It appears to me that everyone is missing the point of this bill. It is not about discriminating against Latinos or any other group of people. It is a cry for help. Arizona is flat broke, and we can no longer provide social services to everyone, so a hierarchy of care needs to be put into place. The highest priority needs to be given to legal citizens of this country. We just don’t have the money to take care of and educate everyone who enters this state from the Mexican border. In addition, we do not have the resources to plug the gap and protect our own citizens from the violence that accompanies so many illegal border crossings. That violence is directed not only at American citizens, but also against the people making the crossing by coyotes and drug lords. In addition, it is not only Mexicans who come through: our border serves as a welcome mat for people of all nationalities and colors, including Europeans, to come through who do not want to process into the country legally.
The federal government has put Arizona in this untenable position by avoiding the issue of illegal immigration. Our state leadership has been brushed off in Washington. A lot of that is because our President doesn’t see Arizona as being important. By his comments, he believes we are ‘misguided.’ It is unforgivable that he sided with a foreign head of a brutal country, and made denigrating remarks about a state within his own country. The reason so many Mexicans try to enter our country because their own is full of corruption, violence, and poverty. We have a grand total of 7 electoral votes. Compare that with the 47 electoral votes from California and the 29 votes from Texas and we’re not even in the running to have any federal interest. It’s all about the votes, not what is best for the country.
Many American entities are condemning Arizona, through name-calling, boycotts, and other economic sanctions. An example is the sanctions against us from the city of El Paso. The city government is boycotting Arizona. It’s very ironic, because when you drive through El Paso, and glance over to the Mexican border, you will see a very tall fence, topped with barbed wire, stretching as far as the eye can see. When you glance over the Mexican border from Arizona, you see scrubland; acre upon acre of open land that can be easily crossed. Arizona has repeatedly asked for federal help to secure the border, to no avail.
There is a broad assumption that the people of Arizona are racist, and are designing tough laws meant to discriminate against good people who just want to make a living and take care of their families. This is simply not the case. The people of Arizona love their Mexican neighbors, are proud of the contributions they make to our society, and embrace the cultural diversity they bring to our state. We celebrate Cinqo de Mayo with our friends, and they celebrate the 4th of July with us. There is a rich blending of cultures here. The divisiveness is coming from outside our borders, in the busloads of people coming in, both in support and against SB 1070. It is coming from misinformation widely spread throughout the media and hate groups that look for racism in everything, and tell only snapshots of the story that cast Arizona in the least favorable light. It is also coming from the federal government; from the federal immigration laws.
The quota system severely limits Mexican immigration to this country. The majority of Mexicans coming into this country illegally fall under the “skilled and unskilled workers” category. Our government issues approximately 40,000 green cards each year in this category; over half of which must go to skilled workers. Unskilled workers have a waiting period of seven years. Conservative estimates are that approximately 250,000 people cross into the US through Arizona each year, the vast majority of whom are Mexican citizens. These numbers are rising, in spite of the threat of SB 1070. If racism and discrimination are the cornerstones of the hatred being levied against Arizona, it is grossly misdirected. The racism and discrimination comes from the federal immigration laws designed to keep Mexicans out of our country. Please point your fingers away from Arizona, and at Washington DC. At some point, our President and federal legislators must accept some responsibility and accountability.
Arizonans realize we need our Mexican neighbors for our economy. We need them not only for the shopping, but to work in our fields and service industries. We have begged for reforms to federal immigration laws for guest worker visas, only to be ignored by Washington. After Arizona enacted the law making it illegal to employ undocumented workers, some Arizona farmers had to lease land in Mexico, just across the border from their farms, to get workers to bring in the crops while their own fields go fallow. Mexican people want to work, we want to give them jobs, but our hands are tied by federal laws and quotas. We know the vast majority of undocumented aliens are good, honest, hard-working people who just want a better life. However, without help from the federal government, our state just cannot afford the services these people require.
There are also many undesirable elements that come with these huge numbers of illegal crossings. SB 1070 is an attempt by the state to return undesirables back to their countries. For example, a few days ago, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of Jamiel Shaw, 17, against the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office was dismissed. His parents sought to hold the sheriff’s department accountable for releasing an illegal alien onto the streets, the day before he allegedly killed their son. However, Los Angeles is a ‘sanctuary city’ for illegal aliens. Even violent gang members are returned to the communities they terrorize, rather than being turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. SB 1070 will assure that this will not happen in Arizona because it empowers local law enforcement to detain illegal aliens. The city and county of Los Angeles are both boycotting Arizona because of SB 1070, yet they cannot protect their own citizens.
I have a solution to this problem. Instead of enacting SB 1070, we should establish two separate entrances at each entry point at the Arizona/Mexico border. One side will be for all those entering the country legally; whether that be to spend the day shopping and visiting friends and family, or for legal immigration purposes. The other entrance will be for all those entering the country without documentation or permission. Busses will be located at this entrance to take these undocumented entrants directly to Los Angeles. We will offer them transportation, food, water, and first aid medical care if necessary, and send the bills for this care to the City or County of Los Angeles. They can then take refuge in the asylum laws in effect there, and not have to worry about any pending laws in Arizona. It will also shift the burden of care from Arizona to Los Angeles.
US/Mexico border in Arizona... trash not left behind by US citizens. Items found include the Koran and other evidence that many use this entry point, not just Mexicans escaping brutal living conditions
Fencing between US/Mexican border in Arizona... notice anything missing?
High tech fencing at US/Mexico border in Arizona
US/Mexico border in Arizona--shows how difficult it is to cross over
US/Mexico border in El Paso, TX. Ironically, a city that is boycotting Arizona's new immigration law
US/Mexico border near El Paso, TX
US/Mexican border, near El Paso, TX
US/Mexico border near El Paso, TX (oops)
US/Mexico border, Texas
US/Mexico border, Texas
US/Mexico border, TX (at least they have a river!)
US/Mexico border, Texas
US/Mexico border, California (many CA cities are boycotting Arizona's new immigration law
US/Mexico border, California
US/Mexico border, California
US/Mexico border, California