McKay: Pro and Con of Arizona Immigration Law
This week we’ve seen a flurry of supercharged rhetoric after Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill which merely seeks to strengthen state law on immigration.
Boiled down, what the new Arizona law does is to duplicate federal immigration law, making the commission of what are now federal crimes to be state crimes. It’s illegal under federal law to walk the streets without documents of immigration status anywhere in the country, including Arizona; this law just makes that illegal under state law as well.
Meanwhile, angry Mexicans stormed the Arizona state capitol last Friday and started a riot in which water bottles and other projectiles were hurled at police. On Monday, protestors smeared refried beans in swastika patterns on windows at the state capitol. Brewer, the bill, and Arizonans as a whole have been described as racists, Nazis, totalitarians, idiots and worse (if that’s possible).
Most of the screaming about the law has come as a result of its call for police officers to request immigration documents when they suspect they’re talking to illegals, which is being called racial profiling despite the fact that the law specifically states racial profiling is to be avoided. There is also a hue and cry over the concept that police officers will be descending willy-nilly on “brown people” and asking for “papers” Nazi-style, though the law says such encounters are restricted to “lawful contact” — as in traffic stops and other regular police interactions.
Overall, public reaction to the bill has not at all been indicative that it’s radical or unreasonable. In fact, 60 percent of the American people favor local law enforcement verifying immigration status during routine traffic stops. And in Arizona, the new law has 70 percent support.
Some 68 percent of Americans think controlling the border is more important than legalizing the status of illegal aliens (otherwise known as amnesty); this would seem to point to a clear mandate for locking down the border with an actual fence and actual patrols first, and then doing something about tweaking current immigration law.
But that approach is, for whatever reason, sheer anathema to Washington, and even four years ago when this issue first became a major one on the scene that disconnect between the clear wishes of the American people and the predilections of our political class on both sides of the aisle was pronounced.
There has been a great deal of push-polling within the Hispanic community to indicate that vast majorities of American Latinos want a comprehensive amnesty-based immigration policy, but few surveyors have undertaken to ask Hispanic Americans whether they favor tougher enforcement of the border. A 2008 Pew survey indicated that Hispanics oppose by lopsided margins four immigration enforcement measures: workplace raids (76-20), criminal prosecution of illegals (73-21), criminal prosecution of employers (70-25) and employee database checks prior to hiring (53-41), but amazingly that survey didn’t ask whether stronger border enforcement was acceptable. Another Pew survey, this one taken in January of 2009, placed immigration only in sixth place among issues of importance to Hispanics.
But the Center For Immigration Studies released a Zogby survey in February which calls the Pew figures into dispute. The CIS/Zogby survey found that 56 percent of Hispanics said immigration levels were too high. Some 61 percent of Hispanics Zogby surveyed said inadequate enforcement was the cause of current illegal immigration levels, while only 20 percent blamed too few legal immigration opportunities.
Some 65 percent of Hispanics also said there were enough Americans available to do unskilled jobs. And by a 52-34 margin, Zogby found that Latinos favor immigration policies which encourage illegals to go home rather than promote amnesty.
The same Zogby survey which had somewhat surprising numbers among Hispanics showed a hard line on immigration with black voters — 68 percent characterized immigration levels as too high, 70 percent blamed inadequate border enforcement for the numbers of illegals in the country and 81 percent said there are enough Americans to do the unskilled jobs people assume illegals will do.
The only question on which blacks don’t take a harder line than Hispanics is on the question of the future direction; by a 50-30 count blacks support a policy encouraging illegals to go home over an amnesty policy.
What these polls seem to say is that playing interest groups off against each other is no substitute for effective governance. That’s bad news for politicians, who must show themselves capable of offering policies that broad majorities can support.
April 28, 2010
FamilySecurityMatters.org contributing Editor Scott McKay, is a sales, marketing and business consultant.
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If you are not a citizen of the United States of America then you do not have the rights that a citizen of this country has. If the people looking for opportunity and a chance to become something then they need to become a citizen of THIS country. Moving to the greatest nation on the planet and not becoming a citizen is an insult to everyone who is. If your not willing to become a citizen then do not come here.
I believe this law is very wrong people moved here to get away from that to make a new start and now people are making laws so that people exactly like us cant go no where thast really wrong. Sending people back to Mexico while everything thats going on down there i would move here to i make not be a latino or mexican but they should be aloud to be here just like me, we all have rights and they should respected we should and invite people into our homes not kick em out and ship them away so i believe this law is bull and it should very well be change. And another thing is if you guys really believe that their the ones bringing bombs and crap here we might as well be doing this to you guys dont even know who. Your best friend could be a threat to us all. We should not judge others and kick them of there own land. We all will be saying good bye to America anywayz jim dont blame it on a person who has nothin to do with this. It’s called forgive and forget. Our laws are their laws to we are ONE jim unfortunately including you to.
