LITTLE ROCK — Anybody surprised at a federal judge’s ruling blocking key provisions of Arizona’s antiimmigrant law?
I didn’t think so. Supporters of the law, or at least its intent, would call it par for the course from a radical/ progressive/liberal government. Detractors would call it the only logical conclusion based on a reading of the law and the Constitution.
It feels kind of strange being a nation divided over foreign nationals. I understand that this has been the case periodically in our nation’s history. I’ve just never witnessed it before.
Certainly, the situation is exacerbated by the illegitimate status of an untold number of alien residents. (Estimates range anywhere from 12 million to upward of 20 million.) What I don’t understand is what’s driving the outright hostility that countless Americans have been exhibiting toward foreigners, particularly Mexicans, in the last few years.
Is it the illegal drug trafficking via Mexico that has these folks’ knickers in a twist? That’s a legitimate concern, but have they given any thought to why this unsavory brand of commerce has been flourishing for so long? Now that I think about it, therein may lie the answer. Maybe America is so angry because it has reared so many misfits, so many mental and emotional weaklings who would rather ingest mind-altering substances than contribute to the honest productivity of this nation.
If you think I’m somewhat lacking in sympathy for druggies, you’re right. I’ve seen too many families rent apart, too many lives wrecked, to be anything more than disgusted with and outraged about the whole culture.
The single largest market for illegal drugs-heroin, cocaine, marijuana-has long been the United States of America. Trafficking is a multibillion-dollar business because of the huge profit margin and the incessant demand for product. Arizona’s Republican governor, Jan Brewer, contends that most illegal immigrants, who in her state tend to be Mexicans, are “drug mules,” but if the horrendous economic and social conditions in that country are reliable indicators, and I think they are, my guess would be that more are looking for work and a better life, hopes that would be summarily dashed for anyone caught hauling dope.
Attorney General Terry Goddard, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, told The Associated Press that Brewer “does not understand the difference between illegal immigration and the organized criminals who are members of the violent drug cartels who pose a very real danger.”
Roberto Suro, a University of Southern California journalism professor who founded a research center on Hispanics, told the AP that he was skeptical of Brewer’s assertion, partly because federal authorities would be trumpeting many more drug seizures than they do.
“The Border Patrol is not secretive about saying when they apprehend 10 people and found knapsacks (containing drugs) nearby,” he said.
Of course, I could be entirely off base. Maybe the hostility toward illegal aliens has more to do with plain old-fashioned bigotry. What do you think? Enlighten me. This inquiring mind wants to know.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton didn’t strike down the entire law. Opining that the U.S. government is likely to prevail at trial, she issued a temporary injunction against enforcing portions of the law that make it a crime for people to fail to apply for or carry alien registration papers, or to “solicit, apply for or perform work,” and that require police to try to determine the immigration status of people they arrest and to stop or detain people (without a warrant) while enforcing other laws if they reasonably suspect them of being here illegally.
According to news reports, parts of the law that were permitted to stand-they took effect yesterday-include a ban on so-called sanctuary cities (those with laws or policies that make them relatively safe for undocumented aliens); a ban on hiring day workers; and sanctions for employers who hire illegal immigrants.
Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, who wrote of the law, said he anticipates a protracted legal fight and has from the beginning.
“I wrote it to go to the Supreme Court,” he told reporters after Bolton’s ruling came out. “I’m begging for that fistfight at the Supreme Court. We will win in a 5-4 decision and finally settle this problem.”
The crux of the Justice Department’s argument is that immigration is a federal concern and federal law overrides state law, and Bolton toed that line.
“Even though Arizona’s interests may be consistent with those of the federal government, it is not in the public interest for Arizona to enforce pre-empted laws,” she wrote.
Associate Editor Meredith Oakley is editor of the Voices page.
Editorial, Pages 17 on 07/30/2010