While Harry Reid is fighting to grant amnesty, legislators in Arizona are attempting to enact a law making illegal immigration a crime. You make be wondering, isn’t illegal immigration already illegal? Isn’t that where the “illegal” part of illegal immigration comes from? Yes, it is against federal law. However, local police departments don’t generally address the issue of legal residency when they contact the public. Many local county jails have recently begun working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to determine if alien prisoners should be deported. However, it is still not locally enforced on the streets. Many law enforcement agencies even have policies against questioning people about their residency status. Arizona is trying to change that in their state.
The proposed legislation would make it a crime to be an illegal immigrant within the state of Arizona. Then all the local police agencies could question the residency status of people they contact.
Many human rights organizations are opposed to the legislation and claim that it will give the police the authority to harass anyone who looks “foreign”. Among the activist groups that are fighting against the plan is the ACLU. On a side note, as a general rule it is safe to say anything the ACLU wants to destroy now a days must be a just and righteous cause.
State Senator Russell Pearce sponsored the bill and has been it’s greatest proponent. He is trying to pass this law in response to the issues his state has had with the estimated 460,000 illegal aliens in his state. He is a former police officer who can name all the local officers that have been wounded or killed by illegal aliens.
If the bill makes it through the legislator and on to Governor Jan Brewer’s desk, it is unknown if she will sign or veto the legislation. She has not made any official statement about her plans for this bill. After an unpopular health care legislation bill passed earlier this year it may appear that some local governments may still be for the people, and by the people if this passes.
Its becoming increasingly more important to pass laws to help fight crime as the violence from the Mexican drug cartels and human trafficking is spilling over the boarder into the US. The bill is likely gaining support and momentum now that it is believed an Arizona cattle rancher was murdered by Mexican drug traffickers last month. If this legislation is passed in Arizona, similar laws are likely to be passed in other western states. We can only wait and see if Arizona will unleash a new tactic against illegal immigration.
