I live 15 minutes from Mexico. Not a day goes by that we don’t hear news reports of brutal murders. The drug cartels are at war, and the Mexican government’s paltry efforts have continually failed to stop it. Sometimes, the cartels even cross into El Paso and murder people. It’s a scary situation a lot of people live with daily. We see Mexican license plates all over town. Who knows who those people could be? Although the majority of those killed do seem to have ties to cartels in one way or another, sometimes innocent people are killed. So when I hear people from Wisconsin or Tennessee or Oregon or Mississippi criticize the immigration law passed by Arizona, it irks me. Especially since it’s very obvious they have not even read the bill.
People complain about the requirement for aliens (immigrants) to carry ID of their status, but that is in compliance with Federal law. My wife is required to do that, and I make a habit of it. It doesn’t bother me to have people check, which they do every time I cross the border. I’m glad they are paying attention to their job. Here’s the US statute:
In violation of 8 United States Code section 1304(e) [states: “Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.”] or 1306(a).
They say the law encourages racial profiling, but here’s what it actually says:
F. This section shall be enforced without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability or national origin.
They criticize the idea that police and other law enforcement officers can turn in to the Federal government people with illegal or unprovable status, but here’s what the federal law says.
A law enforcement officer or agency communicating with the United States immigration and customs enforcement or the United States border protection pursuant to 8 United States Code section 1373(c) [KEYTLaw Comment – Section 1373(c) states: “The Immigration and Naturalization Service shall respond to an inquiry by a Federal, State, or local government agency, seeking to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, by providing the requested verification or status information.]
Read the law for yourself here:
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/azstarnet.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/6/47/206/64720634-4e56-11df-9876-001cc4c03286.pdf.pdf?_dc=1272472755
The law is not racist, and if they enforce properly, it never will be. Instead of lashing out in ignorance, inform yourself. Know what you’re talking about by reading the bill and recognize that if you don’t live near the border, you don’t really know what the issues are.
For what it’s worth…
