From Where I Stand: Step 69

Before we sat down to have our first bagel after volleyball this morning Dan said he believed Arizona with its new law designed to crack down on illegal immigration would become the target of late night comedians on television. Unfortunately, neither Sam, who was born in Mexico nor Manuel who was born in Spain played volleyball this week and were not available to comment on the controversial law implemented by our neighboring state. Mitch, the resident attorney, said the law would not change a thing because there was no provision to slow or deter immigrants without proper documentation from coming to the U.S. He said even if the law required local law enforcement to take action and turn violators over to federal authorities that as soon as they were deported they would just turn around and come back to find work. Then I raised the question of whether anyone believed Governor Jan Brewer who after signing SB 1070 into law said it was done for safety reasons and would be enforced without racial profiling. The tallest of the Mikes smiled and nodded leading me to believe he may have questioned the feasibility of such a plan. Dan said they could probably start by questioning anyone who appears to not belong, especially if they have a mustache. Everyone looked at Art who immediately said he had his driver’s license with him, but when asked if he had his green card said he was born in the U.S. and had no such paper. That may be all right here Art, but when traveling to Arizona wearing a mustache one would be wise to have whatever documents local authorities say are needed. Questions arose as to whether any effort by local law enforcement to apprehend illegal immigrants entering either the Angels or Dodgers baseball stadiums had ever been undertaken. Dan said he thought the teams were more interested in another form of green than whether or not any of their fans was carrying their green card with them to the game. Although continuing on his theme that the new law provided fodder for comedy, he said he could imagine a local police officer circling the Diamondbacks stadium in Phoenix during the seventh inning stretch questioning anyone with a mustache. Now, I have not had the opportunity to question my daughter who is attending the University of Arizona in Tucson to see what she and her friends think of the law, but my guess is she may have some thoughts about how it will affect customer relations at Target where she works part time. Two things struck me in the news about this over the past couple days since Brewer signed the bill that becomes law in 90 days. First, the governor’s predecessor, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, stated she had vetoed similar legislation because law enforcement officials told her it “diverted critical law enforcement resources from the most serious threats to public safety and undermined the trust between local jurisdictions and the communities they serve.” Second, in a letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times, Jose Figueroa, whose “mother’s family goes back to Texas before the invasion” wants to know “just what kind of papers are people like me supposed to carry?” He claims when he leaves his home in Los Angeles to visit his family in Texas he will be sure to get gas at the border and not stop at his favorite restaurants in Phoenix and Tucson, and “go through the state and not leave a cent.” Your indignation appears appropriate given the circumstances Mr. Figueroa, and may I also recommend that you shave before you leave if you happen to have a mustache.