The Wandering Minstrel

This is the ninth in a series of ten articles intended to dispel misinformation generated by illegal aliens and open-borders liberals about SB 1070, the new immigration law in Arizona. The myth discussed here once again invokes the goose-stepping moron card:

MYTH: S.B. 1070 authorizes Nazi-like requirements for aliens to carry their “papers”.

FACT: Federal law already requires aliens to register with the federal government and carry their documentation (e.g., “green card”) pursuant to 8 United States Code §§ 1304(e) and 1306(a). A violation of these laws is a federal misdemeanor. S.B. 1070 makes this a concurrent state misdemeanor by mirroring these same sections of federal law. “In addition to any violation of federal law, a person is guilty of willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document if the person is in violation of 8 United States Code Section 1304(e) or 1306(a).” A.R.S. § 13-1509(A). These federal requirements have been in place for decades.

When I read SB 1070, I could clearly see references to Federal law throughout the document. The Obamination’s refusal to enforce Federal laws left Arizona no choice but to draft a law that would allow Arizona Law Enforcement to get the job done.

When I tell people we’ve moved to Wickenburg, they often ask “why there?” I give them the usual answers that the climate is nice (we like the heat), property values are good for buyers, historic small town atmosphere, friendly neighbors, plenty of services for a small town and most importantly, one of the lowest crime rates in Arizona and the U.S. I studied crime rates within the state at four locations which seemed reasonable places to relocate; Tucson, Marana, Phoenix Metro and Wickenburg.

Tucson and Marana are located in Pima County in the southern part of the “Valley of the Sun” (basically along I-10 south of I-8). Phoenix and Wickenburg are in Maricopa County (Sheriff Joe’s turf). Even though the vertical scales differ slightly on the clickable graphs above, you can see that personal and property crime rates in Wickenburg are relatively small. The graphs came from a real estate appraisal website’s demographics section for each of the four areas.

Initially, we picked Arizona because we have Utah CCW permits which are honored in Arizona. That point has since been rendered moot when Arizona Constitutional Carry went into effect in July of this year. We’re going to get our Arizona CCW anyway since it’s honored by as many states as Utah’s and we’ll be traveling out of state for vacations and such. We’ll try and stick to states with reciprocal permits.

This is the eighth of a series of ten articles intended to dispel misinformation generated by illegal aliens and open-borders liberals about SB 1070, the new immigration law in Arizona. I’ll start this one out with a quote from Ben Stein:

Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don’t have to prove they are citizens.

MYTH: S.B. 1070 may compel local police to ignore more serious crimes because they will be required to enforce federal immigration laws to the “full extent permitted by federal law.”

FACT: Police officers are only required to determine a person’s immigration status “when practicable.” A.R.S. § 11-1051(B). Individual police officers are not required to enforce federal immigration laws to the “full extent permitted by the law.” This provision solely applies to a law enforcement “official or agency” and not to individual police officers. A.R.S. § 11-1051(A). S.B. 1070 prohibits law enforcement officials and agencies from limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law by adopting so-called “sanctuary city” policies. A.R.S. § 11-1051(A).

Arizona needs this law because of the hypocrisy of the Obamination, who will shove unnecessary spending and unwanted social programs down our collective throats, but will completely ignore their responsibility to protect the citizens from foreign enemies.

This is the seventh of a series of ten articles intended to dispel misinformation generated by illegal aliens and open-borders liberals about SB 1070, the new immigration law in Arizona. The open borders crowd and the mainstream media also seem to believe these myths.

MYTH: S.B. 1070 uses German Nazi and Russian Communist techniques that compelled people to turn each other in.

FACT: S.B. 1070 does not have any provision requiring or allowing people to inform on another person’s immigration status and turn them in to the police. Such a report would not qualify as “reasonable suspicion” for law enforcement to determine a person’s immigration status. As acknowledged by the Los Angeles Times (April 20, 2010), this claim is unfounded because S.B. 1070 “would not require people to report suspected illegal immigrants to authorities.”

When the left wants to demonize law-abiding people for anything they disagree with, they invariably drag out the “goose-stepping moron” card and put it into play. When they have no reasonable argument, they resort to ad hominem attacks.

The graphic below came from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2009 Crime Statistics. It all looks encouraging but keep in mind this is the National average.

I wouldn’t count on these trends to be evident in places like Chicago and Detroit and other gun-grabbing communities. The trends otherwise show good correlation to the gun and ammunition sales boom since November of 2008. The Obamination and the Democrats would like to take credit for the stats below, but we know what’s responsible: More Guns, Less Crime.

This is the sixth of a series of ten articles intended to dispel misinformation generated by illegal aliens and open-borders liberals about SB 1070, the new immigration law in Arizona. The open borders crowd and the mainstream media also seem to believe these myths.

MYTH: S.B. 1070 allows citizens to sue the State or local governments if they don’t arrest enough aliens illegally present in the United States or if a police officer doesn’t inquire into every person’s immigration status.

FACT: Legal residents are only allowed to sue the State or a local government if it “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.” A.R.S. § 11-1051(H). This provision takes direct aim at cities that adopt so-called “sanctuary city” policies and not at the decisions of individual police officers.

Sanctuary cities have resulted in high crime rates, deteriorated infrastructure, overloaded emergency services, increased tax burden on legal residents and depression of property values.

This is the fifth of a series of ten articles intended to dispel misinformation generated by illegal aliens and open-borders liberals about SB 1070, the new immigration law in Arizona. The open borders crowd and the mainstream media also seem to believe these myths.

MYTH: S.B. 1070 requires police to enforce federal immigration law without providing training on how to do so.

FACT: Governor Janice K. Brewer issued an executive order requiring the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training (”AZPost”) Board to provide Arizona’s law enforcement with training on S.B. 1070 prior to it taking effect with particular emphasis on training to prevent racial profiling and other illegal practices. Arizona Executive Order No. 2010-09. AZPost immediately started preparations to implement that order.

Even though the rhetoric has dropped in the mainstream media, politicians and activist groups still spread the type of propaganda such as “no special training” and “racial profiling.” It simply ain’t so.

This is the fourth of a series of articles intended to dispel misinformation generated by illegal aliens and open-borders liberals about SB 1070, the new immigration law in Arizona. Mainstream media also seems to believe these myths.

MYTH: S.B. 1070 is unconstitutional because it intrudes on the federal government’s power to enforce immigration laws. Only the federal government has the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.

FACT: It is settled case law that states and local police may enforce criminal provisions of federal immigration law. See Gonzales v. City of Peoria (AZ), 722 F.2d 468 (9th Cir. 1983). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in Gonzales v. City of Peoria that “nothing in federal law precluded…police from enforcing the criminal provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.” It is well established that state and local police possess the inherent authority to arrest aliens who have violated the criminal provisions of federal immigration law. It is also important to note that S.B. 1070 expressly provides that a person’s immigration status may only be determined by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or a law enforcement officer authorized by the federal government to verify immigration status. A.R.S. § 11-1051(E).

The Obamination’s DOJ does not seem to realize that there is a strong president in the preemption tactic they are using to wage their war on Arizona. Their case should be thrown out by the 9th Circuit if only because they affirmed the Gonzales v City of Peoria case in 1983. The DOJ and ICE should declare war on illegal immigration and drug cartels instead of this empty suit.