Arizona’s Immigration Law (SB1070)
National media have been in a complete tizzy regarding Arizona’s new illegal immigration law, formally known as SB1070. You can see more about the debate elsewhere. What’s truly relevant is what this law actually does and does not do. (Take the time to read it. Please!)
This law does *not* give state or local police any new legal authority. Local police are already authorized to enforce federal law. If that were not the case, our police forces would not be able to use RICO to go after organized crime. But that happens all the time and noone protests—except people whose last names end in Bonanno. (Yes, they eventually involve the FBI and federal prosecutors, but that’s often only after local actions have already been taken. Oddly, noone is complaining that state laws often overlap federal laws re mob activity, drug trafficking, child pornography, etc.) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been exercising this authority for years, and keeps getting reelected and reelected and…by healthy margins.
This law *does* make enforcement of existing federal law mandatory for local LEOs, whereas until now it was optional. The requirement for foreign nationals to carry documentary identification on their persons is *federal* law. Already there. Gotta have it. When I lived in Germany it was no different. I had to carry ID that showed I was there legally. Those evil, racist Germans. Oh, wait. That might be a legitimate complaint. Never mind. But the left loves France. We had to carry ID to enter France. So there.
This law *does* establish state penalties for both illegal aliens and employers thereof. Why? Federal authorities aren’t enforcing the laws already on the books, and the results are frightening. (Google “Chandler Rapist.” He operated in my neighborhood, attacking girls aged 12-15, and raped three young girls from Andersen Junior High…less than a mile from my home. I have a 12-year-old daughter. Do the math.) If they were, these sections would not be necessary. The entire statute wouldn’t be necessary. It should be noted, however, that the law also provides clear defenses for entrapment in order to protect employers from cooked-up stings. Please read it, Sheriff Joe, and make sure you follow it.
The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding. Jan Brewer has tasked the AZ Peace Officers Standards and Training Board with drafting a training curriculum which will teach officers how to implement the law without violating civil rights. What they come up with in the next 90 days will tell us a lot about how serious we are about enforcing this law. Race is obviously out. But “Mexican” isn’t a race. In case you haven’t noticed, Mexicans come in all shades of color (due primarily to the uneven influx of Spanish, Austrian and French DNA; thank you, colonialism). But someone who, when stopped for speeding, can’t produce a driver’s license and has, say, a funny accent? That’s a choice based on nationality, not race, and would likely stand up in court if argued logically. It remains to be seen whether AZPOST will deliver.
Want to protest? How about protesting a federal government that is more interested in pandering to La Raza than in keeping its own citizens safe?