Arizona Immigration Law - Senate Bill 1070
Rational Nation USA
Arizona's new immigration bill recently signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer certainly has created a firestorm.
Politicians from both the progressive and conservative sides of the political spectrum seem to be at least in partial agreement, that the bill is ill advised.
Of course with all the media attention being given to this what is really a rather mild law, (more on this later) and Obama criticizing Arizona legislatures for doing something to control their huge illegal immigration problem , something the Feds have neglected for years with a wink and a nod, I decided to do a little research. In a matter of a few minutes, after a Google search, I had the full text printed out to review.
I was moved to look at the Arizona law after visiting the typical off the wall emotional driven leftist blogs to see what truth there may be in the allegations of that the law would turn the state into a Nazis right wing fascist camp of racists. Not surprisingly I found nothing to lead one to believe the outrageous claims some of the really wacko progressive blogs are making.
First before discussing the highlights of what I believe pertinent in the bill a few links to articles addressing the issue... followed by a couple personal observations. Feel free to take issue with them and comment.
The Government's Justice Department it appears is lining up behind a challenge to the new law, read more on this here. The President has weighed in on the matter with his usual rhetorical flair, here. And the ones you might expect most likely to support tougher immigration laws in border states seem to be a bit tepid as well. Read what Governor Jeb Bush and Karl Rove have to say on the issue.
I have always found it funny that everyone professes to want secure borders and effective immigration control. Yet in the final analysis nothing has been done by either side to craft a successful plan to accomplish the stated desire. In my opinion this is because no one has really wanted to solve the problem. These are the simple reasons, and as always they are political and economic.
1) The progressives in government have intentionally failed to act because they see illegals as a political base they can exploit to insure the perpetuation of their ideology of larger government and the socialist welfare state. They realize that by waiting and allowing the illegal population to grow eventually they could push for amnesty and secure a huge new voting base. It's easy to entice people with little by promising them everything. At the same time most see it as a sure means to insure their own reelection.
2) On the other side we have the various businesses that benefit by the use of cheap labor that helps keep costs down and profits up. Not only is the labor cheap the business need not worry about any benefits as the illegal wanting to remain in the States isn't going to say much about the poor wages and lack of benefits.
The progressive in government and the republicans in government along with business sector are both responsible for our current situation. Both have damaged our economy and created a serious problem for reasons of their own gain. Irrationality by supposedly rational and sane people.
Now to highlights Arizona's Senate Bill 1070.
1) The new law is designed to enforce federal immigration laws throughout Arizona through cooperative efforts of state and local agencies.
2) When there is reasonable suspicion a person may be in the U.S.A. unlawfully a reasonable attempt shall be made to determine the persons immigration status. Such verification of the persons status will be determined by the Federal Government pursuant to 8 United States Code Section 1373(c).
3) If a person is found to be unlawfully in the United States and is convicted of a state or local law they will be transfered immediately into the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the United States Customs and Border Protection.
4) Law enforcement agencies may transfer an alien who is in the state illegally by secure transport to any federal facility in Arizona or any other point of transfer into federal custody.
5) A law enforcement officer, without a warrant, can arrest a person who they believe their is probable cause has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the U.S.A.
6) Except as prohibited by federal law officials and agencies can not be prohibited from sending, receiving, or maintaining information that is relevant to the immigration stratus of any individual. Or giving such information to any other federal, state, or local government for the following purposes;
a) Determining eligibility for public benefits...
b) Verifying claim of residence or domicile...
c) Confirming the identity of the detained person...
d) If the person is an alien to determine if they are in compliance with the federal laws prescribed by Title II, Chapter 7 of the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act.
The law is a sixteen page bill and details specific legal procedures with respect to the individual as well as the penalties businesses will face should they be found to be hiring illegal immigrants.
What the law essentially does is give law enforcement the right to detain individuals where there is a reasonable suspicion, or probable cause. As I read the bill federal law would apply in all cases where an individual was found to be in the country illegally. And the illegal would be transfered to federal immigration authorities.
One authority I listened to on a local radio broadcast interprets the law as such that if there was no crime committed and the local court authorities took not further action with a person that could not produce papers authorities would merely contact federal immigration officials and ask them to do their job.
For those who may want to pour over the entire bill and analyse it further for themselves you will find it here.
In conclusion, The Arizona State Senate, and subsequently Governor Jan Brewer acted in a manner expedient and in the best interests of the legal residence of their state as well as the United States of America. As I have said all along, I am in complete agreement with a tough hard nosed federal law with teeth. However the feds have had many chances and ample time to get control of the situation and haven't. It leads me at least to question if they ever will.
Via: Memeorandum
Well obviously The United States should make the hardworking new arrivals comfortable & welcome. Lets Deliver their babies, provide public info in the language they prefer, let them speak in any language that they feel comfortable with, change our road signs so that they would be able to read them, get them on the voter roles, educate their little ones in a comfortable familiar language, harshly punish any redneck republican that disagrees with them, automatically give them driver's licenses as long as they are able to stand. .........in general make sure that we do what ever we can to help these poor bastards.
