My best friend Maria Elena is currently on a short vacation in Arizona. The first thing I asked her was if she brought her passport. I knew she was not going out of the country, but I know that now in Arizona it is legal to pull over “Hispanics”, or “Hispanic-looking” people, without question. She and I were born in Central American countries and became US citizens together at the age of 2. Although we have lived in the US for our whole lives, the Arizona government could potentially pull her over to ensure she is not an illegal alien. This controversial immigration law is set to go into effect in July. The law was signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in late April; and now a dozen other states are joining in on this type of legislation. A recently released ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 52% of voters said immigration enforcement should be under federal control while 46% said laws should be made and enforced by the states. I am a big supporter of big government and this is an example of why: racist states like Arizona should not be allowed to make laws that discriminate against Hispanics! Racial profiling should not be legal no matter the circumstance. Although there should be some federal laws regulating illegal immigration, this is not the way to go about it. Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum said in a statement Thursday that, “allowing states to create their own legislation would create chaos and confusion for both immigrants and law enforcement while not fixing the immigration problem at its core.” She also added, “State-based immigration proposals should be a wake-up call to Congress, they need to take the steering wheel, fix the immigration problem and finally pass comprehensive immigration reform.” I totally agree. The time is ticking and if this bill becomes law, it will cause “massive disruptions and set a dangerous precedent,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL). July and August will be critical months for this law and we are crossing our fingers it does not pass. Maria told me that before she leaves she’s making a sign that says, “WE’RE HERE TO STAY.” My kind of girl. 
Today's politics and pop culture from a young liberal's perspective.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Another Cool State
My best friend Maria Elena is currently on a short vacation in Arizona. The first thing I asked her was if she brought her passport. I knew she was not going out of the country, but I know that now in Arizona it is legal to pull over “Hispanics”, or “Hispanic-looking” people, without question. She and I were born in Central American countries and became US citizens together at the age of 2. Although we have lived in the US for our whole lives, the Arizona government could potentially pull her over to ensure she is not an illegal alien. This controversial immigration law is set to go into effect in July. The law was signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in late April; and now a dozen other states are joining in on this type of legislation. A recently released ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 52% of voters said immigration enforcement should be under federal control while 46% said laws should be made and enforced by the states. I am a big supporter of big government and this is an example of why: racist states like Arizona should not be allowed to make laws that discriminate against Hispanics! Racial profiling should not be legal no matter the circumstance. Although there should be some federal laws regulating illegal immigration, this is not the way to go about it. Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum said in a statement Thursday that, “allowing states to create their own legislation would create chaos and confusion for both immigrants and law enforcement while not fixing the immigration problem at its core.” She also added, “State-based immigration proposals should be a wake-up call to Congress, they need to take the steering wheel, fix the immigration problem and finally pass comprehensive immigration reform.” I totally agree. The time is ticking and if this bill becomes law, it will cause “massive disruptions and set a dangerous precedent,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL). July and August will be critical months for this law and we are crossing our fingers it does not pass. Maria told me that before she leaves she’s making a sign that says, “WE’RE HERE TO STAY.” My kind of girl. 
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The new law is truly....well, despicable. You're entirely right; they should try to prevent illegal immigration, but this is just racial profiling. It's an embarrassment to the country that they passed this.
ReplyDeleteYou don't often see politics in sports, but now many teams are coming out against it. The Phoenix Suns wore jerseys that said "Los Suns" in protest, and many baseball players are already saying that they will refuse to attend the 2011 all-star game in Phoenix, unless they move it, which they're planning on doing.
But I completely agree with you, prejudice are (now) unconstitutional. Does this go against the Constitution? Quite possibly.
Exactly. After we've made so much progress in equality legislation (AA rights & women), this is taking us back too far.
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear that but that's great! A lot of baseball teams have a majority hispanic players.
I really hope they find a way to prove this unconstitutional before our country makes this embarassing move.