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The Obama Administration Is Enabling Arizona's Anti-Latino Policies

Via digby:

Digby says that AZ SB 1070 is basically in effect. Not really. From the federal court decision (PDF):

The United States has demonstrated that it is likely to succeed on its claim that the mandatory immigration verification upon arrest requirement contained in Section 2(B) of S.B. 1070 is preempted by federal law. This requirement, as stated above, is likely to burden legally-present aliens, in contravention of the Supreme Court’s directive in Hines that aliens not be subject to “the possibility of inquisitorial practices and police surveillance.” 312 U.S. at 74.

The decision says nothing about voluntary verification by the police. And herein lies the problem with the Obama Administration approach on this issue - the video show ICE cooperating with the Tucson police in this blatantly discriminatory policy. ICE should never have answered the call. Arizona must be removed from the 287(g) program.

Yes Arizona has enacted a racist policy. But it is the Obama Administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that is enforcing this racist policy.

Speaking for me only

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  • Display: Sort:
    what are the facts? (none / 0) (#1)
    by efm on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 09:04:32 AM EST
    That video doesn't really say anything to me.  We don't know the whole story, or even a faction of the facts of what happened in this case.  In the officers computer it says she's been stopped for a citation before. She admitted this and said she took care of it, but who knows what really happened.  Also since she's had a citation before and is in the system, maybe that database says that she isn't legally in the country, what would be the problem with calling ICE in that case? Again though, we don't have any facts.  Until some facts of this case come out nobody knows if this was discrimination or racism.

    What fact would you imagine (none / 0) (#2)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 09:09:00 AM EST
    making a query about her status proper?

    I am interested to hear your response.

    Parent

    Who knows. (none / 0) (#3)
    by efm on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 09:19:46 AM EST
    She admitted to having a traffic citation in 2008, so she is in the police database.  Could it say in this database that she is an illegal alien, maybe maybe not? Also she may or may not have had a drivers licence, again we don't know.
      It could very well have been that those 2 police officers are the racist cops that have ever existed, but we don't know.  All we know is what someone on the side of the road said happened, but even then she gave little information.

    Parent
    No it can't (none / 0) (#4)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 09:27:57 AM EST
    But the ICE database might speak to her status.

    Because of the 287(g) agreement, Arizona would have access to that database.

    Personally, Arizona can not be trusted on this issue.

    Parent

    Nor can any database be trusted... (none / 0) (#5)
    by kdog on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 09:44:56 AM EST
    when somebodys freedom is at stake...we don't have databases that aren't chock full of errors.

    Parent
    true (none / 0) (#6)
    by efm on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 09:55:12 AM EST
    I agree, the government can't really do anything right, and if she's in the database and it says she is illegal then she should have the opportunity to prove that the database is wrong or better yet the government should have to prove that it is correct, which shouldn't be too hard either way.
      If I get pulled over and a database says i'm wanted for murder, the police shouldn't just let me go because the database may or may not be wrong.  I know these are different crimes, but the principle is the same. Or lets say it says i'm wanted for any crime what so ever, i don't except to be let go.  I except to be arrested and the government prove that I in fact committed the crime.

    Parent
    In the meantime... (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 10:40:39 AM EST
    you're in a cage over a government screw-up...which is understandable if the database says you're wanted for murder...piss-ant immigration violation, not so much.

    Parent
    Both of them are still crimes. (none / 0) (#8)
    by efm on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 11:24:34 AM EST
    Lets say the database says i did any crime at all that's punishment is being arrested. Should I be let go because it may or may not be wrong, or should i be arrested and they have to prove that I did it.  

    And an immigration violation may be a piss-ant crime to you, to others it's a bigger deal.  Just like to some people downloading music isn't a big deal, but to others it is no different than going into a store and physically stealing a CD.  To some people driving with out insurance isn't a big deal, but to the person who got hit by someone who didn't have insurance and now has to pay everything themselves it is a big deal.  To some driving under the influence is a piss-ant crime but I doubt it is to the mother and father who's daughter was killed by a drunk driver.

