To Ask or Not to Ask, Is That Really the Question?
To Ask or Not to Ask, Is That Really the Question?
The news of what Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer did with Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB1070) has slowly trickled into my life. I don’t ever watch the news, so hearing about this from the grapevine has been my only source of information. Until recently.
A few months ago I found out it was unlawful for a police officer to ask an immigrant’s legal status in the state of California. My native Mexican friend was explaining how police officers have harassed him and a friend of his. I know that this particular police force has been known for being vicious. I have experienced being cited by them, and let’s just say it was the first time I felt afraid in this particular city. Any how, back to the point. He told me they asked a friend his status and was trying to tell me how this was a basic violation of his rights. I try to be a very understanding person, but I didn’t get how asking someone if they are breaking the law, is a violation of human rights. I get asked if I have had anything to drink when I get pulled over late on Friday night. Then I remembered that it is a human right to live where you want to. If I was in an extremely oppressive country where I feared for my own life and the life of my daughter, I would want to move. I would probably want to move to America. However, should a police officer be able to ask if someone is breaking the law?
But as it is with anything controversial, I opened my big mouth and a huge can of worms. In California, we have a lot of illegal immigrants and well, I am not sure if we could live like we do without them. But does that make it right? Isn’t that taking advantage of them? It is cheap labor, but is it worth it?
Arizona is basically enforcing federal laws on a state level. If this is wrong, doesn’t that open the door to the federal law being wrong? Maybe it is. Maybe this is a Band-Aid.
Are we really going to spend millions of dollars defending this law, when in all fact it doesn’t solve the problem? There are so many things wrong with the system that this is just a distraction. I think that this is just a way to open the door for other challenges to our laws. Maybe they should be challenged. But while everyone is focused on the Arizona issue, the bigger picture and problems go ignored.
Our Country was founded on the idea of immigration. We promote the American dream, yet we make it so unbelievably difficult to come and live here. Some people don’t want any more immigrants, but isn’t that what we are all about? As a close friend pointed out, American Indians are the true natives of this country and we basically deny them that right.
The immigrants that I know have told me how difficult it is to become legal that it is almost impossible. People come here with the hope of a better life, trying to provide and support theirs. Isn’t is a basic right that they can live somewhere that they can feel safe and strive for a better life? Isn’t that something that you would want? On the flip side, if everyone under a bad government fled, who would be there to change that current government? So many questions, not that many answers.
So is the question really, ask or not ask if someone is illegal? Or do we need to face the bigger issues here?
The news of what Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer did with Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB1070) has slowly trickled into my life. I don’t ever watch the news, so hearing about this from the grapevine has been my only source of information. Until recently.
A few months ago I found out it was unlawful for a police officer to ask an immigrant’s legal status in the state of California. My native Mexican friend was explaining how police officers have harassed him and a friend of his. I know that this particular police force has been known for being vicious. I have experienced being cited by them, and let’s just say it was the first time I felt afraid in this particular city. Any how, back to the point. He told me they asked a friend his status and was trying to tell me how this was a basic violation of his rights. I try to be a very understanding person, but I didn’t get how asking someone if they are breaking the law, is a violation of human rights. I get asked if I have had anything to drink when I get pulled over late on Friday night. Then I remembered that it is a human right to live where you want to. If I was in an extremely oppressive country where I feared for my own life and the life of my daughter, I would want to move. I would probably want to move to America. However, should a police officer be able to ask if someone is breaking the law?
But as it is with anything controversial, I opened my big mouth and a huge can of worms. In California, we have a lot of illegal immigrants and well, I am not sure if we could live like we do without them. But does that make it right? Isn’t that taking advantage of them? It is cheap labor, but is it worth it?
Arizona is basically enforcing federal laws on a state level. If this is wrong, doesn’t that open the door to the federal law being wrong? Maybe it is. Maybe this is a Band-Aid.
Are we really going to spend millions of dollars defending this law, when in all fact it doesn’t solve the problem? There are so many things wrong with the system that this is just a distraction. I think that this is just a way to open the door for other challenges to our laws. Maybe they should be challenged. But while everyone is focused on the Arizona issue, the bigger picture and problems go ignored.
Our Country was founded on the idea of immigration. We promote the American dream, yet we make it so unbelievably difficult to come and live here. Some people don’t want any more immigrants, but isn’t that what we are all about? As a close friend pointed out, American Indians are the true natives of this country and we basically deny them that right.
The immigrants that I know have told me how difficult it is to become legal that it is almost impossible. People come here with the hope of a better life, trying to provide and support theirs. Isn’t is a basic right that they can live somewhere that they can feel safe and strive for a better life? Isn’t that something that you would want? On the flip side, if everyone under a bad government fled, who would be there to change that current government? So many questions, not that many answers.
So is the question really, ask or not ask if someone is illegal? Or do we need to face the bigger issues here?
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