Thread: Washington myopic as migrant war rages

Washington myopic as migrant war rages
Oct. 13, 2007 12:00 AM

It's been one of those weeks around here. Which is to say, like most weeks around here anymore on this, the front line of the nation's immigration wars.

The Valley's police chiefs announced that they have no intention of allowing their officers to check the immigration status of people they pull over. And the spokesman for the actual cops who cruise the streets of Phoenix - and one, Officer Nick Erfle, who no longer can - revealed that eight of 10 believe their inability to check the immigration status of people they pull over has degraded the city's quality of life.

Meanwhile, 2,348 miles away in Washington, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a resolution this week that designates the killing of Armenians during World War I as genocide. advertisement




Maricopa County's chief judge and chief prosecutor were back at it this week in their ongoing feud over whether judges are properly denying bail to illegal immigrants. A federal judge gave the Legislature until March to pony up millions more to teach kids English - or else.

And the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - which is suing us for trying to do something, at least, about illegal immigration - came to town to warn us to ease off employers. This, as a Yuma farmer took to the airwaves to warn that the nation's winter vegetables may die on the vine next month because we're chasing off workers needed to harvest them.

Meanwhile, 2,348 miles away in Washington, a congressman from Ohio and a senator from South Carolina vowed to sponsor bills next year to allow the word God on certificates accompanying flags flown over the Capitol. Never mind that the rules were changed this week and that God is already allowed on certificates accompanying flags flown over the Capitol.

Instead of worrying about flags at the Capitol, they might want to consider what has happened to flags in Tucson.

For 53 years, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has flown the flags of the United States and Mexico, side by side, at the entrance to the renowned museum. It makes sense, given that the ecosystem it seeks to protect stretches into both countries. It makes sense, given that the museum is named for the state of Arizona and the state of Sonora.

Lately, however, the museum has come under attack.

"We started getting calls from all over the country from people who had never been to the desert museum and had no idea what it was or anything about it," Rick Brusca, executive program director, told me.

"They were demanding we take the Mexican flag down because they felt it represented a statement of political refuge for illegal aliens from Mexico," he said.

Actually, the non-profit museum is a refuge. For bighorn sheep. For the ring-tailed cat. For all manner of desert life on both sides of the border.

Naturally, in today's climate, the facts were cast aside and the complaints turned to threats, vile enough that the museum has now taken down the Mexican flag. And, in an attempt to avoid offending anyone, it also took down the U.S. flag.

Such is the hysterical state of the Union now, when people are dug deep into whatever foxhole they've chosen in this fight, where there is no room for middle ground or rational discussion.

Meanwhile, 2,348 miles away in Washington, Republicans were gleefully attaching harsh anti-illegal-immigration clauses to every bill they could get their hands on this week, not to get them passed but to get ammunition for next year's campaign brochures. Not to strengthen this country but to strengthen their chances of retaking Congress.

Proving, once again, that there really are some jobs that Americans won't do.



Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8635. Read her blog at robertsblog.azcentral.com.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... s1013.html

I liked about 1/2 of the article, the top half. The botton half I did not care for at all. A very mixed viewpoint. The writer is trying to work on both sides of the fence at once. You can hurt your "boys" if you slip doing that.