I live in Arizona. Every day I am hearing on local and national news what everyone thinks of SB 1070, the latest law passed on the subject of enforcing laws regarding illegal immigration. I have to tell you; it gets tiring after awhile.
It gets tiring because every news outlet and commentary seems to be referring to this as an "immigration law", a change to immigration policy. The law expert from the local university (which will remain unnamed) assures us that the law is illegal because the States cannot make immigration law. Boom! It's over. Thank you very much. Except ... it's not an immigration law. The law amends Arizona statutes "Relating to unlawfully present aliens", not who may come in. It deals with "Enforcement of Immigration Laws", not the laws themselves. Nor is it a "seek and destroy" mission to hunt down illegal immigrants. The premise is that the officers must first have had a reason to be talking to the suspected illegal immigrant before they try to determine whether or not they are illegal. That is, they can't be driving down the road, see a guy who looks Hispanic, and stop him because they want to know his immigration status. That would be illegal under this law. But everyone is referring to it as an "immigration law", and I'm getting tired of it.
It gets tiring because those who are opposed are referring to it as "hate". It is "hateful" to enforce federal laws. It is "hateful" to believe that the United States should be allowed to control its borders. ("Now, Stan, you're misrepresenting their view, aren't you?" No, I've actually heard those very words.) It is "hateful" to want to arrest people who enter this country without going through legal means. There is apparently not the slightest possibility that it is not hate to want to enforce laws. At least not immigration laws. Meanwhile, no one seems even slightly perturbed that Mexico's immigration laws are tougher than America's laws and are enforced with more rigor. Why is that? No one is calling for removal of all immigrants. No one is suggesting, "Don't let another soul into our country!" No one is calling for a ban on Hispanics entering legally. But, still, it's a "hate" thing. That gets tiring.
It gets tiring that so many people outside of this state have been pronouncing judgment on this state without having walked a mile in our shoes, so to speak. We are first in kidnapping in the country, not because so many of us are being kidnapped, but because Arizona is the largest point of illegal entry and the criminals doing the job (called "coyotes") are making large amounts of money kidnapping their clients and holding them for ransom. The average man or woman on the street here isn't in any more danger of being kidnapped than in any other state ... but we're number one in kidnapping. In the last few years in Arizona, the population of illegal immigrants has dropped dramatically. This is due to various things, like the economy, tougher enforcement, and tougher employment laws. Oddly enough, the state has seen a corresponding drop in crime over that time period. Estimates are that a 33% drop in illegal immigrants in two years corresponded to a 25% decline in crimes in Phoenix alone, with the rest of the state reporting similar results. Despite cries to the contrary, the obvious conclusion is that states that deal with more illegal immigrants will likely deal with more crime. So Sacramento decides to cut its ties with Arizona in protest and Colorado is angry that Arizona has decided to enforce federal law and Al Sharpton is complaining and Shakira knows better. Well, that's helpful. I think we should ask Jessica Simpson what we should do about our economic woes while we're at it, don't you? That whole thing is tiring.
Many are crying out that it is not the job of local police to enforce federal laws. That should be a job for federal law enforcement. Of course, everyone including the President himself is admitting that federal law enforcement has failed to do its job. But, hey, that's not Arizona's problem. Never mind that as far back as Janet Napolitano we've been asking the federal government to do its job. (Ironically, despite the ongoing failure, Janet Napolitano is opposed to the state enforcing the law. I guess it has always been "SEP" -- Someone Else's Problem.) To those who are convinced that local police should not be enforcing federal law, let me suggest this. The next time your local bank gets robbed, do not call the police. Wait for the feds. And if your daughter gets kidnapped, leave the police out of it. Wait for the feds. Yeah, yeah, I know they are a bit slower to respond than the locals, but you are quite sure that local police are not there to enforce federal law, so don't ask them to. Or is it that you just ask them to enforce the law when it's convenient for you? So short-sighted. So tiring.
This whole issue has been running for as long as I can remember. I've lived in California where illegal immigration has always been a big issue. I live in Arizona where it is a huge issue. I lived in South Dakota where, even there, it was an issue. For as many years of my life that I can recall, it has been an issue. No one is doing anything about it. When a state like Arizona says, "Well, at least we'll enforce the law," there is a public outcry and a demand for economic crucifixion (which, by the way, will certainly hurt the 50,000 Latino-owned businesses as well) from loud voices inside and outside the state. (How an elected official of this state can call for a boycott of his own state and get elected to another term is beyond me.) And what is the demand? We are supposed to carry identification. If you are legal and carry identification and you are asked, show your ID and go on your way. So? If you are legal and fail to carry your ID, shame on you. The inconvenience might be longer ... but you'll still go on your way. It appears, then, that the issue is about illegal immigrants. And it appears that the call is to let them be. Do not enforce the law. Do not try to manage that problem. Do not suggest there is a problem of legality or a problem of crime or an economic impact. "No, no! What you need to do is let in this flood of people without legal processes so they can do our cheap labor for us and do so without any legal protection or representation! Yes! That's the right thing to do! That's the caring thing to do! That's the non-racist thing to do!" It gets so very tiring.
