The Court’s Ruling on Arizona Immigration Law

Illegal Immigration is an extremely important issue, especially in Arizona; this among other reasons is why I chose this particular issue.  People who are not from, or never visited Arizona, sometimes fail to appreciate the necessity of such laws governing immigration.  I will show its importance, as well as point out opposing views, to better equip those particular people with knowledge to better make an educated decision on the matter.

            B’nai B’rith is in favor of the U. S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down three of the four provisions in the proposed 2010 Arizona Immigration Law.  The organization fears wide spread racial profiling as a result of the passing of the fourth provision that requires officers to inquire about the immigration status of any individual detained whom they suspect to be here illegally.  This helps support the issue of immigration from the law enforcement’s point of view because it makes provisions for officers to determine who is legal and who is not. (NA, 2012).  I believe this organization is more in favor of the Court striking down three of the provisions rather than being in favor of the passing of one provision.  The reason that I chose this particular reference is to help show an opposing viewpoint to my argument.  I would show them all if I had the space and time because I feel I could successfully defend my beliefs against such arguments if given the opportunity.  (B’nai B’rith, 2012)

            A large group of protestors congregated at Independence Mall on June 27 to protest the passing of one of four provisions in the Arizona Immigration Law.  They too feared widespread racial profiling because of the U. S. Supreme Court ruling on the law.  State Representative Daryl Metcalfe made a statement concerning the ruling, he stated, “The only discrimination that is going to occur is between those who are legal and those who are not.”  He also accused the speakers at the protest of using “straw man” arguments to support their claims.  This is one more that is on the side of supporting the Arizona Immigration Law and is in favor of officers having the discretion of verifying the status of those who may be here illegally and one-step closer to remedying this situation of illegal immigrants.  (Matza, 2012)

            It seems that the state of New Mexico agrees in part with the views Arizona has on certain aspects of immigration, although the governor of New Mexico said that she did not agree with an Arizona type immigration law in New Mexico.  Governor Martinez is attempting to repeal the law that allows illegal immigrants to possess a state issued driver’s license.  She is also in favor of officers checking the immigration status of suspected criminals.  This is one tactic, which will help officers in determining the status of illegal immigrants, before if they had a driver’s license there may not be a reasonable suspicion to check the immigration status of a person that they had detained for a minor traffic offense, or maybe just questioned regarding another offense committed.  (The Deming Headlight, 2012)

            One source reinforces the idea of the need for individual states to have more authority to integrate laws in immigration in respect to their respective state. This source helps reinforce my opinion on the need for tougher immigration laws that are governed by each individual state depending on their respective situation. The author of this article espouses a similar philosophy to that of my own concerning the Arizona Immigration Law.  This source is a reference that will help strengthen my own opinions of this law. (Fuelner, 2012)

            Salvador Valencia-Galvin, 44 of Washington was deported in 1996 for a narcotics charge from 1995.  This man returned to the United States as an illegal alien and was once again, in 2012, charged with a drug charge.  This time he was in possession of 50 grams of a substance which contained methamphetamine.  (n/a, 2012)

            The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) “requires the Attorney General to detain any removable alien who has committed a crime…relating to a controlled substance pending the conclusion of removal proceedings”.   (Harvard Law Review, 2012)

            Illegal immigration is a very serious matter here in Arizona.  Human smuggling by “coyotes” is a big problem here.  Coyotes not only smuggle illegal aliens into this country, but they also force them to carry their illegal drugs with them.  There is a lot of violence and sexual abuse related to this matter and it needs to be dealt with.  Officers in this area encounter such problems on a daily basis.  There is a lot of biased publicity from activists who paint a picture of racial profiling which makes this fight against crime even more difficult.  Sheriff Joe Arapaio, of Maricopa County, is dedicated in his attempt to eradicate the violence and sexual abuse resulting from the smuggling of illegal aliens.  Identity theft and forgery are other crimes which are related to the smuggling of illegal aliens.  (Allen, 2011)

            The Christian Science Monitor published an article, which stresses the fact that a family of illegal aliens had the misfortune of having to return home after 20 years of working in this country illegally.  They have four children, all born in the United States, ages 5, 7, 9, and 11; so things could not have been too bad for them.  These children were attending school and their parents were working here illegally.  All this article talks about is the hardships this family faced.  What about the children that did not get assistance because their children were reaping the benefits?  How did they pay for medical treatment?  We all know that children of these ages usually need a number of shots and check-ups.  This was all paid for by U. S. Citizens tax dollars.  This article stated that in 2010 illegal immigrants sent $21.27 billion home to Mexico.  I am not an expert in economics, but I am almost certain that this affected our economy.  This article mentioned how it has helped the Mexican communities, how about how it affected children here.  This is one aspect of illegal immigration which needs addressed.  The fact that illegal immigrants are illegally obtaining our jobs as well as our tax dollars.  (Llana, 2012)

            A new rule in the state of Florida is aimed at restricting the amount of payments made by Medicare to recipients who are illegal immigrants.  Although Medicare will continue to pay for emergency services to those individuals, once their condition is stable, Medicare will stop footing the bill.  This will effect payments made from 2005 through the present and HMO’s will be required to pay back any payments made after the stabilization of those patients.  This was said to save taxpayers billions of dollars.  (Caputo, 2012)  I believe that this is a step in the right direction.  I believe that anyone is entitled to emergency care, but I do not believe that illegal immigrants should be allowed the provisions set aside for citizens who cannot afford health insurance.  This puts too much of a burden on taxpayers and limits funding for those who are legally entitled to it.

            Nearly two-thirds of the registered voters in Virginia, who were surveyed by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, voted in favor of an Arizona type Immigration Law, particularly the portion allowing law enforcement officials the right to check the immigration status of any individual entering the criminal justice system.  (Lewis, 2012)

            With the Presidential election just around the corner, it seems that this issue is not only growing even more controversial, but it seems to be weighing in heavier on election criteria.  I do not think that this one issue will decide the election, but I am sure that it will contribute substantially to the outcome.

 

 

References

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Caputo, M. O. (2012, Aug 18). "MEDICAID RULING DECRIED; Florida hospitals protest a decision limiting

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Fuelner, E. (2012, July 19). States do have a say; in immigration policy. Washington Times , B. 4.

Lewis, B. (2012, Jul 23). Virginia wants arizona-style immigration law. Daily Press , 6.

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