I'm all for it. I wish Cali would do something like this.
I guess a nice walk through downtown isn't a great idea today
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/immigration/immigration_protest_small_riot_042310
Seems the Mexican Senate is pissed because now they have to rewrite the manual for illegal immigrants.
Having a home in AZ and in TX and having lived in both, I'm happy with it. Not enuff time to list all the problems, expenses and difficulties caused my the illegal immigration. Tough bill to pass and sign, but at least the leaders of AZ had the cajonies to do something about the problem. Rich
I have mixed emotions about this. On the one hand I want to see something done about the illegal problem (I live in CA) because it is driving us into the poor house and I don't think that people that break the rules like that should be rewarded in any way, shape, or form. On the other hand, I am opposed to the growing of govt, in this case the expansion of the police state. The larger the govt, the smaller the man.
It's a bad law attempting to remedy a bad problem where the federal government has totally lacked any pratical or effective policy since the last attempt at immigraton reform in 1986.
The federal government won't REALLY get serious about immigration reform because the dirty little secret is big business wants and needs illegal immigrants for maximum profitablity and they reall have more to do with dictating government policy than the ameican people do.
If the federal government REALLY wants to curb illegal immigration they will start getting serious about border security. That includes a beefed up miltiary presence along the border a bigger budget for the U.S Border Patrol and executives of major corporations doing the "Perp walk" for systematically hiring illegal immigrants particularly in the construction and the agriculture industries.
I'm pretty sure they knew that it would get hammered by lawsuits and be mired in court for eternity. The real purpose was probably to move the issue to the front of the line and make it the topic for awhile. The repubs are showing that they are strong on this issue This is just more political posturing. With Nov approaching and the current partisan bickering we could see all sorts of grandstanding.
Chris
Good for Arizona. More power to them.
Based on this bill, it doesn't seem to me that the highest priority of the AZ government is to stop illegal immigration.
It THAT was REALLY their goal, a much, much more efficient way to do that would be to make it illegal to hire illegal immigrants. If you threaten large fines and jail time for hiring illegal immigrants, you could be sure that you'd cut off the flow of income to the illegal immigrants and they would stop coming to this country (and those who are here would eventually leave as well).
Somehow I think there would be a lot more opposition to the bill if it punished employers, despite the fact that it would be much, much more effective...
I disagree with illegal immigration whole heartedly. But this law has many holes which would make it very hard to enforce. I only read an article on CNN, so I might not be properly informed but this is what the article said:
"1-- Create a new state misdemeanor crime of willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document.
2-- Allow officers to arrest immigrants unable to show documents proving they're legally in the country.
3-- Ban so-called soft immigration policies at local police agencies and allow people to sue if they feel a government agency has adopted a policy that hinders the enforcement of illegal immigration laws.
4-- Prohibit people from blocking traffic when they seek or offer day-labor services on street corners."
Lets go through them point by point.
1 makes no sense, so, if someone simply forgets their resident alien card, they will have a misdemeanor? I am a US citizen and currently active duty, but just yesterday I left my house without my wallet. If I had gotten a ticket in TX for driving w/o a license, I would just have to show a valid license in court and it would be dismissed with minor court fees (20 bucks or so)
2 also doesn't make sense to me. So, if a person gets pulled over and has a DL but no resident alien card or passport on him, does that mean he would be arrested? I assume if the person doesn't have a DL he would be arrested anyway whether he is a US citizen or not. Also, how does the police office know who to ask for proof? Anyone that just looks like an immigrant? I mean, I fall in that category.
3. On this one, I can already see a palethera of law suits against local agencies. That would drive up the legal expenses thus driving up taxes, wouldn't it?
4. I don't know what they are talking about.
5. I could agree with that, though it would be hard to prove that a person knowingly transported an illegal unless he is trafficking humans.
Now, those are just my observations. If I am mistaken on those, then please correct me.
J Scott, they did already implement that a few years ago and it did have a huge impact on the local businesses/economy.
Whether any of this helps or not, my only concern is the 'illegal' immigration. Here locally, we see all too much American citizens, Police officers and just flat out innocent people being killed by people that are here illegally and that puts a bad taste in your mouth if you're an American citizen and an Arizonan.
As for the murders, killing is wrong no matter who does it. It sounds like your area has a crime problem just as much as an "illegals" problem.
I'm not at all a supporter of illegal immigration, but I am a big supporter of facts and statistics... :)
While it certainly makes everyone feel better to think that illegal immigration is having a major impact on crime rates (we hate to think good 'ole Americans are the main problem), statistically, it's not clear that immigrants (either legal or illegal) raise the crime rates in this country:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States#Crime
And if your argument is that MORE PEOPLE = MORE CRIME on an absolute basis, that's correct...but then you would have to support laws that reduced population and/or the birth rate in this country as well.
Again, not supporting or arguing the specific bill, just presenting some facts...
And like Ali pointed out, if you want to end the illegal immigration problem, focus on solutions that actually work, not those that 1) probably won't work very well, and 2) likely will infringe on the Constitutional rights of legal immigrants and citizens.
If I were to be stopped in AZ, they could throw me in jail because I couldn't produce my birth certificate or passport.
That seems a bit unconstitutional to me...
I applaud AZ even though my work force is mainly hispanic. The temp agency I use has the duty of checking documentation, and I tell the owner "If I make the news, so will you". Give me Americans that will produce as well on the jobs I offer, and I would be happy to hire them too.
Now, you may want to accuse me of exploiting people. But, what I hear about being done in congress to change the agenda so they can address AZ's new law is a political exploitation. The hispanics wheather documented or not has become pawns for the poloticians. Who is the evil ones here? Those who employ hispanics or those who use them for their political gains??
Don
Both!
"Come on, Tim, don't you realize we live in a police state now?"
News to me. There's 3-6 times as many privately armed citizens as there are government employees at all levels from city to federal, including all members of the military that are armed.
"First, where's the law that says I need to carry a driver's license if I'm not driving? By your reasoning, I would need to... "
You said "stopped". I thought you were referring to driving and what would happen if you were "stopped" by police while driving. If you weren't referring to that, my mistake. If you were stopped while simply walking on the street and doing nothing to arouse suspicion, now that would be unconstitutional I believe. However, as I understand the law, the police officers still must establish a reason for looking for further identification.
All that being said, I rely on myself to know and assert my rights. I also recommend everyone familiarize themselves with the following website: http://www.flexyourrights.org/ . Not every police office necessarily knows every facet of the law (there's a lot to know). Even as a law abiding born citizen I have dealt with a police officer about to strip me of my Fourth Amendment rights and I had to use my own head to assert my rights.
"Second, and much more to your point, this guy probably has a different perspective:
http://iowaindependent.com/32851/the-new-birthers-arizona-truck-driver-arrested-forced-to-show-birth-certificate
Not only did he have a driver's license, he had a commercial driver's license and a social security number that no-doubt matched the information on his license."
That's not Arizona's fault. ICE is a federal agency. I think, but don't know, that everyone who is under reasonable suspicion can be subjected to detention for a specific amount of time without a warrant or a charge. I don't know what statutes are on the books for federal officers but if I were a civil rights attorney and knew more about this, I'd spend some time talking with the guy about this case.
That being said, this is not a fair apples to apples comparison. Now THAT being said (lol) - I again recommend the aforementioned website. Arming yourself doesn't always mean just a gun. Sometimes it's information.
That's great advice...
I've also spent a lot of time on that site, and highly recommend it to everyone...
It is sad I have to turn to a comedian to make common sense out of a law:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-26-2010/law---border