your absolutely right. I could see this when my kids where in elementary school when they fired the teachers that werent bi-lingual and hired the mexican speaking teachers.
Why why why can't Mexico and other countries take care of their own? That ignorant Mexico President
could care less about jumpers going over the walls, means more money the illegals will send back to their relatives and Mr. Mexico President will get a peice of the Pie. Hmmm Why doesnt America just Take over all off Mexico, name it Americo then we will all really be Americans and there wont be any issues with illegals
10:10 AM on 05/19/2010
You know like the saying goes “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. I’m not against immigration, I’m simply against ILLEGAL immigration. After all, America is the land where different nationalities, cultures and traditions mingled to form a GREAT nation. I believe that every American citizen should equally enjoy the same rights and privileges this country offers, and this SHALL not apply to those ILLEGAL immigrants regardless of their color, origin, or religious beliefs, that violate our laws, steal our jobs and benefit from our health care system.
Join at http://immigration.civiltalks.com
02:25 PM on 05/17/2010
California had such a Law long before AZ did.

California Penal Code Section 834b
http://law.onecle.com/california/penal/834b.html
.
10:30 AM on 05/14/2010
If anti law and order people, organizations, govenors and states are saying to Boycott Arizona then its only right for law abiding people in every state to Boycott Mexican Restaurants, Fast Food, Cafes and Taco Stands ! Viva La Arizona ! Viva La Utah and all the other 'copycat law' states - Viva La America !
12:52 PM on 05/13/2010
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
05:18 AM on 05/13/2010
Continue from last post.

I have not seen nor have i heard that this law states that they can just walk up to anyone and ask for papers. If I'm correct it states clearly that if you break the law and are stopped by an officer that he may ask you for papers.

Lets see. If you do not have a license from 1 of the 50 states then he can ask. If you hand him a id or license from another country he may ask for papers. If you have no id he can take you in to determine your immigration status.

I can't for see where any of this is wrong. In any other country its like this why is it wrong for it to be like this here.

I have no problem with officers asking me for my drivers license if I'm stopped for a traffic violation why should any other race.

Lets see, if your here illegally then you wouldn't have a US drivers license or any other proof that you were hear legally. I can see why there is such an uproar now. No license, no US id, not suppose to be here, get deported.

I guess if your from another country here illegally that means you can try to dictate our laws and fight when its gonna send you back home.

I can not wait till all states adopt this law. Oh that's right the laws are already that way. Its just enforcing them.
05:16 AM on 05/13/2010
I have been watching this Arizona Immigration Law very closely. I have a few questions fro all those that are opposed to the law.

1. If you go to Mexico, Canada, France or any other country and you get stopped for speeding, broken tail light or any other infraction do they not ask for your license and if you do not have a license from there country do they not ask you for a passport or any other documentation that you are allowed to be there?

2. If you cross the border to Mexico and break the law do they not ask you for identification.

3. If you break the law in American no matter what race you are do they not ask you for identification?

If you answer yes to all 3 questions then please explain to me the problem with this law.

If you do something wrong and are asked for identification and present the officer with a Mexico or any other countries identification shouldn't the officer be allowed to ask you for a passport, work card or other documentation that you are here legally.
12:35 AM on 05/13/2010
Read 834b. LA City Council are a bunch of hypocrites. Maybe they should start by boycotting themselves and the rest of the state.
05:23 PM on 05/14/2010
I'm a white boy californian living in LA. I'm a blue-collar construction worker. One time I was stopped by the police because I looked suspiciously enough for them to be a drug dealer (I had a little longer hair at that time, what a mistake!). I used to live in a very bad area plagued with drugs and gangs. But when the gangs see a black-and-white, they run into hide like roaches while I was walking on the street by myself, got nothing to hide and mind my business. But the cops have decided otherwise. They stopped me, harassed me, searched me for good 30 mins. They were so sure I got drugs I got almost handcuffed, and yes, they did ask me for my immigration status because of my foreign accent. I got them so pissed they had nothing on me.
05:24 PM on 05/14/2010
One other time I was stopped for obvious no reason, but because I was driving a beat up car "mexican style" in a predominantly hispanic area, the cop wanted to see if I had a driver's license and that I'm not illegal. I assumed that because I noticed two latinos already sitting on the curb handcuffed next to their junk car. When the officer checked my ID, he explained the reason for stopping me - I had an air-freshener hanged on my rear-view mirror and that's against the law! (don't hang anything on your mirror, you might get stopped!)
The bottom line is, LAPD do enforce the law, but the illegals are so many, jails crowded, they don't have resources to go after every single illegal immigrant. They need way more police officers to do the jobs but the city is already on a brink of bankruptcy! So is the whole state. So is the whole country.
12:33 AM on 05/13/2010
CA HAS 834B:


