Thread: Phoenix paper bemoans SB-1162 : bill adds to problem

June 17, 2009 |

'Local control' bill adds to problem
1 commentJun. 17, 2009 12:00 AM

The Legislature may give new meaning to that old query: Where's a cop when you need one?

Senate Bill 1162 makes it a state offense to be in the country illegally.

If it passes, the cop you need could be busy booking a dishwasher.
The inherent problems with this approach are illustrated by Phoenix's experience. A year-old policy change in how Phoenix police deal with immigration violations shows mixed results, with an internal department report saying officers are not complying.

One concern is a requirement that officers notify supervisors before calling federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Designed to provide a check on what cops are doing, it is seen as a paperwork burden.

Making cops do the federal job of immigration enforcement is a burden on local taxpayers, as well.

Yet lawmakers are poised to take that unfunded mandate statewide by giving police authority to arrest illegal immigrants on misdemeanor trespassing charges - a second offense could be a felony.

This bill changes your community.

Americans are fiercely proud of the fact that they don't have to produce "papers" on demand. Yet if this bill becomes law, those who look Latino would face enhanced scrutiny to do just that. If your response is "So what?" you might want to re-read the Constitution.

The bill also would result in high costs as local communities arrest, prosecute and jail illegal immigrants.

Sponsored by some long-time proponents of "local control," SB1162 forces Arizona cities and towns to follow a state-mandated approach.

This may not be accidental. The bill's principal sponsor, Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, has criticized cities and towns for views on immigration control that differ from his.

Now, consider Arizona's image.

How many top-tier companies will want to locate in a state that enshrines this kind of heightened scrutiny of Latinos?

We share the frustration of our fellow Arizonans over the failure of the federal government to deal with illegal immigration. But turning the federal responsibility of enforcing immigration law into a local matter is no solution.

It's another problem.


http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... d2-17.html

Americans are fiercely proud of the fact that they don't have to produce "papers" on demand.

This is only true if you haven't done anything to be reasonably stopped but if you so much as spit on the sidewalk where such a thing is illegal you had better have ID. No ID allows for your detainment, PERIOD!