Arizona is ground zero in the battle over immigration reform. Arizona’s SB 1070, the most oppressive state anti-immigrant law in the U.S., engenders racial profiling and has been placed on hold as law suits wind their way through federal courts.
Arizona’s abhorrent example is spawning copy-cat type laws in at least eight other states. In Colorado, Kent Lambert (R) introduced SB 54, a facsimile of Arizona’s SB 1070. A Denver Post Jan. 30 editorial argued about SB 54 that the legislature should “leave immigrant law in the desert.” And Governor Hickenlooper indicated that he would veto such legislation if it were to pass.
Then there is Arizona’s HB 2281, which went into effect on Jan. 1 and which targets ethnic studies by outlawing courses that among other things “are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”
Add Arizona’s SB 1309 which would define children as citizens of Arizona and the U.S. if at least one parent is either a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident and you see how Arizona wishes to usurp and redefine U.S. law. The constitution holds that anyone born in this country is a U.S. citizen. Arizona’s laws, which sell fear and target the Mexican-origin population, are a step in the wrong direction.
Rather, we need immigration reform to bring the undocumented out from under the shadow of society so that we can recognize their contributions and to integrate them into society. We did this in 1986 under IRCA through a legalization process. Now we need immigration reform to stop escalating ethnic enmity. It’s not just that racially biased laws are passed, but growing incivility and threats lead to violence and murder against Mexicans in the U.S.
In November 2004, the Morales family, all U.S. citizens were assaulted by border vigilante Roger Barnett while they were hunting on state land in southern Arizona. Barnett had a military assault rifle, held the group at gunpoint, kicked the women and threatened to kill them. Barnett was found guilty in 2009 and the women plaintiffs were awarded $100,000 in damages for the assault.
In Pennsylvania, more than a year after their acquittal on state charges, two Shenandoah men, Derrick Donchak and Brandon Pierkarsky, were convicted of a federal hate crime and could be sentenced to life in prison for beating to death Mexican immigrant Luis Ramirez. Prosecutors argued that the men beat Ramirez because they didn’t like Hispanics and wanted them out of town.
Five years ago at a Denver immigration conference at the state capitol, I was challenged by a burly Anglo man, who said to his friend: “there’s that Estevan, the immigration rights activist. I’ll bet we get into a fight.” I was in the hallway and as I went by, the larger man stepped and blocked my path. I could bump into him or quickly side-step and avoid a collision, I side-stepped.
I reported this near fight to an immigrant rights lawyer who was in a session. She told me that she had just been threatened by a man sitting next to her. He grabbed her forearm and said: “we know what we’re doing and we’re going to stop you all.” She knew he was with the Colorado Minutemen and told him to let go or she would press charges. He did so and left the room agitated. She reported this threat to the capitol police and they followed up with the perpetrator.
That same year, African American legislator Terrance Carroll was mailed five bricks because of his support of immigrant rights legislation. Also a union organizer told me that thugs threatened to shoot him. Where does this end, with more Representative Giffords?
States have been passing racially biased anti immigrant laws before and during the economic crisis. But I sense they are more concerned about the changing face and complexion of America where it is predicted that people of color will become the majority in the U.S. in 2050.
The Obama administration has increased border enforcement and control through hiring 1,000 more border patrol agents on top of 1,200 new National Guard troops, while electronic drones monitor crossing areas. There have been more deportations in the U.S. than in previous administrations. This stick approach is working. But we need the carrots of legalization and the federal DREAM Act, in-state tuition for students, to balance out border control with humanitarian solutions.
Our legislature can pass SB 126, the ‘ASSET’ bill which would provide in-state tuition to undocumented children who seek a college education. We need to put the current violence to rest and enact fair and just immigration laws.
Estevan Flores, Ph.D. is a sociologist and executive Director of LARASA, the Latin America Research and Service Agency, Colorado’s oldest Latino non-profit agency. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
