home

What AZ's Profiling Law Is About

Wonk Room finds the smoking gun:

Wonk Room recently obtained an email written by Kris Kobach, a lawyer at the Immigration Reform Law Institute — the group which credits itself with writing the bill — to Arizona state Sen. Russell Pierce (R), urging him to include language that will allow police to use city ordinance violations such as “cars on blocks in the yard” as an excuse to “initiate queries” in light of the “lawful contact” deletion[.]

This law is intended provide legal cover for racial profiling. That is all it is.

Speaking for me only

< AZ Outlaws Mogs | MLB's Problems In Arizona >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort:
    There's probably another email (5.00 / 3) (#2)
    by observed on Sat May 01, 2010 at 08:44:59 AM EST
    saying that possession of a leaf-blower should be grounds for inquiry.

    Shades of East Anglia! (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 08:56:25 AM EST
    Someone has stolen someone's emails.

    Surely there will be an investigation??

    Too busy (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sat May 01, 2010 at 08:58:37 AM EST
    rounding up the usual suspects.


    Parent
    Gimme a tight shot of the table (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 09:09:53 AM EST
    then pan to a crowd shot.

    Here's laughing with you, kid.

    Parent

    Kinda wondering why... (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by kdog on Sat May 01, 2010 at 09:14:44 AM EST
    they're going through all this trouble and controversy with the new blasphemous law, when everybody knows that in practice, if not legally, the police can initiate a query for no reason at all whenever they damn well please.  That's everyday police work in our police state.

    iow, the state coulda got their ethnic harassment campaign on in a stealth manner, with the rest of the country being little the wiser.  All I can think of is all the cops ain't like Sherrif Schmoe, and they needed that "sue the cops" provision to get the cops on board with the plan.  Or they really are proud of this campaign and wanna advertise it.  Weird.

    To get votes for Republicans. (none / 0) (#8)
    by observed on Sat May 01, 2010 at 09:17:56 AM EST
    White Pride.


    Parent
    Probably right observed.... (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Sat May 01, 2010 at 09:24:36 AM EST
    Brewer and the Gang probably don't even hate on Mexicans...they do love cheap labor enabling cheap retirements for old crackers.  

    All for the votes, they have no true beliefs or principles....what was I thinking.

    Parent

    It seems that the GOP is in a self- (5.00 / 2) (#10)
    by observed on Sat May 01, 2010 at 09:28:27 AM EST
    reinforcing feedback loop these days.
    They make the platform crazier and crazier, which means the core supporters are crazier too, to support such nonsense; the elected officials then find they have to go even MORE crazy to keep up with the Palins.
    BTW, did you read my 3:18 comment yesterday?


    Parent
    Just read it... (none / 0) (#11)
    by kdog on Sat May 01, 2010 at 09:35:07 AM EST
    no apologies necessary pal...I, for one, like being questioned on my brand of crazy:)  

    Parent
    kdog, come on (none / 0) (#14)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 10:30:25 AM EST
    If you think they are doing this for cheap labor, then support closing the borders and issuing green cards for those here, as I do.

    That way the price of labor will go up and all of us old crackers can get some needed exercise doing their own yard work!

    ;-)

    Parent

    Working For Mexicans? (none / 0) (#15)
    by squeaky on Sat May 01, 2010 at 10:36:49 AM EST
    and all of us old crackers can get some needed exercise doing their own yard work!

    Somehow I can't see you working for mexicans.... Or do you expect them to take over your property?


    Parent

    Your vision limits are very well known. (1.00 / 1) (#16)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 10:51:07 AM EST
    ;-)

    Parent
    Jim (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by jondee on Sat May 01, 2010 at 12:54:04 PM EST
    you took down that creeping-toward-European socialism graphic from your website. How come?

    That was sure to get folks fired up, if only they had the chance to see. People need to be made aware of the direction these "single payer" commies are pushing us in.

    Parent

    I did? (none / 0) (#31)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 04:36:35 PM EST
    You're paying closer attention than I am.

    Parent
    They're doing this for... (none / 0) (#18)
    by kdog on Sat May 01, 2010 at 11:20:10 AM EST
    cheap votes, I believe that's our consensus today.

    I was thinking up a plan for sh*ts and giggles...many immigrants are paying coyotes big bucks to get across right, and we're hurting for cash last I heard...why not set up a buncha turnstyle border-crossings, charge a couple hundo for admission after a cursory check that the visitor isn't one of Mexico's Most Wanted or anything, and just let people the f*ck in.  For the immigrant it's a big savings vs. coyotes, and no more chance of dying of thirst in the desert...and we're in the same boat over here but making some much-needed cash.  Everybody wins!

