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S.B. 1070 - your papers, please
Apr. 23rd, 2010 03:50 pmArizona's governor has just signed 'Immigration' bill S.B. 1070 into law, which is... terrifying. From the New York Times article earlier this week:
Take a moment to let that sink in - Anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Which means if you're Hispanic, or brown, or look like you might be brown and you left your identifying documents at home that day, you are fucked. American citizen, permanent resident, temporary resident, illegal resident, it doesn't matter.
Why was this passed? Says the bill's Republican sponsor, state Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa:
I'm too angry to even start unpacking the fuckery in that statement (but if we only got rid of those icky illegals who clutter up our schools and hospitals and neighborhoods, why then, this would be paradise!). But this isn't racial profiling, folks, why would you think that?
This is not the answer to our 'immigration problem'. This is fucked up, and racist, and oppressive, and wrong.
The Arizona Senate passed one of the most stringent immigration laws in the country on Monday, marking a new level of influence for a Republican state senator who not long ago was seen by many as an eccentric firebrand.
Passage of the law, which would, among other things, allow the authorities to demand proof of legal entry into the United States from anyone suspected of being in the country illegally, testified to the relative lack of political power of Arizona Latinos, and to the hardened views toward illegal immigration among Republican politicians both here and nationally.
Take a moment to let that sink in - Anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Which means if you're Hispanic, or brown, or look like you might be brown and you left your identifying documents at home that day, you are fucked. American citizen, permanent resident, temporary resident, illegal resident, it doesn't matter.
Why was this passed? Says the bill's Republican sponsor, state Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa:
"Illegal is illegal [...] We'll have less crime. We'll have lower taxes. We'll have safer neighborhoods. We'll have shorter lines in the emergency rooms. We'll have smaller classrooms."
I'm too angry to even start unpacking the fuckery in that statement (but if we only got rid of those icky illegals who clutter up our schools and hospitals and neighborhoods, why then, this would be paradise!). But this isn't racial profiling, folks, why would you think that?
A Phoenix Law Enforcement Association representative acknowledged that racial profiling can occur but said fears associated with the bill are unfounded.
"We're not targeting any particular group," said Levi Bolton, a retired police detective. "Cops are not here to do these things to you."
This is not the answer to our 'immigration problem'. This is fucked up, and racist, and oppressive, and wrong.
