Arizona pols stoke immigration myths

By Raul Reyes

Democrats at the National Governors Association meeting in Boston two weeks ago expressed their anxiety about the timing of the Justice Department's lawsuit against Arizona.

"The governors are saying we've got to talk about jobs, and all of a sudden we have immigration going on," complained Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen. "It is such a toxic subject."

But Republicans are introducing the toxicity. The misinformed rhetoric coming out of Arizona, intended to justify that state's stringent immigration law, has ensured that we cannot have an honest debate. Let me rebut a few claims.

Statement: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said, "Law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded" as a result of illegal immigration. Rebuttal: The Arizona Guardian was unable to find any instance of beheadings.

Brewer did not respond to requests from CBS News and The Washington Post for details about these alleged incidents.

Statement: Brewer has also said "the majority of the people that are coming to Arizona and trespassing are now becoming drug mules." Rebuttal: T.J. Bonner, president of the Border Patrol union, said, "The majority of people continue to come across in search of work, not to smuggle drugs." Since October, the Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol, which covers nearly the entire Arizona/Mexico border, has apprehended more than 170,000 illegal immigrants. Only about 1,000 were the subject of drug prosecutions.

Statement: On Meet the Press, Sen. John McCain wondered, "Why is it that Phoenix, Arizona, is the No. 2 kidnapping capital of the world?" Rebuttal: Politifact, a fact-checking site, said kidnapping rates are higher in many Asian, Latin American and African cities.

Statement: In April, McCain said the failure to secure the border "has led to violence — the worst I have ever seen." Rebuttal: In May, The Arizona Republic reported that violence is not up along the Arizona border, despite Mexico's drug war. Crime rates in border towns have remained "essentially flat" for the past decade.

I recognize the costs of illegal immigration. Even one death because of our broken borders is unacceptable. But Arizona's leaders are playing to anti-immigrant fears while making a real solution all the more elusive.

Raul Reyes is an attorney in New York and a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.

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