Arizona’s Push on Illegal Immigrants

On Friday, April 23, 2010, Arizona became the first state to stand up for the U.S. Constitution with laws that take a ‘bite out of crime.’ Illegal aliens caught in Arizona will be arrested, prosecuted and jailed. If employers hire illegal aliens, those employers will find themselves arrested, prosecuted and jailed.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer ignored President Barack Obama and signed SB 1070 that would unshackle police in dealing with 460,000 illegal aliens. Arizona, by geographic proximity, serves as one of the busiest gateways for human and drug trafficking out of Mexico.

“We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act,” Brewer said after signing the law. “But decades of inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation.”

Obama responded by calling the Bill, “Misguided. That includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona, which threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”

Unfortunately, it’s not Obama’s wife or children that suffer kidnappings, car thefts, destroyed schools, ruined hospitals and communities too unsafe to walk around. As with all politicians, they stand immune to the vagaries and lawlessness imbedding itself within American communities. It’s easy to say Arizona’s new law might be “misguided” if you never stepped foot into the killing zone.

“We must enforce the law evenly, and without regard to skin color, accent, or social status,” Brewer said. “We must prove the alarmists and the cynics wrong.”

Although the recent killing of Arizona rancher Rob Krentz angered millions of Arizonans, State Senator Russell Pearce said, “This bill has been in the works for months. Illegal is illegal. Illegal is not a race. We’ll have less crime. We’ll have lower taxes. We’ll have safer neighborhoods. We’ll have shorter lines in the emergency rooms. We’ll have smaller classrooms.”

Pearce continued, “Obama and other critics of the bill are against law enforcement, our citizens and the rule of law. We hope other states will follow our lead. We cannot continue with weak-kneed politicians. States have the inherent right to enforce the laws of our country.”

To help his own re-election to the U.S. Senate, John McCain endorsed the bill and encouraged Jan Brewer to sign it into law.

For the first time in 30 years, illegal aliens, their enablers and anyone caught helping them will face the rule of law. What a concept! What a country!

Ed Kowalski is the Director for 9/11 Families for A Secure America (www.911fsafoudation.org).