Comments on: Arizona Law Misses Point

By: Kevin Bach

Kevin Bach — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:28:14 +0000

Also why are the people protesting for rights they do not deserve if they are here illegally, if this was done in their country of origin you can be sure you will be arrested and deported.

By: Kevin Bach

Kevin Bach — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:26:17 +0000

Lets look at some other country’s immigration laws, most country’ have stricter ones than the U.S. does. In Europe if you are in a country you are detained and sent back to your country.If you want to come to this country do it the right way.

By: copycat

copycat — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 10:08:23 +0000

also people say illegal aliens are just that illegal .why because a law says it is. just because a law passes does not mean that law is a just law .dont assume just cuz people vote for a law it is correct . have we not learned anything from our past

By: copycat

copycat — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 09:55:13 +0000

why do you guys keep saying the police need to legaly stop someone the police can use any excuse spitting on the sidewalk crossing the street whithout using the crosswalk ect ect so are we illegal for doing the simple things as spitting in public

By: magyart

magyart — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:46:19 +0000

Please understand the a new AZ immigration law does NOT allow officers to stop and detain those who are suspected of not being in the country legally.

Police officers must make a legal stop, for a non-immigration issue and have probable cause to arrest or detain an individual before the police can even inquire about one’s immigration status. This is a higher standard then that which the federal govt. uses and offers greater protection to illegal residents than all other states.

Further more, if a resident has a valid identification, he is considered a legal resident.

Only those residents that are detained, with probable cause, and are undocumented, can be questioned about their immigration status. The local police will not make any immigration decisions regrding these residents but simply report them to ICE. This gives the federal govt. the opportunity to do their job. They may decide to hold the violent residents and release those without warrants.

If all detained residents, without documentation, are reported to ICE, the new law actually works without profiling.

By: Yvonne Bang

Yvonne Bang — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 03:40:44 +0000

I really appreciate all of the comments thus far left. Debating important issues that matter to us is necessary to and part of a functioning democracy. I would here like to address a few of the comments made.
As far as the comment requesting, “schools [to do] a better job teaching,” I feel a bit sheepish that my article falls short of NY Times-caliber material (although I do hope I’ll reach that level one day!). I am still working on my skills as a writer. However, I must remind readers that this is an opinion piece, and as an opinion, it automatically implies the existence of opposing viewpoints. I welcome your opinion as I hope you will welcome mine–no need to criticize UCI’s beloved Literary Journalism Department for sharpening my opinions when I alone accept responsibility for that.
To the very same reader, I would like to ask what serious crimes in Arizona are we speaking of and why is it “undisputed? ” Without “illegal immigrants,” would Arizona all of a sudden become a crime-free zone? Does that mean only the “illegal immigrants” are prone to criminal acts?
To another reader, automatically, the term “illegal immigrants” was translated to mean “Hispanics.” This is the inherent problem to HB 2165 that we have to worry about when we think about ramifications of this bill. There is a large population of people who will make this same mistake, which will lead to racial profiling.
Lastly, I’m not saying that this law wouldn’t work if executed in a perfect world. Perhaps it would curb illegal immigration. In my opinion, I believe it will just lead to racial profiling and civil suits, which will simply cost the state money. My point is simply that the state has bigger fish to fry and there are legal citizens on the dole putting a drain on the system who have long been overlooked.

By: Arifa

Arifa — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:14:52 +0000

@leoadan.. I do not understand what you are trying to say.. Except that it looks like you are inciting war. Regarding to what you said about not taking “citiezen” jobs, it is the most ignorant statement made yet.

I have had to wait 10 years to see my 2 year old daughter, now 17. I waited in line and was asked if I was interested in smuggling her over through Mexico from Asia.

The border is a legitimate threat to the nation’s security. I think there are a lot of sleeper cells from the far east who have “slipped” thru the border pretending to be Mexicans.

Good job Governor, We have your back.

By: Lady

Lady — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:01:24 +0000

First of all, it is not illegal according to the immigration laws of the US to be in this country undocumented. You may not like this fact, but it *is* the law of the land. Here’s an article where Gov. Christie explains it: http://www.nj.com/morristown/index.ssf/2008/04/christie_clarifies_illegal_imm.html

It is a misdemeanor to come into the US without a visa. That is a crime, and is illegal, but it is not illegal for the person to then remain in the US. It is not illegal for a person to come in on a visa and overstay once that visa expires. That is merely a civil violation which is less of an offense than a parking ticket.

Secondly, if most of the undocumented people who have ever come to the US could find a way to become a resident alien, they would do anything they had to do in order to immigrate here through the proper channels. There is no Ellis Island anymore. There are no waiting lists. There are only very specific categories under which an immigrant can qualify for a visa to immigrate to the US. Here they are:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1326.html

I’ll summarize them:

You can immigrate to the US, if you have an immediate family member who is a citizen or permanent resident (mother, father, sister, brother, spouse). You can immigrate if you have a very specialized employment or research skill with multiple publications in a journal of your speciality. You might be able to immigrate if you’re from Panama, Hong Kong, Iran or Afghanistan and can serve as a translator. You might be able to immigrate if you are a religious worker, a juvenile court dependent, or a broadcaster or NATO member. If you’re lucky enough to win a lottery visa, which right now means you’re from a Muslim country — those designated as state sponsors of terror (and has done so since 2000), you can immigrate to the US.

55,000 lottery visas are awarded annually. In order to qualify for one, the immigrant must only document that he/she has the equivalent of a high school diploma or two years of work experience. The countries of preference for these visas at the moment are Sudan, Iran, Egypt, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Iran and Cuba.

Another 70,000 visas are issued to religious workers or religious worker helpers annually. Of that amount, 95% are issued to those of the Islamic faith.

You can read about these categories here:

http://barenakedislam.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/diversity-visa-lottery-fast-tracks-thousands-for-immigration-from-terror-sponsoring-nations/

http://vdare.com/malkin/visa_scam.htm

Those people come here legally, and many of them kill Americans in the name of jihad. But almost no one is talking about that.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of undocumented immigrants pay taxes, contribute to social security and medicare, even though they will not avail of those services themselves.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2008-04-10-immigrantstaxes_N.htm

http://reason.org/news/show/122411.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18077009

By: leoadan

leoadan — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:47:23 +0000

Illegals never take away citiezen jobs, because of hispanic hard labor the economy rates have grow and thanks to them schools, offices and other state labor camps, has been mantained clean, they buy and they sell and more of all they pay taxes and more money is taken away from their checks, wich much money goes to the government and that way there is enough money to support programs like medicare ect. If the approximately 10.8 millions of illegals go, these state and other states economy might just fall in a tremendous impact, besides if there is no migratory reform and anti-immigrant law is approved, you will have some mad immigrants, which crime rates might grow and thats a way to start war.

By: Win

Win — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 05:29:11 +0000

As an example, lets consider a recent case, the Georgia student who got arrested for driving without a license, apparently gave a false address, without a license probably didn’t have insurance, had been illegally getting in state tuition, and very possible other immigration benefits.

The above case is a prime example of why all cases of illegal immigration should be prosecuted, those here illegally are seldom if ever prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and they to often get away with multiple crimes.

Their actions teach nothing but disrespect of our country and our government, and we are hearing that message loud and clear. Since many of our government want big government, they need to clean up their act and enforce our laws and protect our border. It is part of showing us that our government is fit to govern.