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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 4/29/10

What The Arizona Police State Act (SB1070) Means To You

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There are few subjects in America which cause tempers to become so flared as immigration, nor do many subjects cause so much infighting within ideological spectrum's. Even Libertarians fight amongst themselves on this subject, but I hope by the end of this article, people will understand that the law just passed in Arizona has about as much to do with immigration as the war in Iraq had to do with 9/11.

Government does this all the time, they do something that makes you angry, in this case leaving the borders wide open and giving your tax dollars to the foreigners who arrive, and when you get angry enough to demand action, the government then "Responds to the will of the people" by granting itself greater authority. Problem, Reaction, Solution, a cruel joke that the people play on themselves over, and over, and over again, throughout the entire course of human history.

This is exactly what happened with Health Care, the government granted special privileges to the pharmaceutical, insurance, and other "big medicine" industries, and guaranteed them business through welfare programs and various regulations, which skyrocketed the cost of health care, until a majority of Americans were so fed up that they were willing to take any solution the government would offer, ignoring the fact that government caused the problem in the first place.

The public response to the new problem created by the government? Vote Republican! Which I'm sure will work out just fine, given that Republicans aren't in the habit of growing government or violating the Constitution. Except for Medicare Part D of course, the Republican trillion dollar health care entitlement, there is also that small matter of completely unnecessary wars costing us a trillion dollars or so and counting, that Department of Homeland security thing, the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, secret watch lists, and skyrocketing debts, but I'm sure that won't be a problem, at least they will stop the queers from getting married right?

But I digress, the point here isn't a partisan Libertarian rant, only to point out that this perpetual circular logic is so pervasive that it boggles the mind when one really bothers to analyze it. Government creates problems, and then expands itself to solve the problem, thereby creating a new problem, and the cycle continues.

The immigration debate is no different, government caused this problem, and the answer? Remove the restrictions they are bound to by the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments!

Let's take a look at some of the text of this bill,

B. FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY
21 OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS
22 STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS
23 UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE,
24 WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON. THE
25 PERSON'S IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL BE VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
26 PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1373(c).

"Any Lawful Contact" is the problem here. It is lawful contact for a police officer to say hello to you, it is unconstitutional for that officer to then demand paperwork proving your citizenship under the 4th Amendment. This bill directly violates that.

And if not profiling by ethnicity or accent, how on earth do you find reasonable suspicion that someone is here illegally?

If you think that the police should be racially profiling, then just say it, but don't for one second pretend that you support this bill because you don't think it will not lead to unconstitutional searches and racial profiling, it just isn't rational or honest.

A. IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON WHO IS IN VIOLATION OF A CRIMINAL
30 OFFENSE TO:
31 1. TRANSPORT OR MOVE OR ATTEMPT TO TRANSPORT OR MOVE AN ALIEN IN THIS
32 STATE IN A MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION IF THE PERSON KNOWS OR RECKLESSLY
33 DISREGARDS THE FACT THAT THE ALIEN HAS COME TO, HAS ENTERED OR REMAINS IN THE
34 UNITED STATES IN VIOLATION OF LAW.
35 2. CONCEAL, HARBOR OR SHIELD OR ATTEMPT TO CONCEAL, HARBOR OR SHIELD
36 AN ALIEN FROM DETECTION IN ANY PLACE IN THIS STATE, INCLUDING ANY BUILDING OR
37 ANY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION, IF THE PERSON KNOWS OR RECKLESSLY DISREGARDS THE
38 FACT THAT THE ALIEN HAS COME TO, HAS ENTERED OR REMAINS IN THE UNITED STATES
39 IN VIOLATION OF LAW.

If you have an illegal immigrant in your car, and have not made efforts to determine whether or not that person is here legally...

B. A MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION THAT IS USED IN THE COMMISSION OF A
44 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION IS SUBJECT TO MANDATORY VEHICLE IMMOBILIZATION OR
45 IMPOUNDMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 28-3511.

The police will take your car away.

AND

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Chris Cantwell is a Libertarian Candidate for the US House of Representatives in the First District of New York, he is also Director of Outreach for his local Libertarian Chapter, an At Large Committeeman for the NY Libertarian Party, a Campaign for (more...)
 
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