Immigration is going to be the heaviest debate in the wake of health-care reform.  And of course, just after the murder of a Southern Arizona rancher.  Governor Jan Brewer signed the State senate Immigration bill 1070 into law.   Admittedly by both contenders and supporters, this law is highly controversial and the toughest action towards immigration taken by the state. The bill would make it a crime for immigrants to not possess valid immigration paperwork.

I think it’s ironic that shortly after the State of AZ threatens to sue the Federal Government; claiming health care reform is unconstitutional.  The Obama administration has been given the opportunity to do the same to the Arizona State senate. Immigration bill SB1070 gives Public law enforcement agencies the means to legally demand to see valid paperwork under threat of arrest.

Wholly shit!  Really?

This is the perfect environment to foster racial profiling.  Not to mention this historically familiar stink:

…allowing the local police to enforce federal immigration laws, is a step in the right direction—if you want to emulate the Third Reich or if you want to return to the days of second class citizenship in the United States. The first thing a fascist government will do is demand that you justify your very existence, as in “Let me see your papers.” Does this person look Jewish (whatever that means)? Stop him/her!  Now substitute, does this person look Latino (whatever that means)? Stop him/her! -Maria Padilla

To be fair, the federal government has kept the issue at arms length.  And this type of action from the state might be a sort the childish ‘calling out for attention’ that gets a response.  Problem is, there are at least a million and a half legal citizens of mexican descent living here too.  And you can’t just mess with their lives like this.  Restrict access and their movement?  Unconstitutional. Period.

As for the Arizona/Mexico border itself.  The border has been publicized with the image of a war-zone.  Full of violent mexicans flooding into america.  Thieving and murdering as they go.  This is just not the case.  Crime statistics for areas in the US are cataloged. You can look them up. And border towns like Douglas Arizona have crime rates far below the national average.  http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Douglas&state=AZ

Meanwhile little old Camden NJ, is rocking out on both violent and property crime. http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Camden&state=NJ

The border is not a war-zone of crime.  The majority of undocumented immigrants coming across the border are not trying to hurt anyone.  They are poor people crossing the desert.

The system we have here is not set up to support poor people coming across into the US and everyones answer is that we need to stop them from coming across.  This firstly, is just not working.   The stated objective in border policy and immigration isn’t being accomplished, yet continues to be enforced. The publicity surrounding the issue claims that this is happening in waves. The press rarely asks if in fact the stated objectives (freedom, safety, law&order) are in fact different from the actual overriding objectives.  Though the numbers seem to dissagree. I think this all implies that they are succeeding at an unstated objective.  The actual accomplished objective is to generate fear, hatred and to segregate americans from each other and non-americans.

Secondly, the answer isn’t stricter immigration Laws. Or cracking down on immigration by the Federal Government OR the State of Arizona.  That disgusts me. Our similarities as humans heavily outweigh or differences across all borders and cultures. And maybe more people need to consider that it’s the system that is flawed. Not the Hispanic people.

-Keegan Orange -2010

*EDIT* 4/28/10

If the problem is illegal immigration. And trying to solve the problem by keeping immigrants out is not working. We need to change the system to one where we benefit from having immigrants here. Documented or otherwise. (this is how America got its start, and it was extremely prosperous for everyone). I learned a long time ago that you shouldn’t try the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Change is difficult, and I know no one ever wants to change themselves. It’s always easier outward, me vs them, and they must be the ones to change. But in the end, that really only makes the problem worse.  And now In the case of Arizona. We are on the verge of a huge race issue with a million people stuck in the middle. Real people, with lives and families and all that hippy la la stuff. We’re all the same. Try and treat each other as such.