Arizona's Immigration law: SB 1070 & HB 2162

Many across the nation are watching the new immigration law passed in Arizona and schedulaed to take effect of July 29th of this year. In this thread I will try to keep updating the status of this law and it's effects on Arizona and the country as a whole.

SB 1070

HB 2162

PDF Quick Guide to SB1070

Corp Commish letter to LA mayor(May 19th, 2010 @ 9:24am)

Text of letter from Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa after Los Angeles City Council approved boycott of Arizona because of its new immigration law:

Dear Mayor Villaraigosa,

I was dismayed to learn that the Los Angeles City Council voted to boycott Arizona and Arizona-based companies — a vote you strongly supported — to show opposition to SB 1070 (Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act).

You explained your support of the boycott as follows: "While we recognize that as neighbors, we share resources and ties with the State of Arizona that may be difficult to sever, our goal is not to hurt the local economy of Los Angeles, but to impact the economy of Arizona. Our intent is to use our dollars — or the withholding of our dollars — to send a message." (emphasis added)

I received your message; please receive mine. As a state-wide elected member of the Arizona Corporation Commission overseeing Arizona's electric and water utilities, I too am keenly aware of the "resources and ties" we share with the City of Los Angeles. In fact, approximately twenty-five percent of the electricity consumed in Los Angeles is generated by power plants in Arizona.

If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation. I am confident that Arizona's utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands. If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona's economy.

People of goodwill can disagree over the merits of SB 1070. A state-wide economic boycott of Arizona is not a message sent in goodwill.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Gary Pierce _________________________

ORANGE COUNTY ( CALIFORNIA ) NEWSPAPER-New Immigrants

This is a very good letter to the editor. This woman made
some good points.

For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their
arguments when arguing against supporting the currently
proposed immigration revisions. This lady made the argument
pretty simple. NOT printed in the Orange County Paper.


Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which
they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which
does not agree with the philosophy they're pushing on the
public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that
should have been published, but, with your help it will get
published via cyberspace!

From:

"David LaBonte"

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of
the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I
decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the
Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Written in
response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange
County Register:



Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how
this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one,
suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because
the people now in question aren't being treated the same as
those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of
entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to
people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to
accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900
when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to
the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in
a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even
get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They
made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new
country in good and bad times. They made learning English a
primary rule in their new American households and some even
changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their
children a new life and did everything in their power to
help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was
handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws
to protect them. All they had were the skills and
craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a
future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke
out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come
straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan.
None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought
about what country their parents had come from. They were
Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of
Japan. They were defending the United States of America as
one people.

When we liberated France, no one in those villages were
looking for the French-American or the German American or
the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans.
And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not
one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking
up another country's flag and waving it to represent who
they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents
who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants
truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the
melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the
same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by
playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the
entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their
mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American
is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on
Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that
for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future
generations to create a land that has become a beacon for
those legally searching for a better life. I think they
would be appalled that they are being used as an example by
those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of
Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are
voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about
dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed)

Rosemary LaBonte

Thursday, May. 20, 2010


Panel to meet on immigration
Bill won't have time to pass


By Noelle Phillips - McClatchy Newspapers

A state Senate subcommittee meets this morning to discuss a bill that would empower local police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or detain.

However, it's too late in the legislative session for the bill, which mimics Arizona's controversial law, to become state law this year. That leads critics and political watchers to believe today's meeting is more about political theater than creating a new law.

"By doing it when they don't actually have time to pass the legislation, they get credit for the symbolic stand without having to worry about how to fund the measure," said Scott Huffman, a Winthrop University political science professor.


However, Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, who will lead this morning's meeting, said that is not the case. None of the five members of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee are up for re-election, he said.

"We are not playing to anybody," he said. "It's not a pandering-type thing."

Instead, he said, the hearing's purpose is to find out if legislators need to "tweak" South Carolina's immigration law that was passed in 2008 and to compare Arizona's law to it.

The Senate bill would allow state and local police to check immigration status after detaining or arresting a person for another reason. The officer would need reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally.