    Right now illegal immigration is still a crime and  I don't think we should be picking and choosing which crimes to enforce and which ones not to.

    Parent

    Fair enough... (none / 0) (#11)
    by kdog on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 11:33:39 AM EST
    if it was up to me immigration violations wouldn't be a cage-able offense...and I'd repeal half our clusterf*ck of a criminal code while I was at it.

    Parent
    Are you okay (none / 0) (#15)
    by dead dancer on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 04:52:36 PM EST
    Feeling alright kdog!

    Why are you stopping at only half the clusterf*ck criminal code? Lets removel all of the clusterf*ckedness from our criminal code. LOL

    Parent

    Illegal immigration is not a big deal (none / 0) (#14)
    by MKS on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 01:54:40 PM EST
    In Arizona, violent crime is down for at least two years in a row.

    Illegal immigration is down.....according to ICE.

    Why is it now that everyone thinks illegal immigration is a big problem?  The economy is down and Latinos are the scapegoats.

    Illegal immigration was up when the economy was booming and U.S. business needed the workers....Latinos were not taking away other people's jobs...

    Illegal immigrants pay taxes--property, sales and income taxes through withholding (some estimates are that 2/3 of illegal immigrants pay withholding taxes.)

    Illegal immigrants pay more to governments than they take.....

    Illegal immigrants buy goods and services and are a net plus to local economies.  If you doubt this, look at the empty shopping malls in Phoenix patronized by Latinos that are now empty....

    Parent

    again (none / 0) (#16)
    by efm on Wed Aug 11, 2010 at 04:41:38 PM EST
    To you its not a big deal to others it is a big deal.  Just because its down, doesn't mean the problem completely went away. And by your post of 2/3s of illegal immigrants pay taxes that means 1/3rd of them do not, and since depending on who you ask, there are 11-20 million illegal immigrants in the US. thats 3.6-6.6 Million of them who do not pay taxes. That seems like it could be considered a big deal to some.

    Also illegal immigrants do get to use services such as food stamps and welfare. a good percentage do not have health insurance, and if they have a medical problem a lot of them use the emergency room and a lot of those costs get passed on to others.

    Anyway, who is blaming the Latinos for the economic problems of today, your post is the 1st I've heard of that.  Of course I don't often Google what race is to blame for the economic problems of today.

    Parent

    Who can be (none / 0) (#9)
    by efm on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 11:26:13 AM EST
    Last i heard wasn't it 60-70% of the population of the country support Arizona in this issue, so lets say that same percentage of police departments support it. Can none of them be trusted on the 287(g) agreement? Who can be trusted?

     We trust police officers with everything else, they have to use their judgement for everything they do, including the use of deadly force, but they can't be trusted to ask someone with no drivers license and with either no record of them existing in a database or a positive record that says they are illegal, what their immigration status is.

    I know that some police officers will racially profile, but some police officers racially profile with just about every law that there is. Does that mean that we should strike all of those laws from the books because some cops are going to abuse it?

    Parent

    Statistics (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by samtaylor2 on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 12:47:19 PM EST
    What does it mean to you that 60-70% of the population support this legislation?  Does that mean it is good, does it mean that someone in maine has any idea or cares at all about the legislation.   Percentages as though they speak to anything of substance are not very usefull in political arguements

    Furthermore, everytime someone throws out this statistic I think back on the statistics for the support of state rights when it came to discriminating against blacks, and think- general stupidity doesn't make right (it means an education is needed).

    Parent

    point is. (none / 0) (#13)
    by efm on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 01:07:25 PM EST
    Was replying to Big Tent Democrat, who doesn't think Arizona should be trusted with the 287(g) agreement. But, what i'm saying is that if Arizona can not be trusted with 287(g) then who can, since about 60-70% of the population support AZ.

    Parent
    Local Cooperation (none / 0) (#10)
    by squeaky on Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 11:32:16 AM EST
    Hard to imagine that the cousin of a sheriff, who lives down the street from his uncle, and happens to be working for ICE, is going to listen to the Federal Government on this. Particularly when the cooperation between local and federal authority is considered a priority by all.