A decision made Friday by Arizona's Republican Governor, Jan Brewer, enacted into law a measure that basically makes racial profiling legal and just.The bill requires that police officers determine the immigration status of anyone based on "reasonable suspicion." Then those police officers have to check the status of the person they believe may be here illegally and verify their citizenship with the federal government. Clearly they won't be stopping every middle aged white man walking down the street. Instead it will be solely based on race. And the proponents of this measure have not come out and said otherwise.
There are plenty of common sense ways to improve and solve our immigration problem here in the United States and using racial profiling just isn't one of them. After all, about 30% of Arizona's legal residents are hispanic. And with this bill, they can be pulled off the side of the street and have their citizenship put into question just because of that. It's wrong and there are other ways to do it.
I think we can all agree that this issue is a problem and doesn't bode well for the United States economy. But there are some common sense approaches that we can take.
First, we continue to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants at a lower cost and pay them under the table. This kind of activity - which is also the fault of American employers - is killing jobs for folks who are actually living here and playing by the rules.
Second, we need to get those who have avoided taxes and who are living here illegally, on the books and to the end of the line. They need to pay fines and pay back all the taxes they've avoided paying for as long as they've lived here. If they want to be American citizens, they're welcome to be, but they have to wait their turn, learn some English, and pay what they owe.
Once we crack down on all of those who are already here illegally, we then must secure our borders to make sure more illegals do not keep coming back. If they do come back, hopefully Washington will have had the common sense to pass measures by then which will make it easier to deal with them.
Those are some of the simple, common-sense approaches that need to be taken. Racial profiling should have no part of how we do business in this country. Arizona's Governor, Jan Brewer and their opportunistic, flip-flopping Senator, John McCain should know that as well. 2008 Presidential Candidate McCain would be apalled at this bill. But Senator McCain who is in his toughest primary fight in years is embracing it.
I guess there is one thing that is good about the passage of the shameful Arizona bill. It has put the necessity of Immigration Reform in the spotlight again. It is a problem that needs to be solved and those in Washington need to come together to solve it in a common sense way.
Way to step up Jan Brewer!!! I am sure soon Arizonians will feel much safer. Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteIf the rights of a hardworking American citizen are at risk just because of his ethnicity than all of our rights are at risk.
ReplyDeleteAnother AL Sharpton who lives in Willoughby, Ohio. Everything is racial. Tell that to the people that have been killed by illegal aliens. It is sad that they are portrayed as the victims here. These people need to be found and dealt with harshly. Jan Brewer is doing what the government should have done years and years ago. These people that are on the ground dealing with this everyday need relief, she has provided it.
ReplyDeleteThat's what this law is based on. "Reasonable suspicion." Explain to me what else they will base their decision on when they pull someone off the street?
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not claiming murderers are the victims and you know that. I find it surprising you would suggest that about someone only because you disagree with them.
I suggested that this law is based on one thing: your ethnicity. That's why they will or will not pull you off the street.
"Show me your papers."
So you are probably against the police too right? When you get pulled over they ask you for your papers right? What about when you travel to a different country, aren't you asked for your papers? We cannot go into Mexico without our papers, why should they be able to come here without theirs? These illegals are being portrayed as the victims here and they obviously are not. People are welcome here if they follow the rules. It takes 6 years to become a naturalized citizen. They have to speak english, take classes on the constitution, (the president should also sit in on) to become a part of this country. Every one in the lame stream, state run media feels so bad for them. Just look at what they've done to California. Resonable suspicion is just what it says. If someone is suspected of doing something wrong which can be, speeding, uncontrolled driving, suspicious activity on the street such as gang or drug activities that's exactly what that means. You just automatically go to the negative side of it and think. Oh here is a mexican looking dude lets go harrass him. This political correctness is killing this country and swaying your mind!
ReplyDeleteI won't respond to most of your claims. You're all over the place and your passion to tear down your opponents because of political disagreements is overshadowing your attempt at a logical explanation for what is a flawed law in Arizona.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is speeding or being reckless or being violent, they should be taken to the side and pulled over. That's different. This law doesn't stop a man and his family who are Hispanic from being yanked off the street solely because they are Hispanic. What makes America great is that laws like this don't exist. At least, didn't exist until now. And you're supporting it! Incredible.
I will say that the President knows his constitution well. He was, after all, a Constitutional Law Professor at the University of Chicago.
I think the Tea Partiers should sit in on a few of those classes as they don't know the workings of a democracy.
Bottom line. You lost an election. Again, you're confusing losing an election with tyranny and it's clear as day. The grapes are still as sour today as they were on November 5th of two years ago.
Of course you won't respond because you can't. It is the typical liberal response when they know the other side is right. I am not all over the place as you say. You are following the Obama rule book, whoever disagrees with him discredit him, smear him. How about Joe the plumber, weren't his "papers" looked into right there in your back yard. All you fall back on Sean is oh, you lost the election get over it.
