Somebody send Arizona a copy of the Constitution, how about?
And highlight the Fourth Amendment, since clearly they’ve been unable to find it thus far:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
So what did Arizona do, in their attempt to address their issue with illegal immigration? They passed a law that calls for, in part:
It requires police officers, “when practicable,” to detain people they reasonably suspect are in the country without authorization and to verify their status with federal officials, unless doing so would hinder an investigation or emergency medical treatment.
It also makes it a state crime – a misdemeanor – to not carry immigration papers. In addition, it allows people to sue local government or agencies if they believe federal or state immigration law is not being enforced. </em>
So in at least one state in this “land of the free”, we are now emulating one of the hallmarks of totalitarian regimes everywhere, the beloved “Show us your papers”. In the stroke of a pen, Governor Brewer authorized warrant-less, unconstitutional searches of 25% of her population.
So instead of addressing the reason why people come over the border into Arizona illegally- to work and send back money to their families– by cracking down on those who hire illegals, they create a criminal class, with all the attendant police state financial goodies- increased police and judicial manpower, more prisons- you know, the same reasons they crafted the drug war, all those years ago. Now, Arizona has one of the worst deficits among the states, so where exactly they think they’ll get the money to roust a quarter of their population, no one knows (sure ain’t gonna come from the feds after this spit in the eye). And the illegals? Sure, they’ll avoid Arizona and keep on to California, where the state lives or dies on the backs of slave labor, which is what illegals provide- I’m sure the business community there will be glad to have the further depression of wages that a new crop of workers brings.
So, Arizona, even seeing as how I’m a newly deeded homeowner in your neighboring New Mexico, I’ll never set foot in your state again. This is a law that is impossible to enforce without racial profiling, and I sincerely hope that every citizen of Arizona with dark skin rounded up and illegally searched under this misguided hate act sues the shit out of Arizona. They can’t afford it- and as a nation, we can’t afford to go down the path of Nazi Germany.
Because today its little brown people, trying to support themselves, largely unable to do so in their own country due to its being crippled by drug gangsters- who only exist because of America’s insipid “War on Drugs”- but who tomorrow?
You?
