August 2, 2010

SB 1070 Supporters Rally Outside Statehouse

Message: It's not about race, it's about obeying the law

Hundreds of supporters rallied at Wesley Bolin Plaza voicing their support for the state's new immigration enforcement law.

The rally was hosted by KFYI's Mike Broomhead, who told the crowd that the issue is not one of race, it's about obeying the law.

To demonstrate that, the first speaker he brought on stage was Ted Hayes, an African-American civil rights activist.

Hayes told the crowd there's no excuse for entering the U.S. illegally. "They say, 'We're being oppressed; we're being treated bad." . . . You know what? Even if you are being treated bad, you asked for it," he told the crowd to cheers.

It was a common theme to the rally, which featured several speakers from minority groups expressing their support for the new law that makes being in the state illegally a crime.

Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, says the purest form of hatred is indifference.

"Where were the open border advocates and their banners when half of Latino homicide victims in the City of Phoenix were killed by illegals?," Spencer rhetorically asked. "Perhaps they were sitting in the lap of luxury. Perhaps they were sitting in the lap of indifference."

The event was capped by a speech by the law's author and chief sponsor, State Senator Russell Pearce.

Pearce says it's time for the federal government to do something about illegal immigration once and for all. "If they say you're going to secure the borders, then secure the borders," Pearce told the crowd. "If you say you're going to enforce the law, enforce the law. If you take an oath of office, you ought to keep it.

"Illegal is not a race; it's a crime. And here in Arizona, we recognize that."

Pearce took exception to the injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton that put key provisions of the law on hold.

"She said she's concerned about the burden it'll place on the federal government. Never mind the burden it places on you -- the deaths, the maimings. The cost -- $2.7 billion in Arizona, according to a new study, to educate, medicate and incarcerate (illegal immigrants)."

Before -- and during -- the rally, a small group of counter-demonstrators riled the crowd of supporters by laying an American flag on the ground and spray-painting words on it, including "Impeach Brewer" and "Deport Arpaio."




Supporters shouted at the demonstrators, screaming that soldiers died for the American flag. Police were able to keep the groups separated and prevented them from coming to blows.

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