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Since I have seeded a few stories about the new immigration law in Arizona, such as "Arizona, Equal Rights Unless You're Hispanic?", I have been surprised and appalled at some of the comments I have read throughout Newsvine. It seems there are a lot more really bigoted people than I had ever imagined. (I had imagined there were a lot!) There also seems to be a lot of people who are really naive about civil rights and racial discrimination.
I feel the biggest problem with the law is the problems arising from the racial profiling that are bound to result. How do you tell an illegal immigrant from a legal immigrant? Are you okay with the police stopping and questioning anyone who doesn't look like a U.S. Citizen? For that matter, what does a U.S. Citizen look like?
If you have a Spanish accent, are speaking Spanish, or have brown skin, you are much more likely to be stopped, questioned, and asked to show your "papers" than if you look and sound European, for example. I don't think an illegal immigrant in Arizona from Ireland will have to worry very much about being hassled by the police.
Arizona is an overwhelmingly white state, and virtually all illegal immigrants—perhaps about half a million in the state—are Hispanic. Whom else would cops suspect and arrest but the brown ones? Even American Latinos who happen to be out without their driving license might be at risk.
Illegal immigration was already a federal crime. The new law, however, makes it a state crime and requires the police, as opposed to federal agents, to make arrests and check the immigration status of individuals who look suspicious to them. Citizens who think their cops are not vigilant enough are encouraged to sue their cities or counties, and no city or county may remain a “sanctuary” where this law is not enforced.
Arizona’s Latinos have not mobilized politically. They make up 30% of the state’s population, but only 12% of the electorate. And many are from families that have been American for generations, no longer speak Spanish, and are ambivalent toward the new arrivals. This is something that may soon change as a side effect of the new law.
A detrimental side effect of the new law, voiced in a letter to the school, University of Arizona President Robert Shelton said the college is feeling the effects of the state's new immigration law -- by losing students.
He wrote:
"We have already begun to feel an impact from SB1070. The families of a number of out-of-state students (to date all of them honors students) have told us that they are changing their plans and will be sending their children to universities in other states. This should sadden anyone who cares about attracting the best and brightest students to Arizona.
Additionally, large numbers of UA students, faculty, staff, and appointed professionals have expressed concerns that they or members of their families or their friends may now be subject to unwarranted detainment by police. Many of these individuals are from families that have been residents of Arizona for generations. While I am completely confident that no one need fear the way that UAPD will approach the application of this law, I nevertheless appreciate the anxiety that friends and colleagues are feeling. It is a concern and fear that no one should have to harbor."
There have also been numerous calls to boycott Arizona because of the new law. This isn't the first time Arizona has been boycotted for racial discrimination. The state lost about 170 conventions from 1990 to 1993 from boycotts because of the state's failure to approve a Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
So the next question is, what are going to be the ramifications of Arizona going out on its own, and passing this new law? Only time will bring us the answers.