People questioned would have to provide identification issued by the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, a tribal enrollment card or an ID issued by the U.S. government. The bill also includes a provision that would outlaw the hiring of illegal immigrants for day labor.

The Senate bill has 19 sponsors, including Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.

A similar bill was filed in the S.C. House in late April, but no hearings on it have been scheduled.

Both are drawing criticism from the state's Hispanic community.

"They're, of course, going to target Mexicans," said Ivan Segura, a member of the S.C. Hispanic Leadership Council. "They're, of course, going to target Central Americans. They're going to target people because of the color of their skin."

Martin said South Carolina should tread cautiously in its consideration of the bill, especially since Arizona's law is being challenged in court.

"I don't want to get our state entangled in a legal matter," he said.

Martin agreed it was too late to move the bill forward this year.

May 2, 2010

Obama Warns Political Speech Can Lead to Violence
Posted by: Mike's America @ 8:42 am in Uncategorized | 526 views

Will he take responsibility for false claims made about Arizona immigration law after Sheriff’s Deputy was shot by illegal aliens?

Obama delivered the commencement address at the University of Michigan on Saturday. His speech had more straw man arguments than there were graduates. Apparently, if you oppose his policies you are anti-democratic and seeking to overthrow the legitimate government as defined by him.

In the middle of a long lecture on why strong opposition prevents you from realizing he knows what is best for you and blocks “compromise” (as if he has ever supported real compromise) he dropped the “v” word. Apparently, vocal opposition to his policies “coarsens our culture, and at its worst, it can send signals to the most extreme elements of our society that perhaps violence is a justifiable response.”

After eight years of an unrelenting hate campaign directed by President George Bush by top Democrat leaders it’s astonishing to hear Obama demand that now people must watch what they say.

Did Obama’s words lead to violence in Arizona?

But we don’t have to go back to the Bush years to see the hypocrisy in Obama’s speech. Only last week Obama told a crowd in Iowa that the new Arizona immigration law would mean that “Now, suddenly, if you don’t have your papers, and you took your kid out to get ice cream, you’re going to get harassed ”


Not you might get harassed but YOU ARE going to get harassed by law enforcement. Clearly the man has a chip on his shoulder about law enforcement but let’s put that aside for a moment. Obama’s words were delivered at a time when a rioting mob protesting the Arizona law pelted law enforcement officers in Phoenix with bottles and threatened the safety of a man who supported the law.

Two days after Obama spoke those words, an Arizona Sheriff’s Deputy was shot in the stomach with an AK-47 wielded by a gang of illegal aliens in the Arizona desert. The Deputy was there to investigate drug smuggling. 17 illegals were later caught in the desert including three who may have been involved in the shooting. I suppose Obama will call that police harassment.

Nowhere does Obama take responsibility for his overheated rhetoric which is meant to whip his supporters into an angry frenzy in advance of November’s election. Nowhere in his speech does he suggest that maybe he or his supporters should tone down the angry rhetoric which has become an almost daily feature of Democrat politics.

This kind of lopsided demand for civility leaves us with only one conclusion: Obama is willing to demonize opposition on the right, including false claims about their motives, while actively fanning the flames of anger and hate on the left.

And from what we have seen thus far, we can only expect him to increase this campaign of lies and hate as November approaches. Even if it leads to violence, it serves his cause!

Utah to follow Arizona immigration law?by Associated Press (May 27th, 2010 @ 11:18am)

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says he will sign an immigration bill into law next session if he's still governor, although it is unclear how closely that bill might mirror one in Arizona that's considered the toughest in the nation.

The Arizona law requires that police conducting traffic stops or questioning people about possible legal violations ask them about their immigration status if there is ``reasonable suspicion'' that they're in the country illegally.

Reasonable suspicion is not defined. The law also makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally and for illegal immigrants to solicit work.

Herbert told reporters Thursday during his monthly KUED news conference that he favors punishing businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

SB 1070 supporters rally in Tempeby Associated Press (May 29th, 2010 @ 7:32pm)

TEMPE, Ariz. — Thousands of supporters of Arizona's tough new crackdown on illegal immigration are rallying at a baseball stadium outside Phoenix.