    Parent

    More contentless (none / 0) (#20)
    by jondee on Sat May 01, 2010 at 12:46:50 PM EST
    grandstanding. Like blubbering in front of your blackboard while tracing the great socialist conspiracy back to Woodrow Wilson's administration.

    It's just another period of consolidation for the stupidity, paranoia (East Anglia!) and meanspiritedness of the Right. Not that it isnt everyday. This what they do when they've got nothing else left to pull out of their asses.

    So, after eight years of an administration that showed up the utter bankruptcy of each and very plank in the wingnut repertoire and singlehandedly created millions of new "Independents", the only cards they have left are white tribal fear and maybe the hope that another terror attack occurs or another brain dead woman in need of "saving" pops up. Other than that, they're done.

    Parent

    No party with that much money (none / 0) (#25)
    by observed on Sat May 01, 2010 at 01:45:36 PM EST
    behind it is done.
    The GOP will be finished when rich cooks (Kochs?) and big business stop funding it.


    Parent
    Have you been playing any attention (none / 0) (#33)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 04:40:05 PM EST
    to Wall St?

    Parent
    What are you referring to, specifically? (none / 0) (#34)
    by observed on Sat May 01, 2010 at 04:41:17 PM EST
    Well you might notice that a rather large (none / 0) (#36)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 11:46:15 PM EST
    number of Wall Street types are Democrats and that they rotate between government and WS.

    You might also note the large number of bail outs of WS .. Thailand, S Korea, Russia, Mexico, Argentia... happened during the Clinton administration.

    It seems to me that what we have is a group of people who expect to be made rich and in turn they will drive the engine of social change... which is a very incomplete picture but I hope you will get my point.

    It is not un-Democratic or un-Left to be rich. In fact, it was the fathers wealth that let the 60's happen.

    Parent

    I've been wondering the same thing! (none / 0) (#26)
    by ZtoA on Sat May 01, 2010 at 02:01:41 PM EST
    And, OK, yes, "cheap" votes. It certainly is not for local votes, at least not only or even primarily. It is definitely national news. And it would be since it is a pointed  challenge to the federal government. It is more like an "up yours" to the federal government. I guess that rallies some of the base, but I believe it is more than that. I believe that MLM is a dem and is also not satisfied with federal policy. MLM has said clearly that AZ law is intended to evoke fed action.

    Sometimes states challenge the fedgov in order to give their citizens more rights (like Oregon's dignity of death), but now in AZ and OK it is to restrict rights. It is intended to affect national policy. The ethnic profiling result is a state's version of insubordination.

    I am sympathetic to problems like drug crime (which is NOT just an AZ problem!) and the erosion of the middle class. BTD asked who would critique the dems? I've been pondering this and IMO, -no one. AZ (and OK) version of 'critiquing' is just going to make everyone more emotional and reactive. It will lessen debate and widen divisions. We'll all be too distracted over reactions to this bill and will 'forget' to address real underlying problems. If dems were actually addressing problems like Dan Froomkin point out then there would be a better direct answer to AZ and OK. At least the response would be deeper and more comprehensive than simply challenging the law (which I think should be done).

    Parent

    Seems it's the many on police force (none / 0) (#27)
    by jbindc on Sat May 01, 2010 at 03:47:39 PM EST
    Who have a problem with this law - first the cop who filed suit, the police chief (or sheriff?) who said he wouldn't enforce it, and now this:

    The remarks by Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris came as U.S. Senate Democrats vowed to push ahead with their uphill bid to pass legislation this year overhauling the nation's immigration laws, saying the furor in Arizona has given them a lift despite a lack of support from Republicans.

    Arizona's week-old law calls for state and local police to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect is in the United States illegally. It has outraged Latinos, civil rights activists and organized labor.

    With polls showing the crackdown has broad public support in Arizona and nationwide, Harris said at a news conference he understood Americans' frustration over illegal immigration.

    But he criticized the new law as unlikely to solve problems caused by any of the estimated 10.8 million people who are in the United States illegally.

    "I don't really believe that this law is going to do what the vast majority of Americans and Arizonans want, and that is to fix the immigration problem," he said. "This law ... adds new problems for local law enforcement."

    Harris said asking officers to determine immigration status during an investigation would interfere with their primary job and "instead tells us to become immigration officers and enforce routine immigration laws that I don't believe we have the authority to enforce."

