CROSSVILLE —
State laws relating to immigration have increased in recent years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In 2005, 300 bills were introduced. The next year, that number nearly doubled, and in 2007, more than 1,500 bills were introduced. Another 1,305 were introduced in 2008, and about 1,500 were considered in 2009. About 15 percent of those were enacted, dealing with issues such as driver's licenses, health and education. About 1,000 bills have been brought up so far this year.
The president has said the White House and Congress should not immediately take up the issue, but instead "take targeted steps to deal with the crisis at the border, increase the usage of the E-Verify program and enhance prosecutions of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers."
You’ve probably heard that Arizona has passed a law that makes it a state crime to violate federal law. It is now against the state law to be an illegal alien in Arizona. The law also prohibits profiling and states that anyone that is caught violating the law can be asked to produce proof that they are in this country legally. You can read the law at: www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf. The bill is only 16 pages and is easy to understand.
Isn’t being illegal already a crime and checking identification sensible? Of course it is, but the federal government has failed to enforce the current federal laws and it has caused Arizona to become one of the most active places in the world for kidnappings.
The new Arizona law simply makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It would also require local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants. Other provisions of the bill allow lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws, and make it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them. As Gov. Brewer said when signing the law, this "protects every Arizona citizen," and she said the state must act because the federal government has failed.
Arizona currently spends $3 billion a year to educate, medicate and incarcerate illegal aliens. But, as has happened with every other state facing this invasion, the federal government has done nothing to stop the flow of illegals from the south.
"We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act," Brewer said after signing the law. "But decades of inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation."
Instead of helping, the president and others have misrepresented the contents of the bill and criticized the legislators and governor of Arizona for protecting their citizens by doing what the federal government should have been doing for more than 20 years. This action by the president and others who are using this solely for political purposes are causing protestors to go so far as to threaten to murder Americans with axes and shovels! Have you even heard that on the mainstream media news? Of course not — but you can watch one of the videos at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDlutO0KK7g.
Learn the facts and let your representatives know that you support the enforcement of our current immigration laws in every state.
Opinion
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