Arizona Law against Illegal Immigration
Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed a bill on illegal immigration into law last week. The main goal of this bill is to identify, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants. Under this law, the failure to carry proper immigration documents will be a crime. In addition the police will have sweeping powers to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.
The American President, Barack Obama strongly criticized this legislation. He said the law threatened “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe”. It came as a surprise to many that the state of Arizona enacted such a law considering the history of the state.
Arizona is a Southwestern state that shares a 389 mile border with Mexico. Arizona became part of Mexico when Mexico gained independence from the Spanish in 1821. After the Mexican-American war of 1847, America forced Mexico to give up Texas, Arizona, California and parts of Nevada. Even today about 29% of the population of Arizona are Hispanic or Latino.
Traditionally in most American states the Police have no role to play in terms of enforcing immigration laws. The police and other local law enforcement agencies have their hands full fighting serious crimes, drug trafficking and maintaining law and order. Many local police agencies do not want any part in enforcing immigration laws because this might alienate them from the communities that they serve. The Mayor of the city of Phoenix (the capital of Arizona and one of largest cities in the United States) is opposed to this law.
This law clearly will result in racial profiling and is unacceptable in a country like the Untied States. There is no question that a police officer is unlikely to ask for the immigration documents of a white person who speaks fluent English during a traffic stop but more likely to do so when it comes to a non-English speaking driver or passenger. This has very little to do with the officers lack of training or integrity but a lot to do with human nature.
Why should citizens be forced to carry immigration papers at all times? Immigration documents are very important documents that are extremely difficult to replace if they are lost or stolen. The state of Arizona is putting its residents in an extremely vulnerable position by asking the people to carry immigration papers at all times.
In the United States the immigration polices and the “legal” status of a person are extremely complicated issues and very difficult to verify (even for the immigration services). So how are the police officers and police departments all across Arizona going to verify the validity of these documents?
As an immigrant from India I am very aware of the complex processes involved in becoming a legal citizen (it took me almost 15 years). Unlike what most Americans think legal immigration to the United States (particularly if you are from a non-white nation) takes longer and is much more complicated than say immigrating to Canada, Australia or the European Union. This in my opinion is one of the key reasons why America has this issue of illegal immigration.
There is no single document that proves that you are a legal resident. Even if a person carries an expired document it does not mean that the person is in the country illegally as long as the individual files for the proper extension. It is a fact that even the immigration department cannot verify the status of an individual easily.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services now offer an E-Verify system. May companies require that their employees pass the employment verification using the USCIS online system. To their dismay many legal immigrants are finding out that the system is rejecting their request because of the outdated Social Security information of the applicant or other issues with the system. Considering issues like this how is an Arizona police officer going to determine the legal status of the driver and passengers in a vehicle within a matter of minutes?
America is going through a transitional period. White Americans make up about 65% of the population (excluding white Hispanic and Latino Americans). The U.S. Census Bureau in a report in August 2008 projected that by 2042 white Americans will no longer make up the majority of the population. The 2010 census is currently underway and we will have a clearer picture of such trends in a few months when the preliminary reports are released. Such news is troubling for some Americans and they feel that they have to do something about it.
America’s immigration battle cannot be treated in isolation. It has to be considered within the context of the role it plays in the world. America is an empire and empires have always attracted immigrants. An immigrant plays a key role in keeping the empire going and in a sense the price an empire pays for being what it is. Most Americans understand this dynamic. But others like the state of Arizona have chosen to fight the inevitable change that is waiting to happen in the near future.
Related posts:
- We Two Ours Two
- Age of Loneliness
- United States in an Education Arms Race with India
- Seniors in India Should Have a Living Will
- Is India or America Better At Tackling Terrorism?
Category: Culture & Religion
Arizona claims that crime is one of major reasons leading up to this, but crime can’t be fought with an immigration law. Whether legal or illegal, the immigrants are such a integral part of America’s overall infrastructure.
No question about it. In fact the American government should build a monument for those illegal people who are doing jobs that most Americans do not want to do anymore. This law has very little to do with solving crimes.