(a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully
cooperate with the USINS regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is
suspected of being present in the US in violation of
federal immigration laws.
(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected
of being present in the US in violation of federal
immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the
following:
(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen
of the US, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent
resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time
or as an alien who is present in the US in violation of
immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not
be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and
place of birth, and entry into the US, and demanding
documentation to indicate his or her legal status.
(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien
who is present in the US in violation of federal
immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal
justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or
leave the US.
...
(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city,
county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with
jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent
or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly
prohibited.
07:59 AM on 05/10/2010
Arizona Illegal Law.....The act makes it a state misdemeanor
crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying registration
documents required by federal law,[20]
and obligates police to make an attempt, when practicable, to determine
a person's immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion that the person is
an illegal alien[21]
during a police stop for some other offense( from wikepedia)
Now for Massachusetts seat belt law....The provisions of this section shall be enforced by law enforcement agencies only when an operator of a motor vehicle has been stopped for a violation of the motor vehicle laws or some other offense...now whats so illegal about that. I get stopped and they ask for liscence and registration, why not the illegals?
11:13 AM on 05/08/2010
ILLEGAL ALIENS aren't a race - they come from every continent. This law DOES NOT promote 'racial profiling". When a polic officer is involved in police activity he/she has a DUTY to ask the people involved for their ID. If they cannot produce ID, because they are here ILLEGALLY, then they should be arrested and it should be determined whether or not that person is here ILLEGALLY. If they are here ILLEGALLY they should be DEPORTED! Nothing about that is "racial". All ILLEGAL ALIENS no matter where they come from, what language they speak, what color they are, or who they are related to need to be DEPORTED!
09:52 PM on 05/08/2010
You got it! Yeppie...;) Thank you! Pass it on, keep up the fight and remember there are 13 other state's who are going to do the same. the lawsuit's against Arizona will be thrown out of court for there's no merit to fight it...it's the same law as the FEDERAL LAW! ;)
02:31 PM on 05/07/2010
California--a refuge state policy, the original ideology of Sen. Feinstein has cost the state billions of dollars for supporting illegal immigration welfare. May be California better rethink these policies as Arizona. Already different states are eyeing the progress of this Arizona law.

So I say stand by your guns Governor Jan Brewer? OTHER STATES WILL FOLLOW? You at least have a backbone, more than you can say for the cringing politicians, other state Governors, Mayors and elected officials. Most of these mindless people only care for re-election, reputations and money for their next campaign. They do not have to subsidize illegal immigrants in Arizona. Arizona is not a wealthy state, but it still has to support the influx of poor desperate foreigners and pregnant women who come there for prenatal welfare by federal mandate.
11:15 AM on 05/08/2010
So true! In CA we spend BILLIONS of tax dollars on ILLEGAL ALIENS - we could use that money on our own CITIZENS and LEGAL immigrants.
11:40 PM on 05/17/2010
Do you know how many non-documented people there are who pay taxes because the American companies they work for steal identities for them in order to pay them "legitimately" through the system? And because an enormous amount of American businesses do this, those same illegal aliens never benefit from those public services they paid for with the taxes taken out of their pay check because they are too scared to of becoming detected???? HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS, if not millions.

Unless one is tending to and growing a garden in their backyard....every piece of food you eat was at some point or another touched by an undocumented worker....are you ready to step up and take their jobs in their prospective fields of work?

If Americans really had a problem with this system as a whole, such as having undocumented people in the U.S., it would be their bodies in the fields picking fruits and vegetables, standing for hours in inhumane conditions. It would be U.S. bodies cleaning up the offices messes, it would be U.S. bodies working in the back kitchen, it would be U.S. bodies taking care of their own children....the list could go on....

One more thing....
You can't get welfare without social security number....I don't know too many illegal aliens who have those...
02:30 PM on 05/07/2010
This country was founded on the Rule of Law, but Liberals have intentionally allowed their activist judges to undermine them. One things for absolutely sure--there will be no immigration reform until they build the--REAL--fences. YES! Fences? not the under-budgeted construction that doesn't even reach Brownsville, Texas? Let alone compare two the two fences that was originally designed by Rep. Duncan Hunter?

Google--the 2006 Secure Fence Act and investigate the real saga of the border fence, than you will understand how we were lied too? Czar Janet Napolitano is still lying to us, that our border is sealed, that immigration enforcement is working. She cut into its budget, so how can it be working? We as Americans should demand the original fences, as constructed to the original design Arizona wouldn't be suffering from criminal illegal alien epidemic? PLACE OUR NATIONAL GUARD ON THE BORDER AND DO THE RIGHT THING? OR ARE TAXPAYERS ASKING TO MUCH. Let's give the gutless representatives an earful at 202-224-3121
01:15 PM on 05/07/2010
The best thing about the Arizona law is, it is not racial profiling. It simply restates federal law, and once it is implemented in Arizona, other states will adopt it, until the only states without it will be overflowing with illegals like Arizona is now. They'll quickly get into line.