Saturday, April 24, 2010

Latino GOPers peeved over Arizona immigration law

Republican legislators helped push through Arizona's controversial immigration proposal that was signed into law on Friday by Gov. Jan Brewer. But not everyone from the GOP was pleased with the law that is supposed to take effect in roughly 90 days.

According to the New York Times Carolyn Allen was the lone Republican Senator who voted against the bill though she didn't publicly state why. Additionally, some Latino GOPers are none too pleased about the proposal such as a group called Somos Republicans (SR). In a press release issued yesterday the organization- which is trying to increase Latino voter registration for the Republicans- blasted both Brewer and the GOP congressman who helped push the law:

It is unfortunate that our own members of the Republican Party believe that we have to trample on our Constitution in order to “enforce our laws.” We believe that (Congressman Russell) Pearce is easing the requirements for “probable causeand his attempt in expanding our government. What Pearce’s bill proves is that he does not have the answer for illegal immigration within the confines of the American Constitution, and in fact he is not solving the problem by creating more problems.

We believe United States Hispanic citizens have a right to be safe in their person from illegal searches and seizures, and we believe Pearce’s efforts are violating that. SB 1070 is a direct slap in the face to Hispanic Americans who have fought and died for several American wars because this new law can be abused by authorities to pull us over with mere “reasonable suspicion”.

Despite criticizing Pearce and Brewer SR would place the "ultimate" blame on President Barack Obama for his passivity towards pushing for federal immigration reform.

It remains to be seen if the law will help or hurt Brewer's reelection bid among a packed Republican field. At an appearance last week at the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Black and White ball the group's president urged her to veto the proposal. According to a discussion on NPR 17% of Arizona's eligible voters are Hispanic, which could be critical in upcoming elections if they head to the polls.

Online Sources - azcentral.com, New York Times, Somos Republicans, The Latin Americanist, NPR
Image - Kansas City Star (Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer)

3 comments:

Defensores de Democracia said...

"The Hill" : Arizona's Republicans might pat themselves on the back for passage of this law, but they will be soon swimming in a Sea of Latino Babies and Voters


The Hill
Desertion in the desert
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/markos-moulitas/93397-desertion-in-the-desert

April 20, 2010

By Markos Moulitsas
From Wikipedia :
Moulitsas is founder and publisher of Daily Kos (dailykos.com).
Moulitsas was born in Chicago, Illinois to a Salvadoran mother and Greek father. He moved with his family to El Salvador in 1976, but later returned to the Chicago area in 1980 after his family fled threats placed on their lives by communist insurgents during the Salvadoran Civil War.[1] As an adult, he has recounted his memories of the civil war, including an incident that occurred when he was 8 years old, in which he saw communist guerrillas executing students who had been accused of collaborating with the government.[3]

After graduating from Schaumburg High School in Schaumburg, Illinois,[4] he served in the U.S. Army from 1989 through 1992.

Markos was born in 1971, often known by his username and former military nickname "Kos" (ko-z), is the founder and publisher of Daily Kos, a blog focusing on liberal and Democratic Party politics. He is also a weekly columnist at the Washington, D.C. newspaper, The Hill, and a contributing columnist at Newsweek.[1]


Desertion in the desert - Some excerpts :

In 1994, California conservative activists pushed through Proposition 187, a ballot initiative that prohibited undocumented immigrants from using social services or public education in the state. Legal challenges and the election of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in 1998 killed the law, but not before California Latinos were lost to the GOP for generations.

Indeed, since 1994, Democrats have won all gubernatorial, Senate and presidential elections in the state except for those won by current Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (originally elected in a bizarre recall election). In a state that is just slightly over 40 percent white, alienating Latino and Asian immigrant communities has been electoral death for the GOP, with few signs of a turnaround anytime soon.
............................

But while conservatives might pat themselves on the back for passage of this law, the long-term effects shouldn’t be so comforting. Latinos make up 29 percent of Arizona’s population. If current population trends continue, Arizona will become a majority-minority state by 2015. In 2003, more Latino babies were born than non-Hispanic white babies. And by 2007, Latino babies were 45 percent of the total, compared to 41 percent for non-Hispanic whites, and 14 percent for non-Hispanic Asians, Native Americans and African-Americans.

In 2008, Arizona Latinos opted for Obama 56-41, which seems lopsided, but nationally, the number was 67-31 for Obama. Sen. Jon Kyl also got that respectable 41 percent in his 2006 reelection battle. In 2004, John McCain won 74 percent of the Latino vote.

While Arizona Latinos aren’t a solid Democratic voting bloc, this law may very well change that. The Proposition 187 analogy is instructive — the GOP engages in heavy-handed, hateful, discriminatory and partisan demonizing of immigrants at its own electoral peril. As immigrant-rights’ group America’s

Voice said in a statement, “The Arizona State House of Representatives just voted in favor of draconian legislation that declares open season on immigrants and Latinos in the state.”

And as California Republicans can testify, Latinos have long memories.

Raciality.com

Vicente Duque

Anne Rettenberg LCSW said...

Illegal immigration serves the interests of corporations that want to pay substandard wages. Why do supposedly progressive people support illegal immigration? There is a divide in this country between genuine progressives and neoliberals who are on the side of corporations and not the people.

Why do hispanic groups oppose this law? Is it really in the interest of law-abiding hispanic citizens to encourage the growth of an illegal subculture that undercuts fair wages and workplace standards? Or is it that they really think the US will abolish immigration controls altogether (a complete fantasy) and let anyone wander in to this country and become "legal"? What would the purpose of that be, to turn the US into a Latin American country??Since the illegal immigration problem is caused by people wanting to LEAVE Latin America, isn't this kind of humorous? Mexicans don't want to live in Mexico...but hispanic Americans want to turn the US into Mexico? Be careful what you wish for!!

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