We can find a better way
Arizona’s conservative leaders right now are, in effect, swinging their clubs like neolithic cavemen at anything that moves, even though they might knock the brains out of the members of their own community. [“Arizona’s unhelpful law invites racial profiling,” editorial, Opinion, April 27].
I am referring, of course, to the recent passage of SB-1070. This law compels any Arizona police officer to arrest anyone who looks “illegal.” The law also makes a provision to allow anyone —a flag-waving super patriot for sure —to sue a police department that does not try to apprehend the illegal border crossers. I think they will have to stop 50 in order to catch five real “culprits.”
But of course, Arizona’s leaders do not mind inconveniencing Arizona’s Mexican-American population. In their minds it will be all right to stop people, scrutinize them and then let them go. The right to be free of police abuse is no bother to these leaders.
That sure beats trying to find out what propels human beings —mostly Mexicans —to cross the U.S.-Mexican border without proper documentation. It sure makes it convenient to allege that most, if not all illegal crossers are drug traffickers. That most undocumented crossers are simply looking for work — the work that you and I do not want — is not important.
Couldn’t we do better than the neolithic club-swinging, racial profiling and stopping and interrogating brown-skinned people? Couldn’t we find a better way?
— Carlos Gil, UW professor emeritus, Seattle
Arizona governor wants to suppress Hispanic vote
There are other motives besides illegal border crossings in Arizona’s “desperate move.” In what had been a reliable Republican state, Democrat Janet Napolitano was twice elected governor in 2002 and 2006. The expanding Hispanic community in Arizona votes for Democrats.
When Napolitano was appointed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer advanced to the governor’s office. Her fear of losing an upcoming election is probably greater than her concerns about illegal immigrants.
In 2004, as secretary of state, Brewer blocked more than 100,000 voters, mostly Hispanic, from registering. Registering to vote if you are not a citizen is a crime, but no one has been prosecuted.
Federal prosecutor David Iglesias was sent by then-President George Bush and “brain” Karl Rove to investigate the illegal voters, but was unable to find one valid voter-fraud case. As a result, he was fired by the Bush administration. Seattle attorney John McKay suffered a similar fate when he failed to find fraud in the governor’s race between GOP Dino Rossi and Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Perhaps Brewer’s “goal is control of our borders …,” but history and evidence indicate that Hispanic-voter suppression is her primary objective.
— Bill Taylor, Renton