New Arizona Law called "fundamentally racist."

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Gov. Janice Brewer (R-AZ) this afternoon signed the controversial immigration bill passed by the state legislature.

"For weeks this legislation has been subject of vigorous debate and intense criticism, and my decision to sign was by no means made lightly," she said after signing.

"Though many people disagree, I firmly believe it represents what's best for Arizona," she added. "There's no higher priority than protecting the citizens of Arizona. We cannot sacrifice our safety to the murderous greed of drug cartels."

The legislation requires law enforcement to demand immigration papers from anyone who they have a "reasonable suspicion" is in the country illegally.

In addition, she signed an executive order ordering a state police board to outline the necessary training for police officers under the new law.

She said she will not tolerate racial discrimination or profiling. Brewer also said she had worked with legislators to make sure the bill protects civil rights.

"We must enforce the law evenly and without regard to skin color, accent or social status," she said, adding that the bill's opponents are "over-reacting."

An estimated 1,200 protesters, many of them students, gathered outside the Capitol to demonstrate against the bill.

She urged the law's supporters and enforcers to be careful not to make "even the slightest misstep."

"We must prove the alarmists and the cynics wrong," she said.

President Obama condemned the legislation earlier today, saying the "recent efforts in Arizona ... threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans."

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) earlier this week called for a boycott of his home state if didn't disavow the legislation, which he called "fundamentally racist." Grijalva closed his Tucson office early today after receiving death threats.

He released a statement after the bill was signed calling on Obama to instruct federal agents not to cooperate with the Arizona law. Appearing later on MSNBC, he said, if this doesn't provide an "impetus" for Congress to act on immigration reform, "We're missing the whole point."

Immigration activists and religious leaders, and even Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), had lobbied Brewer to veto the legislation.

Brewer, who was Arizona's secretary of state, took over the governor's office when Janet Napolitano was named Homeland Security Secretary. She is running for a full term this year.

Napolitano released a statement condemning the new law:

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.co ... n-bill.php

how can the police suspect somebody of being an illegal [latino] immigrant unless they take skin color into account? if they take skin color into account, then how can they avoid "profiling"? enquiring minds want to know.

Well something has to be done about illegal immigration but this doesn't sound constitutional and is pretty scary.

The Constituion exists to protect Citizens, it is not some World Decleration of Human Rights.

As Abu Greb showed, it ends at the border.

So Homeland Security is now pandering to the Latino vote base, and bringing them in and doing nothing they will be granted automatic citizenship and vote Democrat. 15,000,000 potential new voters, all paid off with papers.

Race Profiling is hard to avoid when the target is Mexican Drug Cartels.

Lets see, you have no papers, no ID, do not speak the language, and are wearing clothes that are different than everyone who lives here, so how is asking where were you born a problem?

Until recently, the police in Texas were forbidden to inquire into the nationality of people they arrested, convicted, for that was a Federal issue. They have also been required to provide all services to anyone without asking how they came to be here.

So the public is paying for schools, health care, jail space, and the babies born who will get an American Passport. It is not hard to see that in a generation Texas will again be part of Mexico.

As an American in America, I find it strange that speaking Spanish is required for employment in education, law enforcment, and many other jobs, and businesses can be sued for speaking English only. With a third of the students having never spoken English, speaking Spanish at home, having no idea of local history, education must be carried out in their language, open to all, without question.

You can graduate from High School without ever learning English.

Only after being arrested, convicted, serving time, at the cost of the people of Texas, will the Federal step in and deport the person for being a felon.

Something over a third of the cost of running the State is spent on people who should not even be here.

It is not just a border problem, the Mexican Cartels have been making colonies throughout America, illegals in every County who are running a drug network. They can replace them much faster than they can be convicted, and as they work for $5 a day, can be cheaply paid if they do jail time, $1,500 a year is good money, with room and board.

The problem is, Homeland Security, our First Responders in Washington, who are funded to deal with everything, who would not want to waste their budget on doing what they were paid to do. They are IN CHARGE, they are the CHOSEN ONES, they are our OVERLORDS, and they will gather and chose which laws apply to the lesser people.

