Immigration law SB 1070 is one the government is trying desperately to fight in court. Americans continue to give their opinions on the subject as well. The New York Daily News reports that a CNN/Opinion Research poll found that 55 percent of Americans support Arizona, when previous polls in early July by CBS News and Rasmussen indicated that 57 and 65 percent of respondents support SB 1070. Now that SB 1070 is on the verge of going into effect in Arizona, an interesting wrinkle emerges- Arizona authorities can round up illegal immigrants, but the state will not have the power to deport them. Attorney General Eric Holder with the ability to make that happen doesn’t seem like he wants it to.
SB 1070 is useless
SB 1070 will empower local law enforcement officials across Arizona to enforce illegal immigration law if there is “reasonable suspicion,” but the federal government’s opposition means that it will not be deporting illegal immigrants. The Wall Street journal explains that Arizona has to choose if they want to fill up their prisons with illegal immigrants or if they would rather let it alone right now. Finding out if an immigrant is in the country illegally is easy; first you have to arrest the person and then call Customs Enforcement. Immigration judges are the people who make the final decision on deportation although the ICE’s decision is what puts them there. However, the federal government will not detain the individual. Hearings might take years to really occur and make a decision.
If SB 1070 goes into effect, ICE could be showered with Arizona Police calls
The Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are approximately 460,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona. With SB 1070, ICE would start receiving many more phone calls. Only the cooperation of the Justice Department will make this an efficient process; otherwise, gridlock will likely ensue for both Arizona and ICE.
SB 1070 just being considered is enough for Maricopa County
A federal-local partnership plan is what an Arizona county used to do this themselves. 26,146 illegal immigrants had their “deportations or forced departure” done by Maricopa County since 2007, reports the Associated Press. The program called 287 (g) made it so there were officers in Maricopa County there to enforce immigration law.
SB 1070 enables Arizona police force to enforce the law
The 287 (g) provision is a section of the 1995 U.S. law called the Immigration and Nationality Act. SB 1070 could be much like section 287 (g) in that officers could be required to watch for illegal immigrants in the state. Homeland Security was in charge of enforcing 287 (g), but apparently they didn’t do a very good job since SB 1070 has to come out. In addition, it is many believe SB 1070 will prohibit state and local government officials from preventing the enforcement of immigration law, a noted problem that has contributed to past inefficiency of the program. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa explained to ABC, “If they want to block my jail, I’ll put them in jail.”
Taxpayers deserve value for their money
Considering the cost of running federal immigration programs has grown from $ 5 million in 2006 to $ 68 million in 2010, costs are skyrocketing, reports the Journal. Perhaps effective enforcement – instead of a countless array of special interest groups and a spineless federal government – would ensure that those taxpayer dollars are well-spent.
Associated Press
hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IMMIGRATION_LOCAL_ENFORCEMENT?SITE=WDUN and amp;SECTION=HOME and amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
New York Daily News
nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/28/2010-07-28_arizona_immigration_law_sb_1070_has_support_of_55_of_americans_new_poll_shows.html
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703292704575393690850825662.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLEForthNews
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_Section_287%28g%29
Expansion of federal fingerprinting program for illegal immigrants
youtube.com/watch?v=HEkfMccuDVI
