IMHO#2

One of the biggest hot button topics going on in the country right now is Arizona law SB 1070. Illegal Immigration has always been controversial but the new law has created a whole new storm. The law says that it is a misdemeanor to be without appropriate immigration papers. It also mandates that police officers who have a "reasonable suspicion" that a person may be illegal to determine the immigration status of the person in question.

In my humble opinion, this law is a major gateway to major problems. While police officers are technically not supposed to abuse this law, the reality is any power hungry or racist cop will use this new law as a cover to harass the good citizens of Arizona. I am not saying that all cops are bad and will abuse their power, just that there are those out there who can and will. “Reasonable suspicion” is such an ambiguous term that it leaves the door wide open for abuse of the law. Not everyone with darker skin and an accent is illegal and these are the people who are going to be the most affected.

I understand that Arizona is a big entrance point for illegal immigrants. SB 1070 doesn’t seem to me that in is a preventative measure to stop or enforce illegal immigration. SB 1070 instead seems that it will just open the door to harass legal citizens of this country.

Despite what supporters of the bill say, it is painfully apparent that this is going to cause racial profiling of all the Hispanic men and women who are here legally. It lumps then all in one category, suspected illegal immigrants. Anyone with darker skin and a slight accent can be arrested and given a misdemeanor if they leave their wallet at home.

We would like to all believe that there are no police officers who abuse their power. This is simply not the case. I cannot support something so blatantly racist. Or something that has the ability to become blatantly racist. If illegal immigration is what they want to target, the government needs to find a way to do this that does not impose on the constitutional rights of the citizens of the United States. SB 1070 has the ability to get really out of hand really quickly and seems to be only a few steps removed from another Japanese Internment situation.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/05/arizona.immigration.suits/
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arizona-immigration14-2010apr14,0,4677282.story