Thread: Arizona has become 'ground zero' of immigration fight

Arizona has become 'ground zero' of immigration fight

Updated 6m ago
By Dennis Wagner and Emily Bazar, USA TODAY

PHOENIX — When activists from around the country rally for immigrants' rights Saturday, it's no coincidence that they'll converge here.

Arizona is the flash point of the immigration debate, a place where high levels of illegal immigration have led to state and local restrictions, most recently a law that requires government workers to report illegal immigrants seeking public benefits.

Perhaps the most visible figure in Arizona's immigration politics is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He has won praise and condemnation for having deputies swarm neighborhoods, stopping people in search of criminals and illegal immigrants.

His department is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegations of racial profiling and discrimination based on national origin.

Arpaio says that won't stop him. "I'm not going to ignore the laws because of pressure from Washington or demonstrators or politicians," he says.

He has become a symbol of much that the immigrants' rights movement objects to; he says he's "the poster boy."

In rallying against Arpaio and other Arizona politicians and laws, protesters will call for a federal solution to the state's immigration problems.

The issue resonates here because more people cross illegally into the USA through Arizona than anywhere else — nearly half those caught in the past fiscal year, the Border Patrol says. That does not include those who got past the security gantlet.

"Arizona has been an incubator for hate legislation," says Danny Ortega, a Phoenix attorney who is chairman of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization.

"Because an idea is popular doesn't mean it doesn't violate civil rights, it doesn't mean it doesn't violate human rights and it doesn't mean it's constitutional," he says.

Chris Simcox, founder of the border-watch group the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, counters that inadequate border enforcement and federal inaction have forced Arizonans to act.

"Arizona is ground zero not only for illegal immigration, but for exercising our rights — for fighting back," says Simcox, who is challenging Arizona Sen. John McCain in the Republican primary this year.

Arizona has adopted several measures to combat illegal immigration, including a 2007 law requiring employers to use a federal database to verify the legal status of employees. A business can lose its license for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

Republican state Sen. Russell Pearce, the author of many of those policies, says lawmakers have a responsibility. "Either you enforce the law or you become a victim to your laws," he says.

Rony Martinez, 43, is traveling today from Hempstead, N.Y., to the Phoenix protest. The factory machine operator is with the Workplace Project, a group that advocates for better conditions for immigrant workers. He fears that what's happening in Arizona is spreading elsewhere.

"What Sheriff Arpaio is doing is seen by anti-immigrant groups in other parts of the country as a model for what they can do," he says. "We don't want more clones of him."

Wagner reports for The Arizona Republic. Bazar reported from McLean, Va.
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Go Sheriff Joe!

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-4842--0-0.html

"What Sheriff Arpaio is doing is seen by anti-immigrant groups in other parts of the country as a model for what they can do," he says. "We don't want more clones of him."

And I don't care what you want. The American people would love to have clones of Sheriff Joe in their towns and counties.

NOOOOO!!! They don't want more clones of Sheriff Joe. Can't have that enforcement stuff, not on the ILLEGALS. That might get in the way of their Reconquista agenda. However, they don't mind the fact that Obama is a clone of Jorge Boosh (both globalist elitists' puppets) on the invasion. Two of the best El Presidente's Meheco ever had.

Actually this is good news in a way. Every time Illegal invaders take to our streets demonstrating and demanding this and demanding that (of which they have NO rights), it serves to wake America up to this problem all over again. That's why they cooled it on the big marches in the streets of our cities every May. It backfired on them and left a terrible taste in the mouth of the American People and helped to cause a huge backlash against the invasion.

Personally, I don't see why millions of foreign invaders in the streets of a nation waving foreign flags and clearly stating that they are here to take over shouldn't be looked upon as an act of war. Unless I'm missing something, it's almost the definition of an act of war. If it were South Americans in those numbers doing this in Meheco, I suspect that's exactly how it would be percieved by them. But then, they have a government that is loyal to their country. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have much of that kind of loyalty in the district of criminals.

Make no mistake, this is the agenda of the New World Order that Boosh Sr. talked about and it must be stopped if America is to survive.

Wouldn't it be something if Simcox BEAT Juan McAmnesty for that U.S. Senate seat?? That might actually give us some change we could believe in.

SHERRIF JOE IS JUST DOING WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE DOING BUT WON'T DO. OUR GOVERNMENT IS ALL ABOUT ALLOWING MEXICO AND OTHER HISPANIC COUNTRIES WITH CITIZENS WHO ARE HERE ILLEGALLY DICTATE WHAT OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS SHOULD BE. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OF YEARS AGO WOULD NOT TOLERATE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY TODAY, AND IT SHOULDN'T BE TOLERATED BY THE PREVIOUS AND PRESENT ADMINSTRATIONS OF OUR TIME. THESE PEOPLE ARE HERE UNINVITED AND THEY SHOULD NOT EXPECT TO HAVE ANY RIGHTS CIVIL OR ANY OTHER RIGHTS. THEY NEED TO GO HOME AND MAKE DEMANDS OF THEIR OWN COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Originally Posted by LadyStClaire

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OF YEARS AGO WOULD NOT TOLERATE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY TODAY, AND IT SHOULDN'T BE TOLERATED BY THE PREVIOUS AND PRESENT ADMINSTRATIONS OF OUR TIME. :!:

In 1986 The Reagan Amnesty gave citizenship to more than 3 million illegal aliens. When they got their citizenship each of them got to sponsor their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and children to come here too. When that new bunch got their citizenship they too got to sponsor their relatives to come here, as will be done if this new amnesty ever passes. It's called Chain Migration, and it never ends.

While the chain migration was legal, the lack of securing the borders opened the flood of illegals hoping for the next amnesty.
Anyone know if granting TPS to Haitians means that there will be chain migration from Haiti? I am too pooped to go research this tonight.

Originally Posted by vortex

While the chain migration was legal, the lack of securing the borders opened the flood of illegals hoping for the next amnesty.
Anyone know if granting TPS to Haitians means that there will be chain migration from Haiti? I am too pooped to go research this tonight.

As far as I know no one can sponsor their relative to come here until they have citizenship themselves. Anyway I hope so.

Who Can I Sponsor for a Green Card?
U.S. Citizens can sponsor additional family members that green card holders cannot sponsor. ..... Brothers and sisters can only be sponsored by U.S. Citizens. ... They can sponsor their brothers and sisters (and their families which may include nieces ... The first step is to sponsor a relative for a green card. ...
http://www.vidagolaw.com/blog/who-can-i ... reen-card/