In reply: I just can't support SB 1070. I think it's a bad law.

In reply to: Arizona Law in Action: Illegal Aliens Arrested in Protest Face Deportation - Youth for Western Civilization
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"For example, if the police discover you are driving a vehicle lacking registration or insurance, or if you do not have a driver's license, they will not simply permit you to drive away."

Well, they do write you a ticket first, but yeah, they do generally allow you to drive away afterward... ...still without the thing you're lacking... ...and as long as you pay the ticket, you can generally keep driving without it, until you get caught enough times that they do haul you away as a repeat offender.

But I do see and more or less agree with your point.

"I don't see the logic of why immigration laws should be treated any different than any other law, or why people are allowed to continue to violate the law even after law enforcement becomes aware of the issue."

Well as I said, being here illegally is different than many laws, in that it isn't a criminal offense. For all the bruhaha, it's not even as serious as driving without license/reg/insurance... There's not even a fine involved, let alone court or jail time...

As I said below, I favor having police go after the criminal element first and foremost, and not spending a whole lotta time on folks who sneak in to spend 8-10 hours a day picking vegetables or butchering meat, or whatever... Yes, they are breaking the law, but I'd prefer that ICE deal with them.

I also think that we'd do far more to curb the problem of illegal workers by making it as difficult as possible for them to find work. E-verify, stiff fines/no government contracts for the companies who hire undocumented, unverified workers, and continued raids would do a whole lot toward getting illegals to deport themselves, without involving law enforcement unnecessarily. When there is no work for them here, many of the illegals who come here to work will stop coming.

(And--probably because I'm a liberal--I think it would be worth it to provide foreign aid to some of the countries from which they come, to improve the political, social and economic outlook there, so that leaving their homes and families becomes that much less attractive. I can see where Cons might not buy into that part of the plan, however...)

And I have no real issue with border fences, walls, alligator-filled moats or seriously increased manpower on the border, either. (though I'd insist that whatever we build be constructed by US companies and workers.) It's a damned shame that we need to ruin the landscape that way, but apparently we do need to do so...

My main point is, I don't believe that making illegals into criminals and going to the trouble of rounding them up, trying them, jailing them, and then deporting them is the best use of law enforcement time and energy. Better we cut off the demand for illegal labor here (and perhaps sweeten the pot by increasing the chances of their finding work back in their home countries) and allow the illegals to self-deport.

By all means arrest, convict and jail the murderers, rapists and thieves, no matter where they come from, and then deport their asses after they've served their time here in the US... But wasting time trying to do the same with all the illegal workers and families doesn't seem to be a good idea, in my humble...

(And that's not to mention all the problems with potential profiling and discrimination of illegals and hispanic citizens alike that I've talked about previously...)

I just can't support 1070, for these reasons. I think it's a bad law.
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Posted Wednesday, 26 May 2010 21:31 (Western Youth blog time)
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