Liberals Want to Ignore Immigration Law

Liberals Want to Ignore Immigration Law
Mike Gallagher
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The ink hadn’t even dried from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s signature on the anti-illegal immigration law written by the state legislature before the shrieks and howls and wailing and gnashing of teeth began in earnest in the media.

“This is racial profiling!” they screamed. “What about civil liberties?” “All this does is discriminate against Hispanics!” they moaned.

Wow, what a fuss. Fury erupted because Arizona lawmakers had had enough and decided to become the first state to have the guts to give police the authority to do the unthinkable: enforce the law.

Some concept, huh? Actually letting cops do their jobs. So when an Arizona police officer pulls someone over for speeding or weaving through traffic and they discover that the driver has absolutely no identification on them and is barely capable of speaking English, that officer might conclude that the driver is in Arizona illegally. Ask any cop and they’ll assure you that it doesn’t exactly take a forensics team from NCIS to figure out that someone is an illegal.

But ACLU-loving, America-hating bunch that seems to think illegal immigrants deserve weekly ticker-tape parades down Main Street is mortified at Arizona’s chutzpah. They’re upset that at least in ONE state, the jig is finally up.

For too long now, the apologists for illegal immigrants have played a little game. They pretend to understand that the act of sneaking across the border and taking up residence in America is against the law. They even profess discomfort at illegals getting free health care, taking jobs that could belong to American citizens, and occupying seats in our country’s already overcrowded classrooms.

But they expect everyone to ignore the problem. They insist that illegal immigration is a federal concern and therefore oppose any effort for local law enforcement -- the real soldiers in the trenches -- to be able to do anything about it. It’s as if they believe there’s a magical, mythical federal army of illegal immigration watchdogs that just hasn’t quite yet gotten around to arresting illegals.

But it’s just a game to these folks. They resist enforcement of our illegal immigration laws and pretend to pawn the problem off on the feds so that the problem will never get solved.

Well, Arizona just took a giant step towards rectifying the situation. Polls show over 70% of state residents support the Senate bill that Gov. Brewer signed into law. I’ll bet the national percentage is even higher.

We are, after all, a nation of laws. And we live in a culture where carrying a form of identification is as normal as keeping your car keys in your pocket. When any of us walk into a grocery store and cashes a check, no one skips a beat when asked to present our driver’s license. If a police officer is looking for a criminal, he or she might stop a number of people in that particular area and ask to see their driver’s license. No one bellyaches about civil rights or privacy issues. We’re just happy the cops are trying to find the bad guy.

Hispanics have expressed concern that Arizona police officers will abuse this law and harass and intimidate “people of color.” Well, most logical, clear-thinking people don’t worry that cops are going to start rounding up Hispanics, throwing them in the trunk of their police car, and haul them out to the woods somewhere and beat them to death.

If any person -- white, black, brown or yellow -- objects to having a police officer potentially ask them for their ID, it makes me wonder what that person is trying to hide.

The classic media meltdown over the Arizona law came on CNN where a young Hispanic Army medic about to be deployed was interviewed by a reporter named Thelma Gutierrez (heaven forbid someone named “Buffy Smith” would be assigned this story). The young man was busily lighting candles on the steps of the state house, explaining that his family brought him here -- illegally -- when he was two years old and they all eventually became naturalized citizens. Now, he’s so ashamed of Arizona that he practically doesn’t want to live there anymore.

I honor his service to our country. I’m sorry his parents set such a lousy example for him that their illegal act became part of his life story. But I wonder if he realizes that roads between the United States and Mexico run north AND south. And I hope CNN does a follow-up interview with him when he, God willing, returns safely from Iraq and describes how soldiers do more than a little “racial profiling” in their ongoing battle with terrorists.

But here in the United States, Arizona just became the torch-bearer in doing the right thing when it comes to dealing with illegal immigrants.

Here’s hoping the other 49 state legislatures are paying attention. Let’s not make Arizona be alone in its act of bravery.

Who’s next?
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Arizona Takes Off Its "Rainbow Shades"
Cal Thomas
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Arizona has decided that if the federal government will not live up to its responsibility to control the border, it will. Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, signed a bill that allows police officers to inquire about a person's immigration status if there is reason to suspect that individual might be an illegal immigrant. The governor correctly noted that the new law "represents another tool for our state to use as we work to solve a crisis we did not create and the federal government has refused to fix."

The latest example of that failure is the Obama administration's refusal to finish the border fence begun with some reluctance by the Bush administration.

Critics of the new law, who plan a court challenge, ask how police officers will "know" by observation whether someone might be in the country illegally. Police officers regularly make judgment calls about suspicious behavior, whether it involves erratic driving, passing small packets on the street in drug-infested neighborhoods, or searching cars for drugs and alcohol. "Immigrant groups" are upset that in Arizona people might actually be forced to comply with the law or face deportation.

Let's get something straight. The failure to protect America's southern border has been a bipartisan effort. Democrats want more illegal immigrants in the country because they are a potential source of votes they hope will contribute to a permanent Democratic majority. Republicans and their donors want more illegal immigrants in America because they are a source of cheap labor. Once you understand this, you can ignore much of the talk about "human rights."

If a state, or nation, has laws it will not enforce for political reasons, it mocks both the law and politics, to say nothing of the cultural order. If the language of laws has no meaning other than what lawmakers assign to them after a law is enacted, it is proof that we have arrived in a kind of legal "Wonderland" in which Alice is told by Humpty Dumpty, "When I use a word ... it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less." To which Alice responds, "The question is ... whether you can make words mean so many different things." Politicians constantly try.

So what does the "illegal" in illegal immigration mean? For that matter, what does the less judgmental and legally vacuous "undocumented alien" mean? If something is illegal, according to dictionary.com, it is "forbidden by law or statute." If one is "undocumented" that person lacks "the needed documents, as for permission to live or work in a foreign country." Sociological and political considerations notwithstanding, the law should be the law and its requirements ought to be universally adhered to, or punishment imposed for their violation.

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, as of 2007, there are about 475,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona straining an already overburdened economy. Taxpaying citizens must underwrite the cost of schooling for their children, as well as visits to emergency rooms. In California, several hospitals have had to close because they could no longer afford to give free care to noncitizens. Gangs in Arizona operate under the command of drug lords in Mexico. This and other criminal activity threaten the peace and security of Arizonans and potentially all American citizens. Is this something that must be endured for the sake of "human rights groups" and "immigration rights groups," or is it long past time to slow the flow?

The Arizona legislature and Governor Brewer have correctly chosen to slow the flow. They realize a state and a nation unwilling to protect their borders cannot hope to preserve qualities that have made this country what it is but won't be for much longer if we permit this illegal invasion to continue.