The Greenroom, Arizona Has just passed a tough new immigration law that some are calling racial profiling. The bill would give police the right to arrest anyone they suspect to be an illegal immigrant if they are unable to produce a driver’s license or identity papers. Naturally, this has the liberals and Latino lobbyists in an uproar. Cries of RAAAAACISM!!! are already begininng. Total ignorance of the ongoing, overwhelming crime due to illegal immigrant is, as usual, being ignored. Over at the Huffington Post Miguel Guadalupe (who identifies himself as a Latino progressive American) calls this a “Gestapo law”.
“Show me your papers, are your papers in order?” This phrase was made famous, or rather infamous, by the Gestapo, and will soon be heard throughout the state of Arizona, should their Governor sign into law SB1070, a vague and broad law giving law enforcement the unprecedented power to stop and check the documentation of any individual where “reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S..” There are no guidelines as to what “reasonable suspicion” is, but knowing the reality on the ground, it is obvious to all that “reasonable suspicion” means those looking like, sounding like, or acting like general stereotypes of undocumented immigrants coming from Latin America. In short — this is a bill that allows police to suspect all Latinos of being undocumented, and gives them the right to question their status at any time, for any reason.
He bleats on with some more Nazi rhetoric and right-wing bashing, but never once admits to the obvious. Illegal immigration is a crime. And even legal immigrants — non-US citizens — are here only at our pleasure. It’s a harsh truth, but no immigrant has a right to be here. Coming here through legal channels means you won’t be arrested, but if you come here illegally then you can and should be arrested if you are discovered. Liberals may not like it that Latinos will have to prove they are not here illegally, but I think that what really makes them so angry is the thought of our immigration laws actually being, you know, enforced.
As for the Nazi rhetoric, let’s bring Mr. Guadalupe back to reality. In Nazi Germany, the Gestapo was looking for Jews so that they could be shipped to concentration camps and murdered. There’s kind of a big difference between the murders of innocent people and the arrest of a criminal, but apparently, Mr. Guadalupe can’t comprehend the difference.
At Shakesville, they’re hyperventilating that this is going to be a repeat of the Geary Act: As a historian, I don’t like to hear people say “If we don’t learn history, we’re doomed to repeat it.” We learn history all the time, and still do much of the same, hateful stuff that’s always been done.
In reading the provisons of the bill, I wondered, how different was it from the Geary Act of 1892: The law required all Chinese residents of the United States to carry a resident permit, a sort of internal passport. Failure to carry the permit at all times was punishable by deportation or a year at hard labor.
How different is it? Well, for one, we don’t force people to serve hard labor anymore. The only place where there is anything even remotely similar is in Maricopa County, where they still have chain gangs. Thing is, the chain gangs are on a volunteer basis. People caught in Arizona who are suspected of being illegal immigrants will be arrested and, if they are in fact illegal immigrants, deported. Again, considering that illegal immigrants are in fact criminals, what is the big deal?
Markos Moulitsas whines that no one will be checking for Canadian or Irish immigrants (really), and points out that Latinos are on the fast track to becoming a majority in Arizona.
The GOP-dominated Arizona legislature last week passed a bill making it a misdemeanor to lack immigration paperwork and requiring police to question people if they have a “reasonable suspicion” that someone is an illegal immigrant. But undocumented white Canadians or Irish need not fear, because “reasonable suspicion” is not-so-veiled code for “brown skin.”
God forbid you are darker-skinned and leave your wallet at home. In modern-day Arizona, that is grounds for jail. … But while conservatives might pat themselves on the back for passage of this law, the long-term effects shouldn’t be so comforting. Latinos make up 29 percent of Arizona’s population. If current population trends continue, Arizona will become a majority-minority state by 2015. In 2003, more Latino babies were born than non-Hispanic white babies. And by 2007, Latino babies were 45 percent of the total, compared to 41 percent for non-Hispanic whites, and 14 percent for non-Hispanic Asians, Native Americans and African-Americans.
Hat tip: The Green Room and Cassy Fiano
Tags: Arizona, Illegal immigration, bill of 2010, Barack Obama, democrats, Obama Amnesty plan To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the Patriot's Corner. Thanks!
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