Over many generations an ongoing problem has been present in the United States of America, illegal immigration. Although many have stated that they would take action and make a difference in its current state. Everyone had just been all talk and no action until April 23, 2010 when Arizona's governor Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070. "Its aim is to identify, prosecute, and deport illegal immigrants" according to Jan Brewer. Like all things, this new bill has its pros and cons.
SB 1070 is bound to have its positive things. The U.S needs to start engaging themselves in local law enforcement. The case of the matter is, as Meg Whitman would say, "Illegal immigrants are just that, illegal". Unfortunately, Whitman is right. If we did nothing about our current illegal problem, people would eventually begin to believe that there is no big deal in engaging in illegal activity since people come here illegally and get away with it, then they can do something illegal as well. Another argument that has been made in order to defend the new senate bill is many people feel like immigrants "hurt the economy and drive up crime". Sadly enough this point is very true. A little less than a year ago I attended an only hispanic church. I hated going to this church, people were rude and misbehaved constantly. I once heard someone cussing at church! Believe me, I was stunned. The problems got so bad that some of the kids starting tagging the church. Everyone in my family got tired of it so we eventually moved back to Harvest, which was the complete opposite. Everyone was polite, and although I am sure it was not 100%, mostly everyone there was white, english speaking, or documented. Getting rid of illegal immigrants WILL get rid of many crime problems which will decrease the number of jails they have to build, walls they have to clean, and worries they have to spend. The money that is then left from that can later be taken to build new schools or do better in the community.
SB 1070 also has its negative. According to the bill, people who look suspicious, will be searched on whether or not they are legal which will of course lead to racial stereotyping. When Brewer was asked "What does an illegal immigrant look like?" she responded with "I do not know what an illegal immigrant looks like,". Although she said that discrimination will not take place at all during the searches, everybody knows it deep in their hearts that racist police and authority are just itching for a reason to get "suspicious looking people" into trouble. This bill will bring down everything that we have worked hard to teach our people. As a nation we tried to work hard in order to move away from the whole black slavery nonsense. Even if a black wasn't a slave, they were looked down upon. This makes me believe that even though a hispanic isn't an immigrant, we will be treated like one. Many families come here "looking for a better life and striving for a brighter future". Not everyone is here to looking for trouble. AND we are not all from Mexico =P
Bibliography:
Jennifer McFayden. "An Overview of the SUpport Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act"
About.com
Randal C. Archibold. "Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration" New York Times. April 23, 2010
Adriana – Interesting point: How many illegal immigrants occupy space in US prisons? How much of the taxpayers’ dollars are spent keeping them here in prison? I’m not sure how your story relates to your arguments. What is the purpose behind this? What is considered suspicious behavior? Is there a legal definition in the bill? Do police officers really have that bad of a reputation where most Americans would assume that racial profiling would take place? Shouldn’t we give our men in uniform the benefit of the doubt until there are reports of such behavior? Isn’t part of living a better life and having a brighter future related to living in a land where laws are enforced? These are just some thoughts. Overall this is good work. Content 5; Organization 5; Total 30/36
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