    The chief said his force already had 10 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in its violent crime unit and that the law provided no additional enforcement tools.

    "We have the tools that we need to enforce the laws in this state, to reduce property crime and reduce violent crime, to go after criminals that are responsible for human smuggling," and other border-related crimes," Harris said.

    Republican backers say the law is needed to curb crime in the desert state, which is home to some 460,000 illegal immigrants and is a furiously trafficked corridor for drug and migrant smugglers from Mexico.

    Phoenix, the state capital and a clearing house for unauthorized immigrants and drugs headed to cities across the United States, has recently averaged one drug-related kidnapping nearly every day.



    Parent
    Well. if he has the tools (none / 0) (#32)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 04:38:19 PM EST
    and since he has failed.

    Fire him.

    Parent

    Cars on blocks? (none / 0) (#1)
    by Zorba on Sat May 01, 2010 at 08:42:53 AM EST
    I live way out in the country.  If that's a criterion and we had the same law here, half my neighbors would be asked for their "papers," and they're all "whiter than white" and have been in this area for generations.  The loons have completely taken over Arizona.  Remind me never, ever to visit that state.

    If they are whiter than white (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by ruffian on Sat May 01, 2010 at 09:05:58 AM EST
    They will not be asked. That's the problem - the law is an excuse to harass non-whites.

    Parent
    Do you have any proof of that? (none / 0) (#12)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 10:23:05 AM EST
    Or is that your opinion?

    Parent
    Hmmm (none / 0) (#13)
    by squeaky on Sat May 01, 2010 at 10:28:56 AM EST
    Let's see...  how about Arizona being the only State in the Union to refuse to list MLK day as a holiday?

    Oh right, that was not because they were acting racist, it was because everyday is MLK day in Arizona.... they have been courting AA's to move to the state since 1860.

    Parent

    I'll file that under "opinion." (none / 0) (#17)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 10:54:24 AM EST
    Fact? (none / 0) (#19)
    by squeaky on Sat May 01, 2010 at 11:47:37 AM EST
    As you often say, this fact "defines" Arizona. Sheriff Arpaio is emblematic of the fascist mindset that your 70% figure represents.

    Parent
    Latest poll I have seen (none / 0) (#30)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 04:32:10 PM EST
    says 78%.

    Please try and be accurate.

    Parent

    You know how to use a file? (none / 0) (#24)
    by Thanin on Sat May 01, 2010 at 01:42:28 PM EST
    Well, I have filed (none / 0) (#28)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 04:25:37 PM EST
    hoes and knives and folders and such.

    What'd ya have on ya mind?

    Parent

    Which Illegal immigrants do you suppose (none / 0) (#23)
    by Radix on Sat May 01, 2010 at 01:21:14 PM EST
    Arizona is talking about, Canadians, Irish, or perhaps Russians or Pols?

    Parent
    Doesn't matter except to folks (none / 0) (#29)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat May 01, 2010 at 04:31:22 PM EST
    who don't seem to care about the problems that AZ has been putting up with for years and years.

    Close the border, issue green cards to the ones here (assuming they do not have criminal charges against them)and watch the problem disappear.

    Otherwise whine about people not wanting to put with what's been going on there.

    BTW - The Canadian "Snow Birds" are loved by the locals. Of course they pay their way and don't take any jobs away from the undocumented workers.

    ;-)

    Parent

    There's nothing more American than cars (none / 0) (#37)
    by esmense on Sun May 02, 2010 at 09:03:41 AM EST
    on blocks. My entire business is built on catering to men (of every ethnicity, race and creed) with cars on blocks (at their own or a parent's house), immobile cars taking up space in a buddy's parents' garage, or rusting away in their angry ex-mother-in-law's back yard, etc. I can't count how many times a car part emergency has revolved around the suddenly desperate need to move a cherished hunk of steel from one no longer ideal resting place to another.

    There's nothing transient about cars on blocks! Quite the contrary. Whether it's tucked away on your own back 40 or hogging the children's play space in some rented front yard, that car represents a love, ambition and commitment that is likely to outlas friendships, several marriages and the longest lives of family members.

    Real Americans understand this.

    Perhaps the various collector car and after market automotive marketing associations should take a little time out from vilifying Al Gore to protest this incredible blow against real Americans in Arizona.

    Parent

    I mentioned Kobach on this site (none / 0) (#22)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat May 01, 2010 at 01:04:28 PM EST
    a couple of months ago about an Alabama city.