Controversy has erupted over the recent Arizona immigration reform bill, Arizona Senate Bill 1070. Opposition from Latino members of Congress to the clergy have decried the bill as tantamount to making racial profiling not only legal, but de facto policy for Arizona police. The state of Arizona already is practically running for fast cash dealing with immigration issues.
The Arizona immigration bill SB 1070
The Arizona immigration bill, SB 1070 has passed the Arizona House and is set to go the governors’ desk soon. The bill, according to the Christian Science Monitor, would enable police officers to determine immigration status of suspects involved in crime. The bill also forces any immigrants to keep their immigration paperwork on their person. Endorsers of the bill contend the state is stepping in where the federal government hasn’t, after record numbers of illegal immigrants and a rancher’s murder. Arizona presently spends a lot more than $ 1 billion a year because of illegal immigration and may be running for extra cash soon if no solution is reached.
Latino members of Congress oppose the bill
From CNN, several Latino members of the U.S. Congress have called for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto the bill. Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva (D) has blasted the bill as discriminatory against an entire ethnic group. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) contends it also impedes federal immigration authority also. Isabel Garcia, a legal defender in Arizona, says the bill “legalizes racial profiling.”
Bill deemed totalitarian by LA Cardinal
In an article by the Los Angeles Times, The Archbishop of the Los Angeles Diocese, Cardinal Roger Mahony, compared the methods authorized by the bill to “German Nazi and Russian Communist techniques.” Bishop of the Tucson Diocese, Gerald Kicanas also protested the bill, and both are calling on Governor Brewer to veto the bill. They contend that a fairer policy on immigration is called for, and Mahony’s blog maintains the impetus behind the bill is an unrealistic view of immigration, as many come to this country looking to make a better life with honest labor.
Immigration reform has been an issue of excellent contention
Immigration reform efforts have long been a hot topic within the U.S. Latin American immigrants are a cause du jour, and throughout the 19thcentury (and most embarrassingly in WWII) the concern was over Asian immigration. There are attempts to contain immigration from Mexico for decades. .
Resources
Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0415/Arizona-illegal-immigration-bill-draconian-or-common-sense
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/20/arizona.immigration/
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0420-mahony-immigration-20100420,,6923812.story
Cardinal Roger Mahony’s blog
http://cardinalrogermahonyblogsla.blogspot.com/