The Stand With Arizona rally asks people from around the country to support the state's law in the face of a backlash from opponents including civil rights groups and President Barack Obama.

Supporters are encouraging like-minded Americans to "buycott" Arizona by planning vacations in the state.

Most of Tempe Diablo Stadium's more than 7,000 seats were full Saturday, and hundreds more people milled in the back or sat on the infield

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles County on Tuesday became the latest government body to boycott Arizona to protest the state's tough new law targeting illegal immigration. After a heated debate, the county's board of supervisors voted 3-2 to ban new contracts with Arizona-based companies and review those that could be canceled. The county has more than $26 million in contracts with Arizona companies this year. Several California cities, including Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco, have passed similar measures. The Arizona law, set to go into effect July 29, requires police enforcing another law to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are in the country illegally. Supervisor Gloria Molina said law "goes too far." "I am sworn as an L.A. County supervisor to uphold the Constitution. All I can say is that I believe that Arizona's law is unconstitutional," she said. U.S. Justice Department officials have drafted a legal challenge asserting that Arizona's law is unconstitutional because it intrudes on the federal government's authority to guard the nation's borders. Critics of the law also say it unfairly targets Hispanics and could lead to racial profiling. Proponents insist racial profiling will not be tolerated. Dozens of people spoke on both sides of the issue Tuesday, trying to sway Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was the last to announce his position and finally voted yes. "We need solutions, not boycotts," said Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who voted against the motion along with Supervisor Don Knabe. The boycott also calls the county's pension fund to rid itself of any investments in Arizona's state and municipal bonds. The county does have investment that would be affected by the boycott, said the county's treasurer, Mark Saladino. A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found that about three-fourths of voters in the U.S. think boycotting Arizona because of its immigration law is a bad idea. The national survey of 1,914 registered voters also found that most support the law itself, with 51 percent of voters approving of the measure and 31 percent disapproving. The poll, conducted May 19-24, had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

Letter to LA: Boycott in the dark

PHOENIX -- Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce has suggested that if Los Angeles pursues a boycott of Arizona over its immigration law, Arizona could retaliate by taking back some of the electricity it generates for southern California.

In a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Perce said he was "dismayed" by the vote of the Los Angeles City Council to boycott Arizona.

Pierce quoted from a Villaraigosa statement that the goal of the boycott was "to impact the economy of Arizona. Our intent is to use our dollars or the withholding of our dollars -- to send a message."

Pierce said that approximately 25 percent of the electricity consumed in Los Angeles is generated by power plants in Arizona.

"If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements, so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation," Pierce wrote to Villaraigosa. "I am confident that Arizona's utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands. If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona's economy."

Pierce said that people of good will can disagree over the merits of SB1070, the Arizona law, but, "A statewide economic boycott of Arizona is not a message sent in goodwill."

The Arizona Corporation Commission regulates utilities, including the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix, the nation's largest nuclear plant. Southern California Edison Co. owns 15.8 percent of Palo Verde, the Southern California Public Power Authority 5.9 percent and the City of Los Angeles 8.7 percent.

Los Angeles gets about 6 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric power, most of that generated by Hoover Dam on the Arizona-Nevada border. It also gets power from some coal-fired plants in Arizona.

The new Arizona law, which has spawned controversy across the nation, requires local law enforcement officers to question the immigration status of anyone they stop for another reason and then have reasonable suspicion that the person is in the United States illegally.

LA County to boycott Arizona
by Associated Press (June 1st, 2010 @ 5:23pm)

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County is joining in the economic boycott against Arizona to protest the state's new law targeting illegal immigration.

After a heated debate, the county board of supervisors voted 3-to-2 Tuesday to ban new contracts with Arizona-based companies and review those that could be canceled. The county has more than $26 million in contracts with Arizona companies this year.

Other California cities, including Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco, have passed similar measures.

The Arizona law requires police enforcing another law to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are in the country illegally.

L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina says law ``goes too far.''