What It Would Take to Convince Me

May 7, 2010 at 1:25 pm (Immigration, Uncategorized) (Arizona, discrimination, Federation for American Immigration Reform, hate groups, hearing the other side, immigration law, immigration reform, racism, Republican Party, SB 1070)

I know I’ve written about SB1070 (no longer a bill, but now a law) before, but this issue is one that I feel needs attention. It genuinely perplexes me why there are people who fail to understand at least some of the objections.

I’ve already talked about why SB1070 is bad law, yet people on the news are insisting that this law is “not racist” and is in fact a great law. So I’ve decided to set up a list of things that it would take to convince me to throw my support behind this law. Here goes…

I would believe that this law was reasonable if countless Republicans themselves hadn’t openly speculated about the bill’s questionable constitutionality.

I would believe that this law wasn’t trying to subvert federal authority if it didn’t encourage frivolous lawsuits that go to fund the “immigration intelligence unit,” a mini-version of what INS already does.

I would believe that this law was reasonable if the law didn’t allow police to seize your car for transporting someone who crossed into the U.S. illegally, even if they have legal status now.

I would believe that this law was reasonable if it contained specific guidelines as to what constitutes “reasonable suspicion,” and I would be more assured about Arizona’s leadership if Governor Brewer could reasonably articulate a sentence.

I would believe that this law was fair if it went after employers instead of giving them a huge loophole to justify hiring illegal immigrants through “entrapment.”

I would believe that this law wasn’t racist if lawmakers like Brian Bilbray didn’t say that you could identify an illegal immigrant by the shoes he wears.

I would believe that this law wasn’t racist if the man who wrote the law, Michael Hethmon, wasn’t affiliated with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, identified as a hate group by both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League with ties to white supremacists, eugenics researchers, and European political parties banned for inciting anti-immigrant hatred.

I would believe that this law isn’t representative of a racist mindset in Arizona if Arizonans themselves didn’t add in that it wasn’t so much that they’re interested in rule of law as they are tired of “loud music” and their communities turning into “little Mexicos.”

I would believe that the Arizona Legislature wasn’t racist if they hadn’t also passed laws mandating that teachers with accents be reassigned and banning ethnic studies programs at the university level

I would believe that the media contributes meaningfully to this debate if reporters actually did their jobs and fact-checked everything people say instead of suggesting that we should panic about immigrants bringing leprosy to the United States when the numbers are basically bullshit.

I would believe that illegal immigration presents a serious terrorist risk to the United States if all the 9/11 hijackers hadn’t entered on student visas, the underwear bomber hadn’t legally obtained a visa, and that the Times Square bomber hadn’t been an American citizen. (You want real reform? Start there.)

I would believe that Republicans are sincere about reforming immigration if they didn’t explicitly say that they would block any federal reform measure until 2011, a campaign year for President Obama

I would also believe that all this isn’t aimed at undermining President Obama during the next election if the Arizona House of Representatives hadn’t passed a law mandating that presidential candidates would have to provide a “legitimate” birth certificate to get on the ballot.

Open your eyes, the evidence is there. This is all nothing more than a cynical attempt by conservatives to undermine the President so that they win the next election. They do not represent the interests of their constituencies — rather, they manipulate their constituencies into giving them the racist “mandates” that they need to eventually secure the Executive Branch of government once again.

Time and time again, the Republican Party has proven to not care about Latino interests. Now, it should be apparent to everyone that they are only legitimately interested in their own political survival. Once anyone can convince me this bill is a good idea for any reason other than “but they’re *illegal*,” then I’ll seriously consider throwing my support behind it.

Until then, I see it for what it is – a threadbare, shamelessly transparent ploy to secure power at the expense of the U.S. Hispanic community.