9 comments:
Stan,
There are so many important issues in this nation it's hard to keep up. Thanks for sharing your first-hand knowledge of the situation.
My thoughts are that the worldviews behind the decisions surrounding immigration should be laid out in the open. You favor not enforcing the current law, what's that position based on? You favor building a wall or not letting anyone else into the country, what's that position based on? The thing that's tiring to me is that no one is willing to do the hard work of making a well thought out decision, based on some underlying solid authoritative truth. It seems that no matter what the issue, the vast majority of decisions are made based on emotion. We simply cannot be driven by emotions, we'll be forever blown about by whatever tugs at the heartstrings that day.
I would appreciate your thoughts on my recent post on this issue where I tried to lay out a case for how Christians should respond in the face of the immigration debate. Since you live in the "hot zone" and since I appreciate your well-thought out arguments, I would love to hear where you think I might have gotten it right and where I need to re-think.
It is tiring, but be encouraged and keep up the good fight. As believers we might be the only ones who appreciate that our battle is not with people who disagree, no matter the skin color or nationality. Blessings.
Yes, I saw that post and even started reading it. Turns out you're almost as prolific in your posts as I am. For which I apologize. ;)
I have actually written my own post on the subject which will "air" tomorrow. Mine, however, are questions, not suggestions. I'm more baffled than opinionated on the subject.
Amen, Stan.
I came face to face with the thought process... It seems that American don't want the FACTS. They want to be outraged by their PERCEPTION of reality. Where did we go wrong teaching our children how to discern?
It's a standard tactic of Satan, isn't it? You know ... the father of lies.
All of the folks who are protesting the law, ought to turn their attention the federal law that it's based on. The entire focus of AZ's law is, "Enforce the federal law already!"
I remember hearing time and again how the local law enforcement was "not authorized" to inquire about immigration status. Now that impediment is removed. As the wife a legal immigrant to this country, I get more than a little tired of people standing up to defend those who broke the laws of this country to enter it, and who have never been held to account over the taxes they don't pay and services they have been told they are entitled to despite being illegal aliens in the country. My husband spent three plus years paying into benefits such as Social Security and Medicare to which he was not entitled even as a legal immigrant, plus he was required to register for the Selective Service. He paid his fees annually to renew his Social Security number and work permit, plus paid to get his "travel parole" documents every year so he could go home to visit his family if he needed to do so. He had no mandatory coverage for insurance, either--we had to pay for our health insurance just like anyone else would.
After watching the creation of special tax districts to prop up failing hospitals due to the staggering weight of providing those services, I too would like to see those carping about this law "walk a mile" in the shoes of Arizonans. It gets more than old, it gets maddening to see and KNOW illegal immigrants who get to cut ahead in the green card line, having paid zilch in taxes for years, and then see them get their green cards before a legal immigrant does...all while the legal immigrant's taxes pay for the illegal immigrant's health care, schooling, and welfare benefits. Yeah, I guess if that makes me filled with "hate", then I'm guilty, because that is neither fair nor right, and it's about time we said so in clear terms.
I recently found out some of the requirements of maintaining a work visa here in the U.S. because one of the people who works for me was due to have his renewed. As it turns out, there are a couple of interesting components involved. First, his position had to be posted publicly. That is, if an American citizen wanted the job, it was available. That gave preference to American workers over legal alien workers. Second, his pay rate had to be submitted to the government for review. That gave him protection against abuse. In other words, there are lots of protections, both for Americans and for immigrants, built into our evil, rotten, racist immigration laws. Oh ... wait ... I guess that sentence didn't quite work, did it?
Hi Stan,
I added a link of your thoughts on my post. Thanks for commenting.
"which, by the way, will certainly hurt the 50,000 Latino-owned businesses as well"
Those business will just have to suffer, kind of like Muslims blowing up their own brethren in their own cities to prove their over-arching point: we will not be defeated.
(For the readers, I don't believe that "Kathy" above is Danny's wife, but Danny himself logged into her account. I don't think Kathy reads my blog.)
Danny, having lived in southern California during both the Watts riots of 1965 and the Rodney King riots of 1992, I understand exactly what you're saying. "We're angry, so we're going to destroy everything we've got!!! That oughta show 'em!"
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