Monday,
August 9, 2010
Will Arizona's SB1070 lead to Immigration Laws 'Lite'?
Frontera NorteSur
While
the recent ruling by federal Judge Susan Bolton that suspended four central provisions of Arizona SB1070 might bring some
modicum of relief to people confronted with the possibility of being stopped by local police and asked for their citizenship
papers, it left intact other sections of the law that immigrant advocates want tossed out, including criminalizing the transportation
of undocumented persons and making it a crime to block traffic while soliciting work.
"We really need SB1070 to be
done away with. We still see it as a huge problem in Arizona," said Opal Tometi, spokesperson for the Arizona-based immigrant
rights group Puente Movement.
In a phone interview with Frontera NorteSur, Tometi said the roots of the problem
extend to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program that allows local officers to assume the functions of immigration
law enforcers.
"We have to get rid of SB1070 and 287(g), Tometi insisted. The Arizona activist said Puente Movement
has formed community defense committees to educate residents about their legal rights and organize neighborhood cop watches.
National
opponents of undocumented immigration, who viewed SB1070 as a model to emulate, are reconsidering the type of legislation
that could be introduced in other state legislatures. In states including Ohio, Idaho and Minnesota, "SB1070 Lite" bills could
emerge, modified to conform with the clauses that were not initially rejected by Judge Bolton.
"I think we need to
make sure that we comply with the federal courts order," said Courtney Combs, a Republican lawmaker from Ohio who planned
to introduce a SB1070 like measure in the Midwestern state. Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies said SB1070
supporters would adopt a wait-and-see approach while Arizona does the "heavy work" in the courts.
In addition to the
Obama administration's case against SB1070 for usurping federal authority, several other lawsuits against SB1070 have been
filed.
As of
August 3, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's official website claimed 31,494 people have donated $1,455.672.60 to defend Arizona's
immigration laws.
Despite the refusal of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to fast-track Arizona's appeal of Judge
Bolton's ruling in the United States vs. the State of Arizona case, Brewer's office is keeping the immigration issue boiling
on the front burner.
Brewer blasted a leaked document from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services that
outlined how the Obama administration could issue more green cards to undocumented residents as a way of getting the immigrant
legalization process moving forward in the continued absence of congressional action. In a statement, Brewer's office explicitly
linked the issue of undocumented immigration with drug smuggling and terrorism.
"The amnesty memo obtained by US Senator
[Chuck] Grassley is very disturbing," Brewer said. "I hope the Obama administration would first be exploring and implementing
plans to secure our nation's borders and put an end to the daily operations of narco-terrorist groups in the United States."
In
the lead up to SB1070's July 29 kick-in date, a climate of insecurity and panic was indeed reportedly gripping some quarters
in Arizona. Scattered reports of undocumented migrants fleeing Arizona, especially to the neighboring states of California
and New Mexico, sprinkled the press.
Hector Ocampo Abarca, honorary counsel for the Mexican city of Acapulco, said
10,000 people originally from the state of Guerrero had relocated to Los Angeles from Arizona. "Family members, friends
and places that could help like missions are giving them shelter," Ocampo said. "Thousands more are expected."
Paulino
Rodriguez Reyes, migrant area coordinator for the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center in Guerrero's indigenous La Montaņa region,
said his organization was carefully observing the Arizona situation. Rodriguez urged local radio stations to monitor developments
and inform listeners. Migrants from La Montaņa tend to pass through Arizona on their way to California, Alabama, North Carolina
and New York.
Interviewed in the Sonora border town of Nogales across from Arizona, a pair of migrants said the
looming implementation of SB1070 forced them to return to Mexico. "I was afraid of getting deported and then punished," said
Nicolas Mendez, who added he had two US citizen sons living in Arizona. "It is better to return, so I could emigrate later."
On
the other hand, many people are determined to stick it out and resist in Arizona, said Monica Ruiz, national organizer for
the A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition. Ruiz participated in last-minute community organizing and Phoenix demonstrations against SB1070.
Some Anglos slammed doors or tossed leaflets back in organizers' faces, but many Latinos were supportive and welcomed the
activists, Ruiz said.
Immersed in a deep economic crisis, Arizona — especially the Phoenix area — is "polarized,"
Ruiz said. Half a dozen counter-demonstrators showed up at an anti-SB1070 protest with guns, Ruiz said. "It's a scene
I've never seen anywhere else, she added, "It's like a war zone."
At a New Mexico forum, Ruiz said Judge Bolton's decision
gives immigrants and their supporters some breathing room to organize against racism and economic demonizing.
"We're
all demanding to build a broad multinational movement against these attacks against immigrants," Ruiz said, "because at the
end of the day, nobody wants to live in a police state."
Others of Latino heritage are now wary of traveling through
Arizona. Early on the morning of July 29, the day the Arizona law was due to take effect, Orlando Pardo was driving his 16-year-old
sister Jazmin from Los Angeles to visit a brother in Albuquerque. Concerned about her children traveling in Arizona, Pardo's
mother had provided a notarized statement giving permission for the minor Jazmin to travel with her older brother.
"That's
how worried my mom was about the Arizona thing." Pardo told Frontera NorteSur.
While cruising on Interstate 40 west
of Flagstaff, Arizona, Pardo said he was pulled over by an Arizona state trooper for driving four miles over the speed limit.
The officer eventually handed Pardo a written warning, but not before asking personal questions about the destination of the
driver and his sister, and hinting about work authorizations.
"He didn't use those words, but that was apparent to
me," Pardo said. "I was thinking about wearing my 'Legalize Arizona' t-shirt, but I'm kind of glad I didn't," Pardo joked.
Anticipating the drive home to Los Angeles, Pardo added: "I will try to stay well below the speed limit."
Meanwhile,
Arizona activists have organized a legal defense committee for scores of people arrested in Maricopa County anti-SB1070 protests
on July 30, including Puente Movement leader Salvador Reza, who was detained by deputies across the street from a civil disobedience
action at Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail, even though Reza was not directly involved in the blockade, according to activists.
B.
Loewe, volunteer for the Puente Movement and the National Day Laborer Organizing Committee, said court proceedings are scheduled
to begin August 18 for defendants accused of obstructing public thoroughfares. All the demonstrators who participated in civil
disobedience have been released, he added.
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Additional
sources: La Jornada/Notimex, July 29 and August 2, 2010. El Sur, July 30, 2010. Articles by Xavier Rosado and Jesus Rodriguez
Montes. Colorlines.com
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Frontera NorteSur (FNS)
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Reprinted
with authorization from Frontera NorteSur, a free, on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news source; translation FNS
