Arizona and Their Immigration Solution

Arizona HB 2162
On April 30, the Arizona legislature passed, and Governor Brewer signed, House Bill 2162, which modified the law that had been signed a week earlier, with the amended text stating that "prosecutors would not investigate complaints based on race, color or national origin."[25] The new text also states that police may only investigate immigration status incident to a "lawful stop, detention, or arrest", lowers the original fine from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $100, and changes incarceration limits from 6 months to 20 days for first-time offenders.[22]
Arizona is the first state with such a law like the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.[5] Prior law in Arizona, and the law in most other states, does not mandate that law enforcement personnel ask about the immigration status of those they encounter.[12] Many police departments discourage such inquiries for fear that immigrants will not report crimes or cooperate in other investigations.[12]

There are two important differences in this bill and what has happened before in Arizona. 1. The police officer is authorized to inquire as to an individuals immigration status after the same sort of police investigation that has previously existed.. So the initial contact REMAINS THE SAME. The second change is that the police officer can take the suspect to jail. Previously they turned them over to ICE.

The second change is the one that should have created the debate. Many of the police departments do not have the facilities to handle the potential large numbers of suspected illegal immigrants.

As usual the Federal government has failed to do their part which precipitated this crisis.

We should focus on the complete lack of honesty in the US media in accurately reporting the implications of this bill. The media does have the responsibility for inflaming an already very passionate interest. The US government has done a pathetic job in seeking a solution. How the former governor of Arizona and now Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano could possibly say in the face of out of control crime along the border and the recent deaths in the Tucson area that the border has never been more secure, is ludicous.

We are in a sad state if our law enforcement can not ascertain the identity of a suspect. But this is not about reason, this is about agenda. And clearly that agenda is not in the best interests of the majority of Americans. Our leaders are motivated what they think best for us as they continually marginalize our critcisms.

If you are interested in maintaining some semblance of what America was envisioned by the founders that wrote our constitution, vote this November for the Republican, Democrat, or independent that will represent your conservative view.