The People have spoken, given them unlimited power with no reporting, and no Constitutional problems, and endless money, now the take is in the employers who want illegals, and the Latino vote block, plus that nice tip from the drug cartels.

They are fully In Charge, they will chose what laws to enforce, and they mostly have an illegal housekeeper, or several, which recent confirmation hearings have shown they do not pay taxes or Social Security on. Do the People of America really think that Homeland Security is going to wash their own dishes, vacuum floors, do laundry, watch the kids, clean the yard, paint the house, when they are in charge of illegals?

Who can they be reported to? Homeland Security?

Not only do they not pay for housekeeping, about half of Obama's picks have been shown to not report income or pay taxes on random income, like payments for being a Director of the World Bank, that UN contract Service, and other things they just forget.

They are in charge, they get the money, so why should they do anything, unless they can be more incharge, and get more money?

The cartels have been caught paying off the Border Patrol in young women, and it is a better deal than where she has been.

Washington is well stocked with fifteen year old upstairs maids who will stay upstairs.

The reason things are as they are is because some people are getting the good stuff.

and the reason the illegals are here is because someone will pay them to do what they don't want to do. If they couldn't live, because the laws against hiring illegals were strictly enforced, then they would have no reason to come.

but then Americans businessmen would be 'the problem' and we couldn't have that, now could we?

Well this allows the government to stop and detain anyone "suspected" (legal citizens as well) of being here illegally and demand to see their "papers" or else. Seems like a breach of the 4th Amendment to me.

Keeping illegal trespassers out is racist? If you evict an uninvited stranger from your house are you being a racist?

ruveyn

no, that is not the issue, ruveyn, it is this:

• Allows law-enforcement officials to arrest a person without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes him or her removable from the U.S.

Chris Matthews asked Brian Bilbray (R-AZ) how the Arizona police would know how to target potential "illegal" Immigrants without resorting to Racial Profiling

...makes me ashamed to live here.


M.

No, there is nothing in the Constitution that makes it applicable only to citizens apart from a few provisions, mostly to do with elections. It is a much stronger protection of human rights, because unlike the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is binding and enforceable.


Actually, before the Republicans became so virulently anti-immigrant, they got about 50% of the Hispanic vote in elections. Not being racist and demanding that brown-skinned people prove they belong in this country is not the same thing as buying votes.


So we should let someone bleed to death unless they can prove their citizenship?

Why should people have a right to ask your immigration status is you're not doing anything wrong. Under this scenario, a college student who goes down to buy a pizza with only cash on them, wearing something "unusual" deserves to be profiled and possibly arrested.. or is that only of persons of a certain race?

This bill is disgusting - it basically makes being or looking Hispanic probable cause for arrest - in a state with a large LEGAL Hispanic population. Though I strongly suspect that it will be declared unconstitutional because there are some major 4th Amendment issues, plus a federalism issue as this is basically a state trying to interfere with immigration policy which is usually reserved to the federal government. We need immigration reform, but not like this.

Good for Arizona! While there are a few worrying points, they are minor and overblown by critics. For example, the arrest without warrant provision on reasonable suspicion of being an illegal. It's easy to knee-jerk and not like that. However, consider that reasonable suspicion of any crime is all that is required for an arrest anyway, and it is no big deal. It just means treat being in the country illegally is a crime treated like any other.

It is not fundamentally racist, it is fundamentally NATIONALIST.

Neither of which is a quality I find particularly attractive, and often the latter is used as an excuse for the former. The law is poorly written, and will be struck down in short order..l Given the civil rights violations that already occur on a daily basis here, this will only serve to choke the courts with cases they have no authority or ability to resolve. This entire thing is a waste of time, meant as a distraction and not a means to a solution.


M.

How do you determine probable cause with illegal immigration without resorting to racial profiling? This bill makes being Hispanic probable cause of having committed a crime - it's ridiculous. I agree it's either a distraction or pandering to a certain segment of voters with the elections being close and all.

Because you're supposed to go after every kind of illegal immigrant - European, Asian, and African but we know they won't go after the European or the African.