Does This Mean I Can’t Wear My Sombrero in AZ Anymore?!!

Usually, I’m not much of a political writer. Mostly because there are no right or wrong answers with the issues. It’s an endless debate of trying to prove who’s right, who’s wrong, who’s got the best plan, who’s past is coming back to haunt them, etc, etc. But the new Arizona bill…………well………. that deserves a little bit of my attention. After all, it applies to me and millions of other hard-working legal and illegal immigrants in this country.

First off, let me just explain what the new Arizona bill means. Last Friday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a new bill that toughens the state’s immigration laws. The law doesn’t take in effect until a few months from now, but it’s got everyone criticizing it; including President Obama. If the U.S. President himself criticizes a new law questioning its legality, that should be the first hint to tell you that something is wrong. Unless it was Bush who was criticizing it haha!! No I’m just kidding with that last joke!!

The bill itself sets a new law in Arizona to “discourage and deter the unlawful entry and presence of aliens and economic activity.” Which basically means that if a person in Arizona looks like a "suspicious illegal immigrant" whether you're on your way to the market, or just out having a good time out with friends and family, an officer can question your status at any given moment. Let's hope everyone remembers their birth certificates and green cards!! (note the sarcasm) For a country that was and still is being built by immigrants, it is a huge slap in the face. And from a state that used to belong to Mexico, well, that’s an even BIGGER slap in the face!

With this new law being set into place, it will “put communities in the crosshairs by requiring state and local government workers to determine if a person is illegally in the U.S. based on a ‘reasonable suspicion.’” Call me stupid but wouldn’t the only “reasonable suspicion” in Arizona be a………gee I don’t know………hmmmm………MEXICAN!! Why don’t they just re-name the bill “Keep the Mexicans Out of AZ!” This undoubtedly will result in racial profiling and discrimination “as it does not prohibit police officers from relying on race or ethnicity in deciding who to investigate.” And with Arizona 3 out of 10 people being Hispanic, I have a feeling the police are going to be quite busy once it takes into effect. Hmmm….I wonder if there will be more job openings for police in AZ soon? Well call me crazy, but I wouldn’t want to work as one anyway since it seems like I’d be hunting down my own people. Oh the betrayal!!

I think back to wonder, what kind of person would support such a law? Oh yea I know!! Someone like my former college dorm roommate who constantly made fun of my ethnicity until I couldn’t take it anymore!! I won’t say her name to prevent being sued with character defamation, but this young lady thought it was funny to say little jokes here and there about me being Mexican. I’m not one for confrontation and I believe ignorance is and will always be around us so I can take a racial punch here or there. However, the first insult was a little prick with a needle to my hand. The second insult was a jab at my family. But the third insult where she called me a “Fuckin’ Mexican” was the last straw. This bitch got a mandatory “Did You Really Just Say That? 101” course with me. My two other college roommates can confirm this battle of words as they watched with excitement. I’d like to think that maybe she learned a little from our argument. The main thing I tried to get through to her is that she has to respect people where they come from. And that she was lucky that I only reacted in an argumentative way. Who knows what would have happened to her if she told those jokes to another Mexican person and acted violently towards her for saying them? For the record, she’s half White and half Irish.

Now it seems a little obvious that maybe the “intelligent” Jan Brewer didn’t really think this bill through because of the major financial burden it will cost Arizona (notice the sarcasm here). According to an article I just read on reuters.com, “The costs to arrest, detain, process, and transport undocumented immigrants out of Arizona will drain local government treasuries. There were an estimated 460,000 undocumented immigrants in Arizona as of January 2009, making up to 4 percent of the state’s population. If the federal government were to handle the entire undocumented population, the cost would be approximately $23,148 per person, based on a recent study by the Center for American Progress.” Also, “Local taxpayers will bear the heavy costs of lengthy court litigation.”

With police focusing on who is legal or illegal in a state where 3 out of 10 people are “illegal-looking” ooops! I mean Mexicans, the responsibility of police is going to be greatly affected. “The Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police firmly opposes the law for fiscal and public safety reasons, noting that fear of government will diminish the public’s willingness to cooperate with police in criminal investigations and will ‘negatively affect the ability of law enforcement agencies across the state to fulfill their many responsibilities in a timely manner.’” If even the Chief of Police in Arizona is against it (even though it’s for fiscal and public safety reasons), then how in the hell does this ignorant Governor think that she can get away with this?!!

I understand that the law is to keep ALL illegal immigrants out under “reasonable suspicion” (i.e. Mexican looking), but are they really going to question a Canadian person from Canada who could be in Arizona illegally? Are they going to question a Jamaican from Jamaica? How about a Japanese person from Japan who somehow got to Arizona illegally? No!! All they will do is look at the brown color of their skin as they walk to the store or as they play at the park with their kids and demand to know their status.

It’s sad to say but this kind of reminds me of The Holocaust. Jan Brewer will be Hitler, the police will be the Nazis, The Mexicans (or all illegal immigrants) will be the Jewish victims, and the prisons will be the concentration camps sans genocide.

The fact that Congress hasn’t been able to ratify an inclusive immigration reform that restores border security could be the reason why this Arizona bill came to be. However, it is not the answer. It is ignorance, racism, and discrimination at its finest. It denies rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. "It violates the civil and human rights of the Latino community. It goes against all human dignity, against the principles of most Americans I know" - Shakira. And excuse me for my foul language, but it’s un-fucking-believable. I apologize if I offend anyone. Thank you for reading.



sources:
http://www.americanprogress.org/
http://www.reuters.com/
http://www.yahoo.com/