SB1070

Update

Yesterday afternoon, I got back from the Crossing Borders: Encountering God conference up in Phoenix.  It was a time filled with talking about our responses to immigration from a faith-based perspective and how we can "encounter God" in all of the complexities of the issues.  People from all over the nation were present at the conference, which added a lot more perspective to the conference.  I feel that so often I get caught up with what is going on only in Tucson and Arizona that I forget that there is a much wider world out there where similar immigration challenges and global politics are taking place.  I was lucky enough to attend workshops on the DREAM Act and the PC(USA) and Immigration.

When we arrived on Thursday we were informed of ICE raids that had taken place in southern Arizona, especially in Tucson.  The raids supposedly targeted shuttle services, but of course also affected everyday people on the street.  What hurt even more about this was that it came on the tail of the new Arizona Senate Bill 1070.

SB1070

Last Tuesday, Arizona lawmakers approved one of the toughest measures in the country against illegal immigrants, which will direct local police to determine whether people are in the country legally.  Senate Bill 1070 makes it a misdemeanor to be in the state of Arizona without proper immigration paperwork, and also requires police to determine immigration status if they have a "reasonable suspicion" that someone is in the state illegally.  What this amounts to is that anyone that looks Hispanic can be pulled over and questioned as to their status.  If someone has an accent and accidently left their wallet at home (which has happened to us all), they could easily be caught up in this law. Sounds like racial profiling, doesn't it?

Many groups have created petitions to send out to representatives and to Gov. Jan Brewer, urging them to veto the bill and to act for real immigration reform.

And this is where it really gets to me.  Where is the national and local discussion about immigration reform? It seems like so many people think that creating stronger enforcement is the way to "fix" the "immigration problem."  But a broken system cannot be fixed by enforcing that broken system!  There needs to be real change, done in a realistic manner.  And there are ideas out there for this.  The DREAM Act, for instance.  Introduced in March of 2009, it would grant temporary legal status for high school graduates who were brought to the United States as undocumented children and who now have a good record in school and the community.  It would allow them 6 years to complete two years of college or two years in the military and after this is complete, to obtain permanent legal residency.  These are people who have grown up in the United States, gone to our schools, played on our sports teams, gone to our churches.  These are people who, for all intents and purposes, are as active and involved "citizens" as you and I.  Yet, they cannot receive loans or public scholarships to attend college, where they can become even more productive members and leaders of our society.

Or what about reviewing and reforming our foreign policy laws, especially those involved with free trade (NAFTA)?  We should be taking into account the affects of subsidies on our own system and especially on Mexico's economy.  Why were they made to take away their subsidies while those in the U.S. increased?

Or think about the history if migration in the Americas.  Contrary to popular belief, American history doesn't start in 1492 when "Columbus sailed the ocean blue."  People in the Americas migrated through the land to visit family, to work crops, to hunt, to celebrate.  And even up to 100 years ago, families were able to cross the border line to visit each other without problems.

For me, SB1070 highlights the inadaquacies of our current immigration legislation and the need to take a realistic and healthy look at how to reform it.  I hope that steps will be taken soon so that Arizona and the rest of the nation can show to the rest of the world our care for other human beings; basically, that we still have some humanity in us.

If you are interested in adding your voice to the thousands who have already spoken up about SB1070, check out these sites:  Tell AZ Governor to Veto Racial Profiling Bill at presente.org, Stop the Madness in Arizona! at action.nclr.org, and Tell Governor Brewer to Stand up for Arizona and Veto SB 1070 at change.org.  Also, write to your legislators about the need for immigration reform and about the importance of the DREAM Act.