The editor of the Budgeteer News erred in printing the May 23 letter "Don't let Minnesota follow in Arizona's racist footsteps."
The first two paragraphs of the letter lie and mislead the readers. The Arizona immigration bill which becomes effective Aug. 1 is NOT "racist" and does not "legalize(s) the violation of human rights and civil liberties in the state." The legislation does NOT "mandate(s) that local police officers demand proof of citizenship from anyone they believe might be undocumented."
The truth (not my opinion) of the new Arizona law is this: The Arizona law in question expressly forbids racial profiling. It expressly requires law enforcement to have first made contact with a person for an infraction of the law such as a traffic violation, a drug crime, or burglary or what have you, and THEN, if law enforcement has "reasonable suspicion" that those they have stopped may be illegally in our country they may ask for proof of legal status.
The "reasonable suspicion" provision of the law goes further than federal law when asking someone to provide legal status. News reports have stated that the new Arizona immigration law was very carefully drawn by lawyers steeped in immigration law so as not to be overly-broad and thus discriminatory. If law enforcement does not carefully follow the law in Arizona they, of course, will be in violation of the law themselves.
Why do you suppose Arizona has passed this immigration bill? Can we in Minnesota safely presume that the legislators and governor of Arizona are racists, bigots, haters?
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No. Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona says she wrote President Obama at least four times asking for federal immigration enforcement (ICE) to enforce the federal law that does not allow undocumented illegals to come into our country. Gov. Brewer says Pres. Obama never replied to her letters. Not once. So, the Arizona legislature and governor acted.
Something like 75 to 80 percent of Arizonans approve of the new law. Why? Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnap capitol of the U.S. Burglaries, rapes, drug arrests, assaults upon U.S. border security officials, drunken driving accidents resulting in serious injury (even death) are up in numbers in Arizona as more illegal immigrants have streamed into Arizona. Hospitals, schools, and prisons are becoming strained to the breaking point as so many new people cross the border illegally. If they came in legally, their numbers could be controlled and done orderly. The federal government has not done its job enforcing the federal immigration law. A 700-mile long double fence on the U.S.-Mexican border, begun under the Bush administraion, is not being completed under President Obama. It should be noted that while most of the illegals are from Mexico others are from the Middle East, such as Yemen and Pakistan and some of these are setting up Jihadi training camps in our southwestern states. So, you can see how imperative it is from a U.S. security standpoint that we try to stop as many illegal persons coming into America as possible. So, the Arizona law is basically an enforcement law, a tool to see that the immigration laws are taken seriously and not ignored. Elected officials, including President Obama, take an oath of office to faithfully execute the laws. The President, in my opinion, is not adequately executing the federal immigration law. The Arizona legislature and Gov. Brewer have rightly decided to take the law seriously and to do their duty by deciding to enforce the law and thereby protect and secure the border and protect the citizens of Arizona. I commend them.
Sincerely,
Gregg Schweiger
