by David Safier
There's a meme going around that, if you read SB1070, you'll find out it's just a restatement of federal law. "I've read it," they say, "and there's nothing there to worry about."
That's the rough equivalent of people saying, "Read your Bible, then you'll know exactly what God wants you to do." More than 2000 years of debate can be resolved if the average Joe or Jane just reads the Good Book, right? Um, wrong.
The 16 page long bill — which I've read, underlined and reread a few times — isn't Biblical in its complexity, but no one unschooled in the law can claim to know what this sloppily written thing will do, myself included. Even legal scholars admit they won't know exactly what will happen until the law is carried out and tested.
If you want to read it yourself, here's the most complete version, which includes the revisions in HB2162.
But the law definitely has some worrisome aspects that aren't simple enforcement of federal law.
I'm not an expert, obviously, but these parts of SB1070 seem to me to go way beyond federal law.
- Federal law doesn't require — require is the important word — law enforcement officers to check someone's immigrant status if they have "reasonable suspicion" the person is undocumented. And don't think that's just about traffic stops, like the pro SB1070 folks like to pretend. You can be stopped on a street corner. You can be interviewed as a witness to a robbery at a 7/11. If you have an unkempt yard that violates some city or county ordinance, a police officer who tells you to clean it up is required to ask for papers if there is a "reasonable suspicion" you might be undocumented. The only time a paper check isn't required is when it is not "practicable" or when it "may hinder an investigation."
- Federal law doesn't say any individual can sue a city, county or the state if that individual thinks SB1070 isn't being enforced adequately.
- Federal law doesn't say if you're driving someone to church who you know is undocumented and you're stopped, your car can be impounded and you can face a fine for transporting illegal aliens.
- Federal law doesn't say you can't stop in a roadway to pick up people to work at a different location, whether the workers have papers or not.
I will be happy to have someone who has read the bill carefully tell me I'm misreading it and explain why. Shouting with capital letters isn't an explanation, by the way. If you want to show me the error of my ways, be specific. No pulling out a phrase here or there. Read entire sections and see if you can figure out exactly what they mean and how I have misinterpreted them.
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This law does not only target illegal immigrants but every single American. All of us are in danger of being unreasonably searched because some governor thought it was smart to give a single police officer the right to judge reasonable suspicion.
This is just one of our rights being violated. Next time, we won’t able to write what we feel about our government. Who knows, at this rate, one day we will live under a dictatorship.
This law may have been a different story if it worded differently. There are so many terms left undefined. For example, what constitutes as lawful contact? The Republican House majority’s Homeland Security research analyst, Rene Guillen said, “Lawful contact is essentially any interaction a police officer may have with an individual through normal legal, lawful course of performance of their duties.” This would not only target suspected criminals, but victims, and witnesses.
We really have to consider admitting a law like this, our security is at risk. Police officers already have a hard time protecting the people because others will not come out to report crimes. In conversations with my local police, I have learned that the best way to combat crime is by having strong community relationships. These people are the ones who see crimes first hand and can help put criminals behind bars. However, if the law enforcement lacks these trustworthy relationships then their investigation is less likely to go anywhere.
Many illegal immigrants are fleeing from countries that are in turmoil. If they are victims of a crime or witness one, what will they do now with a law like this about to be in effect? They will endure the pain or ignore the scene in fear of being sent back to worse conditions. I will not be surprised if come August there is a spike in criminal activity and millions of reports on AZ law enforcement’s ineptitude to secure the streets and catch criminals.
That is just the sort of specific defense of the bill that makes me SURE that you’re an idiot as well as a racist. Sure would be nice if all the nasty old white farts would just die off and let the younger, color blind generation run things.
Send them all back Arizona! Help us keep the United States wonderful!
Stick to your guns. Democrats are whiny retards!
Plus I don’t want stupid mexicans over here illegally screwing up our great nation.
Thank you Arizona.