An Immigration Lawyer & Negotiator Comments on SB 1070 – The Enemy Within
By sriznyk ~ July 12th, 2010. Filed under: Press.
DALLAS, TEXAS, July 12th, 2010 It took some time, but I have to state I am glad the federal government finally filed a suit challenging Arizona SB 1070. In reading through the federal complaint it becomes clear that Arizona is not equipped to handle immigration. Moreover, the way SB 1070 is worded, it will create a lot of confusion and issues of interpretation. The severity of the wording will force many people to spend time in jail while their immigration status is being resolved. Racism will develop where it wasn’t before, and worse yet, America will hurt.
This great country of ours, as young as it is, has had many great burdens to bear. The recent years have been especially tough on the country and its citizens, who are disliked in many parts of the world before they open their mouths, simply for being American. Well, in my humble opinion, this country of ours, that is making such an effort to be a melting pot of the world has just been dealt the biggest blow imaginable, and it was Arizona, “the enemy within”, so to speak. People who don’t understand English across the globe only get the gist of what went on in Arizona. As someone well traveled, let me assure you that the misunderstandings that have rippled globally have done irreparable damage to the integrity of what America stands for and once again, we are feared and disliked, rather than loved and respected, which we should be. As a country, we are embarking on one of the toughest global challenges we could take on- integration of global populations. We have no one’s shoulders to stand on, we are learning as we go along and doing our best. This should be respected because even as an immigration lawyer who is in private practice and not working for the federal government, I understand how large and multi-faceted the challenge is. Short of war, I cannot imagine something more layered and complex to resolve than immigration policy.
The federal government does not have the resources to handle all the additional request and workload Arizona will impose on it. As an international and immigration lawyer for the past 22 years I have always wondered why certain systems are duplicative and wasteful of government resources. For example, the fact that a person has to get a case approved in the U.S. and later again at an embassy or consulate. Same job repeated. However, when I think of the hardship imposed on the federal government ascertaining that various people who are ’suspected’ of being illegal by the Arizona authorities, the waste of federal resources is hard to fathom. The main reason is that many people who will be caught under this massive net will be found to be legal; people the federal authorities have already logged into the system and accounted for. The flip side of this section of the law is that many people who are here legally will end up spending time in jail while Arizona waits for verification, which couldn’t possibly be instantaneous. They will lose jobs. Children will go without food and care while the other parent works, while one is in custody. Children will lose time away from school. And these will be children of US citizens, unless of course, Arizona really is sincere in thinking they will make no mistakes in the enforcement of SB 1070.
Let’s consider that for a moment. We have someone visiting from Italy who chooses to go to Arizona. The person does not keep a passport in their pocket because he or she wants to go to nightclubs and cannot afford to lose it. He or she is in a car accident and is arrested for some reason. No proof as to citizenship. That person speaks with an accent. The person is residing with a friend and not at a hotel. I somehow don’t think the police officer is going to drive the person home to pick up the passport. However, with an accent, and no identification, I would think under the person would fall under the provision in SB 1070 that states: “REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE, WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON. THE PERSON’S IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL BE VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1373(c)”. Jail it is. (Continue reading and you will understand). He or she will have a great story to tell their friends and relatives about Arizona when they get home. However, being a high-level negotiator and understanding human nature, it’s not only Arizona they will remember….it’s America, and tourism will fall, on its way down with our global reputation.
This aspect of the Senate Bill 1070 brings to light a very important aspect: chilling effect: it will affect tourism not only to Arizona but to the United States. In all honesty, I don’t know why such a broad and strict law was enacted. I am absolutely not in favor of illegal immigration. However, before I closed the door to a state of the United States, I would simply pack up and move somewhere else, we have many more to choose from. Arizona is going to lose a lot of money, as will their citizens and residents. The housing markets will suffer and with that decline many future retirees will lose the money they so desperately will require when they are no longer working. Foreigners will not put Arizona at the top of their list when vacationing. To some people who are new to understanding America, all that will resonate when they think of moving to the US will be Arizona. Of this I am certain as I have conducted seminars to the lawyers of Rome at the State Bar and this was asked of me. The person thought all of America was like this: an unwelcoming police state. I wish I knew how many decades it will take for this to be forgotten.
Another section of SB 1070 I find curious states “A PERSON MAY BRING AN ACTION IN SUPERIOR COURT TO CHALLENGE ANY OFFICIAL OR AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE THAT ADOPTS OR IMPLEMENTS A POLICY THAT LIMITS OR RESTRICTS THE ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS TO LESS THAN THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY FEDERAL LAW.” Arizona is going to have to hire a lot more judges and build courtrooms to accommodate every lawsuit that arises out of this provision. Moreover, one of the finest qualities a police officer can bring to the table is his or her discretion about a matter. This is taken away. More importantly, interpretation. What does implement mean? How does someone limit or restrict enforcement of federal laws? SB 1070 is not clear. I cannot see any interpretative sections that clearly define what everything means and what the boundaries are. Everyone not wearing a seatbelt will ‘have’ to be stopped under this law, or face a lawsuit. At the end of the day, Arizona should be one of the safest locales on the planet because all crimes should be noted and enforcement will ensue. That part will be nice. However, they will need to hire a lot of people to enforce the laws, and courtroom personnel to deal with all the lawsuits as well as judges.
Racial profiling is a very controversial area and one that SB 1070 is presented with defending. It prohibits racial profiling. However, let’s look at who makes the decisions here….a person not a computer. Humans will make mistakes. Read the cases and you will see how many US citizens have already been deported nationwide because people make mistakes. However, what criteria can we use to determine whether someone could possibly be a foreigner? Race, color, and national origin cannot be considered. So what is left? How is a person charged with enforcing SB 1070 supposed to enforce to the fullest extent SB 1070. What does an illegal person look like? If it’s not race, then let’s say the person has your WASP look…what’s left? Is everyone with an accent a suspect or only some people? If someone does not want to profile, does that mean anyone who is Hispanic is off the hook? Realistically, what is left? How do you determine someone can be illegal? Was the law not drafted with the point of dealing with all of the illegal persons from Mexico? Or is it the Canadians they wanted to move out? But then they can look and sound like Americans (with the exception of using the term ‘eh’)….what would characterize an illegal? Their clothes? Do we profile on the basis of poverty or style? The answers do not seem simple. Are the people burdened with enforcing this law subject to unreasonable demands placed on them? Are they adequately trained to deal with all of this?
Carrying your documentation is another controversial area. The people who like SB 1070 claim that under federal law aliens have to carry documentation and they are only enforcing federal law. There are many laws we each have to follow. However, sometimes laws aren’t enforced and at other times they aren’t practical. The feds have decided not to strictly enforce that provision and I think it’s because they feel enforcing it makes no sense. For example, I went to board a plane last week and the previous passenger had forgotten their passport. In a society such as Arizona will create, that passport will be sold and used for ID; a street value of about $5,000. A lot of IDs will be lost or stolen; citizens will be mugged just for their IDs and an underground market will be created for people who want to purchase IDs of all kinds. Make no mistake, 22 years as an immigration lawyer has demonstrated to me that illegals are not just the people everyone generalizes them to be; there are many very wealthy people who have blended into this society and they are very much illegal; I know because they call me. They have either committed crimes that cannot be waived (claiming to be a US citizen) or entered with their families a long time ago and just stayed with no way to repair the problem. If there is an ‘amnesty’ of sorts they will not apply as they have too much to lose. When I went to Harvard 10 years ago I heard that Boston alone had 250,000 illegals of Irish descent who blend into the city just fine.
