Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Federal Government to Sue Arizona over Immigration Law

The rumored action by the Federal Government to sue Arizona over its new immigration law has apparently been confirmed by Justice Department officials and now has been officially announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano.

This action is despite Arizona Democrats almost pleading with the Obama Administration not to take this action.

I think the move is ethically right but politically unnecessary as the ACLU is already challenging the law.

According to the AP, “The lawsuit will argue that Arizona's law requiring state and local police to question and possibly arrest illegal immigrants during the enforcement of other laws such as traffic stops usurps federal authority.”

I have to be honest, I don’t see that.

If you stop someone because he has violated some state law, why is it a usurping of authority to detain him upon suspicion that he is also breaking some federal law? I would think police agencies do this all the time.

I think the ACLU claim that the law discriminates against Hispanics, and would cause racial profiling, is of much greater concern.

If the federal government is incapable of enforcing the law then it’s not surprising that the states under the greatest pressure do to that lack of enforcement are stepping in to enforce it for them. This is a lot better than a gun totting public taking it into its own hands. That would be the first step toward anarchy.

I don’t particularly like the Arizona law but I understand the frustration and why they felt action was necessary. I think the Obama Administration is wrong and it should sit on the sidelines while the ACLU lawsuit works its way through the courts.

1 comment:

Benito said...

I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. All of us ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated, but this is not the case.

I know the proponents of this law say that the majority approves of this law, but the majority is not always right. Would women or non-whites have the vote if we listen to the majority of the day, would the non-whites have equal rights (and equal access to churches, housing, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, colleges and yes water fountains) if we listen to the majority of the day? We all know the answer, a resounding, NO!

Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics and do what is right, not what is just popular with the majority. Some men comprehend discrimination by never have experiencing it in their lives, but the majority will only understand after it happens to them.