Controversy Over Arizona Immigration Bill

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. Arizona already spends over a billion dollars annually on immigration related expenditures, almost sending the state sprinting for cash advances.

SB 1070 the Arizona immigration bill

SB 1070, the Arizona immigration bill is set to go to the governor having already passed the Arizona House. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the bill would allow police to investigate the immigration status of individuals suspected of a crime. The bill would also make it a crime for immigrants to not possess valid immigration paperwork. After record numbers of illegal immigrations and also the murder of a rancher, proponents of the bill contend the state is picking up the slack from federal inaction. Arizona currently spends more than $ 1 billion a year because of illegal immigration and may be sprinting for extra money soon if no solution is reached.

Latino Congressmen in opposition

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 the bill intrudes on federal jurisdiction governing immigration. Arizona legal defender Isable Garcia maintains the bill “legalizes racial profiling.”

Bill deemed totalitarian by Los Angeles Cardinal

Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of the Los Angeles Diocese, according to the Los Angeles Times, has called the laws contained in the bill as using “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. Mahony, on his blog, calls for a fairer policy on immigration, and one based on logic and reasoning as numerous immigrate to the US to work for a better life.

Immigration reform battles have a long history

Anti-immigration legislation has a long and bloody record 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 have been attempts to contain immigration from Mexico for decades. Authoritarian solutions seem to be ineffective, so possibly a lot more pragmatic solutions are needed.

Sources

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/