Okay, I’ve now read the new anti-immigration legislation in Arizona, senate bill which gives the legislation the name we most commonly call it, SB1070, the house bill which refines it, and the governor’s executive order regarding training officers with the express intent of avoiding racial profiling with the law’s implementation.
I admit I should use scare quotes around the term read. I generally have a higher comprehension rate with what passes in front of my eyes. I tell you, the language of these bills is what gives lawmakers and lawyers a bad name. Still, it is possible to unravel what is being said in ways that are comprehensible to the rest of us. And with a little help from commentators, I think I get the gist, and the why of why I’m going to Arizona.
The new law covers four areas. The most notable is through the mechanism of requiring proper identification papers it criminalizes being present in this country without documentation. The first conviction is a misdemeanor, the second a felony. The second area is requiring police to make a “reasonable attempt” to determine a person’s residency status should the officer have a “reasonable suspicion” the individual is an undocumented alien. The third area allows civil complaints against governmental agencies with policies that impede these laws, which include civil fines for offenders. And the fourth area involves the process of seeking day labor in Arizona, where people gather in certain areas, and those wishing to hire them, cruise by, stop, and hire. It criminalizes that stopping if it is “impedes traffic.”
Surrounding this is the assertion the Federal government has failed in its obligations to address the flood of illegal immigration into the country. And I think that’s true. Former president George Bush deserves credit for trying. But his own right wing blocked it because part of the package included a path to citizenship for the many people who have been here for a substantial amount of time, have worked hard, and have integrated into the communities in which they live. The current administration has the issue in the lineup, but wish to tackle other things first. The result is that there has been no action at the Federal level for a long time, and still some time ahead before it will be addressed. Frustration at the borders is reasonable.
But there are other issues at play. I have spoken of this whole matter with a number of people who are frankly unsympathetic with the plight of the undocumented. Their response seems to be summarized in the statement “They’re illegal.” And apparently with that simple statement folk are willing to not only wash their hands about the plight of the undocumented among us, but also to be comfortable with pretty much anything that causes them to leave. And that’s certainly what we’re getting with SB 1070.
As a person of faith, I cannot let it sit there.
I accept that the way things are there are national boundaries, and I accept that people have a right to control those boundaries. Specifically, I accept there are reasons to control the movement of populations from beyond those boundaries into a country. And there is also how we deal with those rights and reasons. Our actions addressing these issues must be consonant with human dignity and worth. I hope those who have a sense of faith in our ultimate connections, who see worth and dignity of every person agree.
And this legislation does not take these things into account. It ignores how the vastly larger numbers of people who come here without documentation want nothing more than a chance to work. They admire this country. They wish they could be citizens. And so while it may be necessary to limit the number of people who can come here, to know who is here, and to deport many, maybe most who are caught, to make their desperate attempt to come here among us a crime is heartless. It is cruel. It is unnecessary. It is wicked.
Similarly, no matter how finely nuanced it is made to charge the police to look at people and to wonder if they’re here illegally can only lead to racial profiling. This isn’t about the nuances of looking for terrorists, this is looking for people who work our gardens and kitchens and little sweatshop factories around the country. Again this is unnecessary. It is cruel. It is wicked.
Our charge as people of faith is to find the generous heart. We also need a cool head. But they need not be incompatible. We need to be willing to listen to reasonable reforms to immigration, to acknowledge the needs of secure borders, and when reasonable to support those calls. And we need to challenge, loudly, with great vigor, anything that serves to hurt the most vulnerable among us.
For these reasons I am joining with those who are going to Arizona on the 29th of May to protest this cruel and unnecessary legislation.
I hope to see you there.
And, if not, I hope you will find the many ways to express distress at this horrible turn of the American heart, and to help recall us to our better angels…
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