Thread: Supporters: Az. immigration law protects citizens' safety

Supporters: Arizona immigration law protects citizens' safety

by Connie Cone Sexton and Ofelia Madrid - May. 30, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Supporters of Arizona's new immigration law put the rest of the country and Mexico on notice Saturday: We're standing steady; you can't shake us from our beliefs.

"Together we will secure our border and get our nation back," Pam Stephenson, director of the Arizona Tea Party, told a crowd of more than 5,000 people gathered at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

The "Stand with Arizona" event, organized by "tea party" groups, featured speeches and music and came after a peaceful march in Phoenix of those who oppose the law.

Larry Wachs, an Atlanta radio station host, gave the Tempe group a rallying cry: "Can you hear us, now Mexico? Can you hear us, now? Because this land is not your land. This land is our land," he said. "I pay for it. We work for it. We have our credentials; where are yours?"

One of the more emotional moments of the evening came when Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Pearce spoke. Pearce, the son of immigration-bill sponsor Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, was shot by an undocumented immigrant in December 2004 while serving a search warrant at a Mesa home. The shooting was one of the events that drove the senator's effort.

"As my dad says, it (Senate Bill 1070) takes the handcuffs off the police and puts them on the right people," Pearce said.

His comments were given a standing ovation.

Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, urged the crowd to hold to their convictions. "Arizona citizens have decided to replace a longtime failure with a long overdue solution. It's called Senate Bill 1070."

Arizona's immigration law, set to take effect July 29, makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. It states that an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest shall, when practicable, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally.

"The new law is now a state law," Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told the crowd. "If we catch anyone here illegally, we will arrest everybody and book them into jail. I'm not going to turn them over to ICE."

Paradise Valley resident Scott Wesley Brown arrived to the rally early. "Right now, the rest of the country needs to see the solidarity of Arizonans," he said. "This is not a racial issue. Arizona embraces Hispanic culture. We're all, somewhere down the line, immigrants."

Central Phoenix resident Kathryn Kobor carried a "1-800-Deport" sign. "This is a very fair and equitable law for all colors and ethnicities, as long as they're citizens," she said. "You must put public safety first. Hispanics want to walk the streets safely, too."

The rally drew many from out of Arizona, including Terrance Lang of America's Black Shield, a California-based advocacy group that supports civil rights and economic empowerment for Black minorities. He said his group takes a different point of view than that of other Black civil-rights leaders who have spoken out against Arizona.

"We believe in the rule of law," he said.

90 second video at link:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/temp ... rters.html

NBC reported this morning that the line of those in opposition to SB1070 stretched 5 miles. Can anyone confirm this? I don't trust NBC, and can't imagine that there are more people in this country who oppose this legislation than who support it.

If this is true, we need to do much, much better.

Originally Posted by melena29

NBC reported this morning that the line of those in opposition to SB1070 stretched 5 miles. Can anyone confirm this? I don't trust NBC, and can't imagine that there are more people in this country who oppose this legislation than who support it.

If this is true, we need to do much, much better.

i'm from arizona and i have to say most of us are not jumping up out of our seats to march ...

why ? we've already got this law signed into law ... now we just have to wait until it goes into effect ..

We must all focus on electing state representatives that SUPPORT enforcement. If we can do this for the midterm election, it will make enforcement efforts easier.