Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) signed a new state law aimed at reducing the state's illegal immigrant population. It grants law enforcement broad new powers to stop any "suspected" illegal aliens and make them produce proof (on the spot) that they are in fact properly documented or U.S. citizens, as the case may be.
Buster understands the frustration of some Arizonans, but this is bad law, unconstitutional, and will not stand up to the numerous legal challenges sure to follow. Gov. Brewer says she won't stand for any racism or profiling in the enforcement of this law, but that's pretty much what the law calls for. In Arizona, they're not worried about undocumented Russians or Filipinos or Somalis or Canadians. It's all about the Mexicans. So how does one spot an illegal Mexican? How does one come to "suspect" illegal status? Does illegal look different from legal? Does a shirt and tie do the trick? Does a Mexican look appreciably different than a Honduran or a Costa Rican or a Brazilian?
Without racial profiling, there will be no enforcement. Effective implementation would mean that Officer Johnny Law should shake down everyone who looks vaguely Hispanic. As such, it's a political statement but a legal dead duck.
So what's the answer? Man, I don't know. It's said we now have about 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., and let's be real for a second -- we're not going to round up 12 million people and deport them, especially if half of 'em will be back tomorrow. Perhaps granting them some sort of legal status/amnesty would not be a bad way to go. That way, we could at least turn them into taxpayers (and voters. Ooh, the R's sure won't like that! Tee-hee!)
No comments:
Post a Comment