United States District Judge Susan Bolton showed good judgment in issuing a preliminary injunction on the key and most controversial parts of Arizona's misguided immigration law. It is a step in the right direction, although other onerous provisions of the law were left intact.
Her ruling halts the implementation of the "reasonable suspicion" section of the act that would require police to arrest and detain suspected illegal immigrants without a warrant. Many civil rights advocates have argued that this provision gives a green light to state-sanctioned racial profiling, violating the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.
Immigration is an issue that is uniquely and unequivocally reserved for federal law, and Judge Bolton's ruling expressed skepticism about the constitutionality of Arizona's law. We cannot have a patch work of fifty different immigration policies passed independently by fifty different states--we are one United States of America and there must be one immigration policy guiding our nation. The Constitution sets forth a clear separation of powers between states and the federal government; in fact, in 1941, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state of Pennsylvania's "Alien Registration Act" could not require Chinese residents to register and carry identification cards with them. [Hines v. Davidowitz]
Historically, in times of economic recession, anti-immigrant legislation has incited racial fear, backlash, and legal discrimination against immigrants. We should learn from past mistakes and seek comprehensive immigration legislation that unites our nation, not policies that divide us.
The battle is far from over. Heightened tensions over Arizona's immigration laws are another indication of the racial polarization in the country. Proponents of Arizona's anti-immigration legislation intend to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. At least 20 states are considering passage of Arizona-like anti-immigration laws. This is shaping up as a key dividing line as we approach the 2010 mid-term elections.
Comprehensive immigration reform is needed now more than ever before. Clearly our immigration policy is broken. It must be fixed. The federal government must quickly move to enact legislation and stem the trend of individual states setting misguided immigration policies that should be under the purview of the federal government. There is no time to waste.
Follow Rev. Jesse Jackson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/revjjackson
Rev. Jennifer Kottler: The Immigration Fight Isn't Over
If we fail to change the way immigration is understood and debated in this country, we will fail our neighbors, our children, and our God.
US Army Lures Foreigners with Promise of Citizenship
By Cordula Meyer in Washington
More than 30,000 foreign troops are enlisted in the US Army, many of them serving in Iraq. Their reward for risking their lives for their adopted country is US citizenship.
When Anna Maria Clarke, 26, was a teenager living in the western German city of Mannheim, she already had a weakness for smart uniforms, particularly on American soldiers, and for war movies like "Full Metal Jacket." It was an attraction that Clarke, a German citizen, felt early on and still feels today.
The parents of 25-year-old Julieta Ortiz immigrated to the United States from Mexico City, dirt-poor but ambitious. They worked hard picking strawberries in California, determined that their daughter would have a better life. Four years ago, Julieta suddenly found a way to that better life -- a difficult path, but one that would lift her out of the poverty of her childhood.
Jose Figueira, 31, spent much of his life listening to his father proudly recount his experiences as a soldier in the Portuguese army. Figueira, who grew up in Massachusetts, yearned to have something he could be just as proud of. "I wanted to prove that I'm a good citizen, that I'm willing to stand up for everything I love about this country."
It is like saying that all pharmacists are drug dealers, even though that is exactly what they do! Most folks have enough snap to understand the difference between a pharmacist and a drug dealer. Too bad Jackson does not.
It is also blacks who are the primary victims of illegals in gang killings as in LA, and in low wages which the illegals promote by taking those jobs away from Americans. By the way, illegals are NOT even the majority of ag workers. They DO drive down the wages of the majority of Americans who are doing that work though. Jackson is more concerned about protecting the benefits for employers than protecting the wages of black, brown, and poor white workers. Thanks for NOTHING!
It will be very interesting to see what the November elections show. Will the politicians who are pandering and catering to Mexico win or will those who want our laws followed be the winners?
It is a sad state of affairs when our government is more concerned with "foreign affairs" than with the safety of our people and the security of our borders and actually enforcing the immigration laws.
First of all, your misleading readers of your article. Sheriffs all over the country already perform these duties but until AZ used the media to get JBrewer elected nobody gave a damn. Sheriffs and Deputies just take illegal immigrants to the a US Customs and Border facility and sign them in for Federal processing. There they are identified as illegal and set to be deported. The Sheriffs are not deporting anyone, they are dropping off at the Customs office. The FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is deporting them after determining they are infact here illegally.
All immigrants who in the process of becoming legal citizens of America are REQUIRED to have their "papers" just as YOU and I are required to have a DRIVERS LICENSE while driving.
Your trying to straddle a fence here and its not working.
The law is not misguided and it's not corrupt because the law that was stalled hasn't been implemented yet. Its a projection of what critics THINK will happen not whats happened.
And you are right , its not over yet.
I thank you for your service to our nation.
I've got to hand it to the president. He's unbelievable. What he lacks in accomplishments on immigration reform, he makes up for in nerve."
Ruben Navarrette Jr: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/27/EDOG1EKGU4.DTL#ixzz0v0dOLMiF