A step back for equal rights in the Southwest

The Arizona House of Representatives recently passed new legislation about immigration control that, if reconciled by the state’s Senate, will make it a state crime to be in the country illegally, thereby handing over federal jurisdiction to local law enforcement agencies.

Arguably, Arizona should be able to raise concerns over the quality of border security provided by the federal government; however, we feel the current legislation is far too representative of regional grudges and runs the risk of exacerbating already tense ethnic relations.

The provisions of the new bill include the stipulation that anyone whom police have “reasonable cause” to suspect of being in the country illegally will be expected to produce a driver’s license and/or immigration papers or pay a minimum $500 fine.

We ask, what exactly will constitute “reasonable cause?”

In practice, it might be little more than a subtle accent or particular skin color.

It is simply not tolerable for any government legislation to authorize racial profiling, which is precisely the outcome one should realistically expect from the new bill.

Other provisions of the bill further represent the specific targeting of certain ethnic groups. The legislation would make it illegal to seek work from a road or sidewalk if doing so slows traffic.

We wonder, are drivers not capable of restraining their own gawking? Apparently Arizona’s legislators don’t think so, at least not when the solicitor might be an illegal alien.

The same thinking will be applied to new hitchhiking laws that make it a state crime to pick up a person if the driver “knows or recklessly disregards the fact that the alien is here illegally.”

Bureaucrats can argue for hours about the motivation behind such a stipulation, but the reality on the ground is clearly racially motivated.

The new laws imply that Arizonian drivers will be able to distinguish an illegal alien by sight from a speeding car. We ask, how could anyone think this wouldn’t be based on skin color?

Statistically, it might be true that the majority of illegal aliens within Arizona’s borders are of Hispanic descent.

Statistically, it might even be true that every example of racial discrimination present in the new bill is already an informal practice in police departments and hiring forces across Arizona. However, such statistics do not justify the use of legislation to harden prejudices into law.

Before putting this new legislation into action, Arizona state senators should seriously consider the effects on the ground level. In this case, the real consequence will be state-sponsored racial discrimination in daily life.