Thread: Debate over Arizona law churns rhetoric on both sides

WASHINGTON -- Despite the heated rhetoric flying from Capitol Hill to cactus country, discussion about Arizona's new immigration law is rarely devoted to all the factors that motivated the state to adopt the law three months ago.

The law, which requires law enforcement officials to verify the legal status of any person they have reason to believe is an illegal immigrant, has provoked inflamed debate over America's porous borders and an immigration policy that even President Barack Obama calls fundamentally broken.

Here are 10 reasons why its proponents say it is needed, and 10 reasons why its foes say it's bad.

PRO

The government has failed to secure our borders, so state action was needed.

1. "We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act. But decades of inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation."- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer

Arizona must take measures to protect its citizens, their lives and their property.

2."Can you hear us now, Mexico? Can you hear us, now? Because this land is not your land. This land is our land. I pay for it. We work for it." - Larry Wachs, conservative Atlanta radio talk show host

No society can function effectively without a fundamental respect for the law.

3. "It's just so outrageous. It's just an absolute insult to the rule of law."- Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce, the law's chief sponsor

People living in the U.S. without proper documentation are breaking the law and have no right to be here.

4. "This law is not about race. It's about what is illegal."- Sen. Russell Pearce
Illegal immigrants are responsible for a wave of violent crime.

5. "The people who live within 60 to 80 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border have been terrorized by the Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers. One rancher testified that 300 to 1,200 people cross his ranch every day, vandalizing his property, stealing his vehicles, cutting down his fences and leaving trash."- Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen

It will reduce the illegal immigrant population by letting potential law-breakers know that they are more likely to face apprehension and deportation.

6."I've been enforcing the federal and state illegal immigration laws for three years, before it became a big, recent political subject. Consequently, many people have left Maricopa County that are here illegally ..."- Maricopa County (Phoenix) Sheriff Joe Arpaio

With so many Americans out of work, immigrants illegally living in Arizona are costing citizens' jobs.

7. "Of the 1.1 million immigrants admitted to the U.S. last year, three of four were potential job seekers, while Americans were losing jobs. Reduce the flow of immigration and jobs will open for Americans."- Coalition for the Future American Worker

The illegal immigrant problem has damaged the Arizona economy by discouraging businesses from moving to the state or expanding their payrolls.

8. "The bottom line is that when I go about meeting with businesses that come into Arizona ... they want to know that we have a safe and secure environment into which to move their businesses here."- Gov. Brewer

The law was carefully written so it is not discriminatory and minimizes the possibility of racial profiling.

9. "The law is harmonious with federal immigration law and uses current federal criminal provisions as the basis for state criminal provisions. And in barring racial profiling, the Arizona law explicitly adheres to the strict standards of the U.S. Constitution." - Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio

Until somebody comes up with a better idea, this will do.

10. "The Arizona law is a good thing, if only because it is forcing America to look at the problem of immigration and discuss it realistically."- Steve Rothstein, Texas on the Potomac Facebook fan page


CON

Arizona's concerns are understandable, but it's blatantly unconstitutional for a state to try to assume federal powers.

1. "What happened in Arizona is that good people are so afraid of an out-of-control border that they had to resort to a law that I think is unconstitutional."- South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham


If every state created its own foreign policy, we would have chaos.

2."This issue cannot be solved by a patchwork of inconsistent state laws." - Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona


Only comprehensive immigration reform, not draconian enforcement measures, can fix the broken immigration system.

3. "We need comprehensive solutions to solve the immigration challenges we face. A patchwork of policy will create new problems and do less to solve the ones we have." - Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo


America is a nation of immigrants, and we should be embracing diversity rather than demonizing immigrants.

4. "To remain the world's leading economic power, we need to keep and attract the best, brightest and hardest working from around the world. And to protect our national security, we need to be in control of which people are entering the country."- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg


The law inevitably will result in discrimination against Latinos and profiling of "foreign-looking" people.

5."The Arizona law is offensive to Hispanics and all Americans because it codifies racial profiling into law by requiring police to question anyone who appears to be in the country illegally."- New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez


The law will force local police to focus on immigration, rather than on violence or other crimes.

6. "Laws like Arizona's put huge pressures on local law enforcement to enforce rules that ultimately are unenforceable. It makes it difficult for people here illegally to report crimes — driving a wedge between communities and law enforcement, making our streets more dangerous and the jobs of our police officers more difficult."- President Barack Obama


Most law enforcement organizations consider the law a bad idea.

7."The provisions of the bill remain problematic and will negatively affect the ability of law enforcement agencies across the state to fulfill their many responsibilities in a timely manner." - Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police


Crime along the border has gone down and fears of violence are exaggerated.

8. "Crime rates have already been falling in Arizona for years, despite the presence of unauthorized immigrants."- Immigration Policy Institute


Right-wing Arizona Republicans passed the law to improve their political chances in 2010.

9."(Brewer) puts her political survival first every single day ? Arizona is just an afterthought."- Arizona Democratic Party spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson


The law may hurt the state economically, with canceled conventions, tourist boycotts and the potential loss of the 2011 baseball All-Star Game.

10."It (any boycott of Arizona) is going to harm the 200,000 people who work in the hospitality industry in the state. Arizona has already been hit very hard over the last two years." - Debbie Johnson, president and CEO of Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 12973.html

I'm getting sick of this "Patchwork" argument. There are many, many laws that vary from state to state. It's always been that way as far as I can remember. The most obvious one being "State Drivers Licenses".