ReplyDeleteSean, what is incredible, is your complete lack of knowledge of the contents w/in the Az. state law, that it parallels long existing(& virtually unenforced) federal laws, and the history of the racist, segregationist laws perpetrated by the party of which you are so hopelessly enamored. Law enforcement was not allowed to look into the ethnicity of the drivers and the occupants w/in their vehicles. They were pulling over people for traffic offenses & found they had invalid u.s. drivers licenses, some had van loads of illegals, and the police couldn't even question the occupants. When your great grandfather,& grandfather came to this country, they had to be naturalized, which took 7 yrs. and had to produce their papers when asked. Your great grandmother chose to keep her Italian citizenship, had to file visa papers yearly and had to produce them when asked(she did that for 70 yrs). Legalized Mexicans have to produce their green cards, until they're naturalized. Which by the way, is by far the largest group of naturalized citizens, over 110 thous. last year, numbers courtesy of bureau of statics. The f.d.r adm. interned & confiscated the property of over 25 thous., Japanese/Americans, it interned, house arrested, and confiscated the property of 500 thous. Italian/Americans, it interned, imprisoned, and confiscated the property of over 20 thous. German/Americans(our largest,legal immigrant group), some remained imprisoned into the early '50's. Your president also taught the "rule for radicals" class for his mentor, saul alinsky @ the univ. of chicago. Judging from his affinity for subverting the constitution, it would appear his alinsky teachings took precedent. I've read, "the communist manifesto", "the prince", "mein kampf", the writings of a. grameci,the father of incremental socialism, "leviathan", by hobbes the progenitor of your brand of liberalism's mindset. That's why i know how liberals think better than you do. If you and your president, and the critics of the tea party movement would read (like the vast majority w/in the tea party movement have) the greatest document ever written in regards to how to set up a govt. of free people, you would find out that we are a constitutional republic. This isn't sour grapes, it's sadness, albeit temporary, because elections do have consequences, that's if, considering these minions who reside w/in the columns of power will go against their "founding fathers" writings and governance. Because, many of the socialist leaders, hitler, mussolini, chavez, castro, pol pot et al. were "democratically" elected, & then elections ceased.
ReplyDeleteSean, Your Uncle John makes good points. We are not against immigrants in this country, but they need to abide by our rules, our constitution to be here. These immigrants that U.J. speaks about were excited to come here and have an opportunity that they did not have in their own countries. Many were so excited about America that they even changed their names to fit in better, or to gain employment.
ReplyDeleteToday we see these illigal aliens (not immigrants) wanting this country to be like their country of origin, in this case Mexico. They drain our economy of entitlements, and they expect it from us.
When your grandfather came here, he and others like him got one thing Sean, a chance. No free medical care, food stamps etc. And the cool thing was, they didn't want it!
Uncle John does have good talking points - it could have been ripped out of a page in a Sean Hannity book or a transcript of one of Rush Limbaugh's shows or a televised classroom lesson from the delusional Glenn Beck.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on immigrants. We should welcome their citizenship if they play by the rules and our Constitution - which, Uncle John, I have read. In fact, on my night stand, there are two books - two which I consider to be the most important: The Bible and the United States Constitution. And I'm pretty informed too. But unlike you guys, I'm not afraid for our system. It is strong and it has worked for over 200 years - even through more difficult political atmospheres. So you can make all the Hitler and socialism comments you want, informed folks will not be afraid by that. I know I'm sure not. I've read enough on socialism and Hitler to know that even relating our times and our President with those times and that man is nothing short of ridiculous.
I agree with most of what you say on immigration though. Of course they all need to play by the rules if they want to get here. But I'm not going to generalize a group of people like you are when referring to them. And what I oppose isn't enforcing laws upon those illegals who break them, but enacting a law that almost punishes those hardworking Hispanic/Americans who are already here just for being of that ethnicity. There is a way to fix our immigration system that doesn't bring us back to the days when we used race to enforce our laws.
ORANGE COUNTY ( CALIFORNIA ) NEWSPAPER-New Immigrants
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good letter to the editor. This woman made some good
points..
For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions. This lady
made the argument pretty simple. NOT printed in the Orange
County Paper...................
Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island
and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people
like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept
this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when
there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the
United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a
long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get
down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made
a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in
good and bad times. They made learning English a primary
rule in their new American households and some even changed
their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their
children a new life and did everything in their power to
help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was
handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws
to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out.
My father fought along side men whose parents had come
straight over from Germany , Italy , France and Japan . None
of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought
about what country their parents had come from. They were
Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of
Japan . They were defending the United States of America as
one people.
When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking
for the French-American or the German American or the Irish
American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we
carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of
those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up
another country's flag and waving it to represent who they
were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had
sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew
what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting
pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same
rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by
playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the
entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their
mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American
is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on
Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that
for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future
generations to create a land that has become a beacon for
those legally searching for a better life. I think they
would be appalled that they are being used as an example by
those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on
the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about
dismantling the United States just yet.
(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte
Here is what Teddy Roosevelt said about people wanting to immigrate to this country back in 1907. I believe it stands true today.
ReplyDeleteThis should take you less than one minute to read; but a long time to ponder.
1907 PHOTO This one needs to circulate I think this is one email that needs to be forwarded until every American with a computer receives it.
The year is 1907, one hundred and 3 years ago.
READ PRINT UNDER PICTURE!
Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 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 person's becoming in every facet 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... 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.'