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tagged: 4th Amendment, Arizona, Arizona immigration law, Barack Obama, Beck v Ohio, Calderon, Constitution, Fourth Amendment, Hispanic, immigrants, immigration, Latinos, Mexican President, Mexico, Obama, Politics, racial profiling, racism, SB 1070, South America, US-Mexico borderArizona Immigration Law SB1070 Part I: THE LEGAL DISASTER
Posted by Roxanne Bauer in Politics
A lot has been said recently about Arizona’s new immigration law, SB 1070. It’s been called racist, a striking example of state power, and a publicity disaster, among others. President Obama himself called the Arizona law “a misdirected expression of frustration.” I think the President has actually hit it spot on. The law, while understandable in motive, is completely imprudent. Arizona knew which direction it wanted to fire, but missed the mark.
The recent Immigration Law SB1070 enacted by the state of Arizona allows law enforcement agencies to question “suspected” illegal immigrants and demands that upon finding individuals of illegal status, law enforcement must take action or face allegations of failing to enforce immigration law. This is a prickly situation for all involved, and leads us to fundamental questions on how immigration should be handled. The law states:
“For any lawful contact made by a law enforcement official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person.”
Proponents of the bill have a point. Illegal entrance into any county can be viewed as a violation of that country’s sovereignty and demonstrates a complete lack of respect for its laws. Arizona is right to be upset as many people are living and working in the state without adhering to its laws or those of the United States. And as the US economy continues to struggle and local and national agencies are forced to cut back on the services they provide, illegal immigrants’ subscription to these services is damaging financially.
However, SB 1070 does not address the situation of illegal migration adequately or judiciously. In fact, the law is highly offensive and legally weak. It does not provide sufficient guidance to law enforcement officers on how to determine what reasonable suspicion includes, and encourages racial profiling, both huge setbacks to the legal integrity of the nation.
The fourth amendment to the Constitution protects against unreasonable search and seizure, stating that warrants for search and seizure must be supported by probable cause and limited in scope to the issue at hand. However, the Supreme Court has also approved routine warrantless seizures for situations where there is probable cause.
And so, the main problem with the law passed by Arizona is of establishing probable cause. In the majority of situations, this will rely too heavily on race and the physical appearance of the person in question. Identifying individuals who might be present in the United States unlawfully would be dependent on skin color or cultural representation. The law may actually encourage racism because it supposes that race may be a reasonable criterion of suspicion, which is a direct attack on human rights and violates American citizens’ right to fair treatment. Nearly a third of legal residents in Arizona are Hispanic and some of these residents look and speak like undocumented immigrants so targeting those who appear to be illegal/Hispanic will no doubt lead to violations of civil rights of legal US citizens.
It is also unfair and irresponsible to pressure law enforcement to decide the legal question of reasonableness. When the law does not provide an objective or clear and logical way of making decisions people use their own experiences and personal knowledge to make decisions. In a landmark case, Beck v Ohio, the court affirmed that:
“good faith on the part of the arresting officer is not enough. If subjective good faith alone were the test, the protections of the Fourth Amendment would evaporate, and the people would be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, only in the discretion of the police.”
This case illuminates the problem created when the law does not provide sufficient guidance. As it’s written now, the Arizona law gives broad authority to law enforcement to decide what is considered probable cause and negatively and disproportionately impacts a certain race of people- Latinos. Good faith is inadequate because it provides law enforcement with extensive power without checks and balances, eliminating objectivity and equality before the law.
So, while I can understand those Americans who are frustrated by illegal immigration and want to protect their country and the services it provides, I can not advocate Arizona Immigration Law SB1070 because it is unconstitutional. It’s a sloppy law that, when read objectively, fails to meet basic legal requirements to be judicial. It does not explain sufficiently how execution of the law should proceed, and encourages racial profiling. Let’s remember that our pledge of allegiance (all good Americans know this) states that we are, “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice FOR ALL.”
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What an illegal immigrant may look like
A handy how-to guide for freedom lovers everywhere:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ashleytalong/what-an-illegal-immigrant-may-look-like-hpz
I grew up in hongkong where everybody has hongkong Id cards and if you don’t look hongkong Chinese they ask you for your documents in the street. I didn’t see or hear of any protests re that being discrimination.. Ever. As the country has limited resources and it needs to cater to people who are there legally. Americans and other white people seem … See Moreto be held to a different standard than everybody else and are ripped apart while the rest of us are free to do whatever we want. I think arguments against the Arizona law are probably by people suffering from white guilt. I don’t give a fuck if somebody asks me for papers. I will just show it to them. Big whoop.
The second point is unless you live in arizona you don’t know what’s going on is what people say. They have huge crime issues a lot of them from illegal immigrants. What they are saying is if you commit a crime then are found to be illegal you get sent back to where you are from. Sounds fair to me. They are not asking people for papers who are walking down the street. And even if they are, that’s fine too hong kong style. It’s only fair that the country accommodates people who are there legally. Resources are scarce.
Arizona is doing the right thing. Our borders need to be protected. There are many hard working hispanics that become United States citizens every year by completing the immigration process. Why should hispanics that basically cut in line be rewarded and allowed to skip the long process that everyone else had to complete?
I work on a military base. I have to show my ID every time I go through the gate on my way to work and several times throughout the course of the day. It doesn’t matter that most of the guards recognize me and my vehicle and they know me by name before even looking at my ID, I still have to present it to go through the gate. I don’t see a problem with being required to carry identification and showing it when requested during “any lawful law enforcement contact.”
You are a member of the military – you are flown to far off countries to install democracy, you are allowed to carry weapons and depending on your level of seniority, have intelligence knowledge, launch codes, state secrets. There is a reason you ought to show identification. Why should actual citizens need to carry ID so that the brown looking ones can get identified? America has as many problems with people overstaying their visas as the ones who jump the border but I suppose it’s hard to make out that white people are as much of a threat eh? As a so called member of the military, surely the “greatest country in the world” should be able to come up with enough intelligence to identify people who jump the border instead of putting the burden of proof onto your own citizens. So much for “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free“… oh well never mind. Freedom was overrated anyway.