by Pamela Powers Hannley
This week's Supreme Court and Senate debates/hearings on Arizona's infamous SB1070 anti-immigrant have been a real eye-opener. If you haven't been paying attention, here are a few stories…
Russell Pearce: I 'Absolutely' Believe Romney Called SB 1070 A 'Model'
SB 1070: Supreme Court Appears To Favor Arizona On Controversial Immigration Law
On Arizona immigration law, Justice Scalia and street protesters make same case
Is the Supreme Court About to Mobilize Latino Voters?
One bright spot was the statement released by US Senate candidate Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States:
"This week, we are witnessing the results of political failure at the highest level. The federal government has failed to do its job despite years of promises. And in Arizona, overheated partisan rhetoric has blocked our ability to work constructively toward a reasonable solution."
"SB 1070 was an ill-advised attempt to respond to the larger problem of our broken immigration system. Since its passage, politicians on both sides have been too busy blaming eachother to take a look at what it actually does. As a deputy sheriff of a border county, I know that SB 1070 doesn’t provide the tools needed to enforce the law and fix the problem in Arizona. Instead, it has created suspicion and distrust between local law enforcement and members of the community — making it harder for cops to do their jobs."
"It wasn't long ago that two diametrically opposed leaders — President George W. Bush and the late Senator Ted Kennedy — came together to try to solve this problem. They knew comprehensive reform was the only real path forward. There was even a time when Senator John McCain and Congressman Jeff Flake favored this comprehensive approach."
"The only workable solution is comprehensive reform that secures the border, allows individuals to emerge from an exploitative subterranean economy by creating a pathway to legalization and enacts the DREAM Act — so children brought into our country through no fault of their own can become contributing members of society."
"Over the last few days, we have seen a lot of politicians finger-pointing and name-calling. But the reality is, they created this mess. And neither a Supreme Court ruling nor Congress voting on the validity of SB1070 will clean it up."