Image via WikipediaARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW
(in the news...TAKE YOUR PICK!)
(www.OMAHA.COM) The law, which both opponents and critics called the broadest and strictest immigration measure in the country, makes the failure to carry proof of citizenship or legal immigration status a crime.
(HUFFINGTON POST) The new measure would be the latest crackdown in Arizona, which has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants and is the nation's busiest border crossing point.
Arizona enacted a law in 2005 making human smuggling a state crime and prohibited employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants with a law in 2007.
The latest bill would make it a state crime for illegal immigrants to not have an alien registration document. It also would require police to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally.
Other provisions allow citizen lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws, and make it illegal for people to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them.
-(SEATTLE TIMES) Makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally by specifically requiring immigrants to have proof of their immigration status. Violations are a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Repeat offenses would be a felony.Since I am the person that writes glowing reports about living large in Arizona...snowbird style...I think I should talk about how we think the new immigration law will affect us. This is scary!!
- Requires police officers to "make a reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of a person if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that he or she is an illegal immigrant. Race, color or national origin may not be the only things considered in implementation. Exceptions can be made if the attempt would hinder an investigation.
- Allow lawsuits against local or state government agencies that have policies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws. Would impose daily civil fines of $1,000-$5,000. There is pending follow-up legislation to halve the minimum to $500.
- Targets hiring of illegal immigrants as day laborers by prohibiting people from stopping a vehicle on a road to offer employment and by prohibiting a person from getting into a stopped vehicle on a street to be hired for work if it impedes traffic.
- The law will take effect by late July or early August.
My husband and I have a Hispanic last name. He is dark haired, very tanned and when wearing sunglasses, looks like every other Hispanic in Tucson. We love to go to South Tucson (a primarily Hispanic neighborhood) for dinner and drive through the neighborhoods frequently. The Old Barrio homes are beautiful and charming...I take pictures. Does any of this sound like grounds for suspicion? Not really. BUT under the new law, if we are stopped for a traffic violation, we will probably be asked for identification and proof of citizenship based on our last name.
The question would be What documentation do you carry? In Oregon, proof of legal residency is required in order to get a drivers license...but why do I think that Arizona police are not going to be aware of other state's laws. We will be looking into other proof and carry it with us. It may have to be our passport or at least a copy of it.
I have always used the old head in the sand approach to living here. I am not a resident of the state nor do I vote and I only pay sales tax. I didn't think I had any right to complain about poor school funding and ultra Conservative politics...I don't listen to radio talk shows or even read the editorial page in the newspaper. But now they have my attention.
The outcome of this law will be far reaching in this state and in our nation. It probably will be the catalyst for federal reform...not a bad thing. At the very least citizens in this state will be taking note. CNN talked this morning about the exodus of ethnic groups from New Jersey after they passed a similar law. Unfortunately, crime is like paste in the tube...when you squeeze it in Arizona it just goes somewhere else, probably California or New Mexico or even Oregon! Sigh! (See the Malcolm Gladwell reference below.)
My heart aches for the Hispanic population here. The law, as I interpret it, could require everyone to carry proof...but the lawmakers themselves admitted that it was aimed at illegal Mexican immigrants. Wouldn't that have made better sense if the Governor and legislators had stated that everyone caught in commission of a crime or a traffic violation or even in the car with a traffic violator could be asked for legal residency proof? After all, many snowbirds are from other countries. Couldn't they just fade away into the woodwork and be illegal too?
Just a thought!
I have always used the old head in the sand approach to living here. I am not a resident of the state nor do I vote and I only pay sales tax. I didn't think I had any right to complain about poor school funding and ultra Conservative politics...I don't listen to radio talk shows or even read the editorial page in the newspaper. But now they have my attention.
The outcome of this law will be far reaching in this state and in our nation. It probably will be the catalyst for federal reform...not a bad thing. At the very least citizens in this state will be taking note. CNN talked this morning about the exodus of ethnic groups from New Jersey after they passed a similar law. Unfortunately, crime is like paste in the tube...when you squeeze it in Arizona it just goes somewhere else, probably California or New Mexico or even Oregon! Sigh! (See the Malcolm Gladwell reference below.)
My heart aches for the Hispanic population here. The law, as I interpret it, could require everyone to carry proof...but the lawmakers themselves admitted that it was aimed at illegal Mexican immigrants. Wouldn't that have made better sense if the Governor and legislators had stated that everyone caught in commission of a crime or a traffic violation or even in the car with a traffic violator could be asked for legal residency proof? After all, many snowbirds are from other countries. Couldn't they just fade away into the woodwork and be illegal too?
Just a thought!
b
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The proof is your driver's license and registration.
ReplyDeleteMany of the border towns have had to close hospitals and are overwhelmed at schools. Not something Oregon worries about. I, personally, think a national registration card is something we should have. I was required one in every other country I lived in.