imported post
Repeater wrote:
The Arizona law allows cops to stop anyone they think is in the country illegally and arrest folks who can't prove their immigration status or citizenship.
Let's change the wording a little here, and see how y'all feel about this law if it were to be applied more broadly:
The Arizona law allows cops to stop anyone they think is carrying a firearm illegally and arrest folks who can't prove they are not a prohibited person.
Now how do you feel about this sort of vague, overarching law that broadens police authority based on the subjective perceptions of officers in the field?...
Don't get me wrong--I'm all for clamping down on illegal immigration. But giving the police the authority to detain, question, and potentially arrest people based on the condition that a cop "doesn't like the way you look" is a VERY dangerous precedent to set, and WILL lead to abuses and civil rights violations with regards to ALL sorts of otherwise legal activities.
This is what the whole "color of law" thing is about. When an LEO can use his own interpretation of some vague, broadly-defined law to impose his personal ideas and opinions on the Citizenry, it ceases to be "law enforcement" and steps into the realm of "color of law harassment"...
Will Massachusetts pass a similar law if this AZ law stands? There are more illegal Irish imigrants in MA now that there were in the 1800's. Where will that put people like me? I'm of Irish decent. I occasionally wear t-shirts with celtic-themed designs. If I visit MA, does wearing a shamrock pin on my hat now qualify me to be a "suspected illegal"?
I legally OC all the time in NC, VA, PA and WV. If this AZ law stands, will other states use this precedent to bully OCers, under color of law, to stop OCing, through increased stops, detentions, and requiring IDs and paperwork? After all, criminals carry guns, so what's to say that ANYONE with a gun might not be a criminal? See where this might go?
This AZ law sets a VERY dangerous precedent, and is practically custom-designed for abuse under color of law.
Anyone who values liberty and a "rule of law" should oppose this law.
There are PLENTy of other laws ALREADY on the books that deal with illegal immigration. The problem will NOT be solved with more laws. It will ONLY be solved by enforcing the laws already in existance--which the Federal government (and many states) seem hesitant to do.
If they were as strict and diligent with immigration law as they are with firearms law or tax law, illegal immigration wouldn't be much of an issue at all...
I would NEVER stand on the same side of ANY legal argument with Bloomberg, but on this one, he may actually be right. The fact that he is right for all the wrong reasons doesn't matter--this law WILL lead to abuse, and it will end up costing AZ a LOT of money when they detain, harass, and arrest a legal US citizen because some LEO didn't like the way he looked. This AZ law is a big fat Federal Civil Rights Violation lawsuit waiting to happen, and eventually, they are going to arrest some professional baseball player of El Salvadoran descent, or some Hispanic investment banker, or some well-connected activist from La Raza or MEChA--someone with the time, pride, attitude, and money to sue their sorry asses--and AZ will end up writing a HUMONGOUS check.
Mark my words...