ReplyDeleteLes: I’m not a Constitutional Scholar so I can’t say if this law is constitutional or not. Also I haven’t read the bill YET. I can say that I’m sick of the Federal Government sitting back on their haunches as they’ve done for decades. Heck, they stopped building the fence—WHAT kind of message does THAT send?
ReplyDeleteI do have to say this though: ILLEGAL means BREAKING the law—PERIOD. I’m NOT a racist. I don’t care if there are Canadians sneaking in over the Northern border—SEND THEM HOME. I don’t care if we have blue-eyed blonds who are white as ghosts, if they are here ILLEGALLY—SEND THEM HOME.
I’m tired of the racist allegations. Anymore if I disagree with Obama, I’m a racist. If I want the illegal Mexicans to be deported, I’m a racist. If I get angry about the fraud in Welfare, I’m a racist. They are arguments that hold no power over me because I am NO racist. The racist rhetoric is lame as heck for those of us who are NOT racist and truly want LEGAL immigration, on which our country was founded. I am a person who has different views than Obama therefore I can disagree without being a racist. I am a LAW ABIDING citizen therefore I can say I don’t want ILLEGALS here, regardless of RACE and NOT be a racist. I can demand that our officials do something about the fraud in our system because I AM a tax payer and it’s WRONG to steal money regardless of your race, gender, age, etc., and that makes me MORAL not racist.
This racist lingo needs to stop because it has become the catch all in these arguments and consequently it has lost its shock value therefore when true racism does arise no one is going to recognize it.
Ok, here's a few questions. Are there enough ICE agents in Arizona to handle the captured illegals? And will "fiscal conservatives" and lovers of liberty be happy with an expansion of Government via the expansion of ICE?
ReplyDeleteWhere are the illegals going to be detained prior to transfer to ICE and where are they going to be housed by the Federal Government awaiting extradition and at what cost?
Local Law Enforcement Officers will be taken "off the street" to handle the initial processing of illegals any fear of crimes increasing with officers tied up?
And right now any person just walking around can deny to show identification documents to an officer, with exceptions, however in some circumstances officers can demand name, address and purpose for being in a given area (terry stop) but people do not have to produce an id. There are obvious exceptions, which I'm not going to elaborate on, but in the case where another crime or suspected crime has not been committed this amounts to... what exactly?
Also Probable Cause and Reasonable Suspicion are not the same standards.
And the fault lies mainly with Business because like always they seek to undercut and destroy the american worker by exporting jobs overseas to slave labor and importing labor which they can exploit and pay a pittance to when compared to Americans.
Pam - This bill essentially mirrors federal standards and law. Law which the federal government has failed to enforce. It is simply time to take action at the state level.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy reading the bill. Like most legalesse documents it's a lot of fun.
Grunge_e_Gene - Some valid questions. The answers should be obvious to the progressive.
ReplyDeleteTrain more immigration officers and more police officers and put them in action. Helps control illrgal immigration and creates government jobs, the progressives dream. We kill two birds whith one stone. And for a good cause.
As my post clearly expressed I hold business responsible right along with the federal government.
Grung-E-Gene: You brought up a good point about businesses. However, you used a broad brush when you said “…like always…”. I believe your position would be more valid if you didn’t blame ALL businesses.
ReplyDeleteThere are MANY business owners who exploit illegals, and THOSE businesses should be slapped with HUGE fines. I don’t think businesses are the ONLY problem though. We also have a government that hands out FREE health care, education, food stamps, etc., and consequently entices Illegals to risk their very lives to cross the border. And to be honest, who can blame them? But if the incentives were cut off they probably wouldn’t come here anymore, or at least not illegally.
This is a huge problem, as we’re all acutely aware, and I believe we NEED to finish the border wall, enforce the FEDERAL laws that are on the books to try to ensure that no more enter the country illegally, then rationally, logically AND civilly decide what we are going to do with the millions who are already here illegally.
Grung,
ReplyDeleteIn response to the portion of your above comments regarding how a person can deny to show ID. Allow me to point this out regarding foreign citizens here in America:
The new Arizona law mirrors federal law, which already requires aliens (non-citizens) to register and carry their documents with them (8 USC 1304(e) and 8 USC 1306(a)). The new Arizona law simply states that violating federal immigration law is now a state crime as well. Because illegal immigrants are by definition in violation of federal immigration laws, they can now be arrested by local law enforcement in Arizona.
You, (not you, per se, but a generic you), cannot, as a foreign visitor/worker deny to show ID and documentation to a law officer, regardless of the circumstances. It is against Federal law, as cited above.
Legal migrant workers, foreigners, non-US citizens here in America need to adhere to this law without exception. Arizona has decided to enforce this and have been vilified ever since by those who would seek to hand our Nation over to non-Americans.
Not an accusation or typed in anger, just an observation.
Cheers.