Im a second generation Hispanic American. I do believe there are some illegal aliens that contribute to the economy and pay their taxes. I also believe that most illegal aliens should be deported if they cant adjust to American ways and/ or are a burden to this country and our economy. In my opinion, kids or students who were brought illegally at a young age should have the chance to prove themselves. Most of them have adapted to our American society and consider America their home. Do i think EVERYONE should be deported? NO. Only those who prove worthy of the American life should be evaluated and given the chance to prove themselves. Do i think everyone should stay? NO. I’ll even admit I believe some of family members should be deported because they dont want to pay taxes and they just want to “swing” around. I fear it’s illegal immigrants like them that keep the responsible, adjusted immigrants in danger.
Jim i agree with you. Ok everybody you probably all need to read the constitution and understand it because clearly you don’t. The law is designed to kick out the people that are over here working illegally without clearing themselves thru the government. By the way i’m white and do all the jobs that you are saying that white people won’t do “Paulina”, i clean the toilets and do all the dirty jobs like that because I have to do to survive. You probably can’t walk and chew gum at the same time also by the way the people that say (you are racist or they are racist) are probably the ones over here illegally. I go to college full time and work full time, I pay for most of my schooling, it took over a year before i got the a federal grant to help pay and there reason for taking so long is simply because I’m not a minority and they come first that was the reason they gave me in an email and letter from. I make less than $15k a year and trying to make my life a little easier. So all you lazy S.O.B.’s get off your couch and find a job somewhere get off welfare because is for people who really can’t work like disable people etc…but those people work there butt’s off. One more thing everybody that came over here from a different country at one time we all had our papers to be over here in this great country legally.
This is a very opinionated blog, obviously, and unfortunately, this country is becoming so divided on a subject that is not that important in the longrun, and has nothing but a racist basis to it. My daughter is Hispanic , yet legal- and her father was born in America, but he is very dark, works harder than most Americans I know, and has dealt with harrassment and racism allof his life. Now, my daughter, who is also dark, may have to deal with being pulled over because she might have a rear light on her car burned out, (whereas police very rarely pull Americans- unless they fit a certain profile over for the same reason) because of how she looks. I believe that we just have a nation of good ole boys who dont want to share the wealth. We worked so hard for so many years to end racism, but I think this is just a backlash by conservatives to negate the fact that a black president was elected. Learn some humanity. God is probably crying for those who hate right now. Good luck getting into Heaven.
I belive ur wrong “jim” because I am AN “alien” hahahahah my family is too and for ur information we and most of the people latinos dont get Welfare . we all work hard in this country trying to ake it better even thoug “americans” (some not all because I know many gringos that do like us.) want to kick us out. many people like u argue that we dont pay taxes but guess whatt we do. I am a student in high school and I dont get help from anyone I am working hard to get the things I need for my education and let me tell u the gov take 150 dollars out of my check every two weeks . to me that is a lot!!!! and unlike u Im not gonna get money back when is time to do taxes.!!!!!!!!!if u want to know many more reasons for why arizonas law is not (fair, good etc.) answer me back. by the way im planning to go to collage and I dont think the gov is going to give me money so im going to have to work hard to become , to accomplish, to make my dream come true . I want to be a doctor specialise in cancer. and I want to cry everytime I think that I may not acomplish it becasue I am not going to get finacial aid. but hey ill show u and the rest like u that we latinos can do anything. and that this country need US.
Paulina should learn put together an coherent sentence. As for your use of profanity, you can’t even get that right. Sad, very sad, is what you are.
i think this law is stupid because they can find anyone who looks mexican and ask about their green card and not care whether they are a us citizen or not….
Stupid jim!!! fukenracist motherfukerrr!
all the immigrants want a better life and they actually do it better and easy here in the U.S..
immigrants do the hard jobs that racist people like you wouldn’t do. so yes, take’em out& live in ur country that’s gonna become shitty without them!! cause none ofur gonna want to do shittt!!!!!!!
Personally I believe in this law and I wish the four boarder states would all pass similar laws because the Federal Government does not have the cajones to enforce the laws on the books. I am sorry but all other peoples that want to come into this great nation that have to fly in or by boat must abide by our laws. Just because ALL of South America can walk in does not mean it is right and especially not legal. Most of the Latinos (older of course) all support this law because they know it is right and the modern day Latino has no respect for this country they are mostly here to have anchor babies and get into the GREAT AMERICAN WELFARE SYSTEM that is taught in Mexico. This country MUST do something to stop this and if they (the feds) decide on amnesty and give them all the rights in the world then this country (legal citizens) should do what we already intend to do is vote out the current cowards and put in people with the nerve to uphold the immigration laws of this country because if we don’t you can adios to AMERICA.