The article I read was about a Representative of Alabama talking about the new law that was put into affect there. The new law was passed on September 28 and has been called the toughest immigration law in the country. It was largely based on the Arizona State immigration law that was passed on the 23 of April. There is a lot of controversy surrounding these two laws by people who see both sides of the issue. On one side you have people who wanted everyone to be equal and to have the same rights. While the other side sees illegal immigrants poorly because they cheated the system and are reaping all of our benefits that could be going to someone who is legal. After the Alabama law was passed into law people brought it to the district courts for being unconstitutional among other reasons. A United States District Judge Sharon Blackburn ruled on the law and cut certain points out of it. What is left is as follows, Schools must check every student’s and parent’s immigration status and report it to the state, police officers must ask anyone who they believe is undocumented to prove they are legal, it is now a state crime to be illegal and undocumented, contracts entered into with an illegal immigrant are now null and void, and illegal immigrants can be detained for as long as necessary.
People are making a big deal about these laws because of how long our country has had an issue with immigrants. We can see from the packet that our teachers gave us that all the way back to 1790, when the first law was passed about immigration there have been people with different opinions about this issue. There have been periods when people welcomed immigrants in because the economy was strong and during periods when they didn’t, they had exclusion acts that shut certain races out. Currently everybody is starting to realize that the more illegal immigrants coming into the country and taking legal American’s jobs the more people cannot make a living. The main reason why this law is significant is because people are unhappy with people coming illegally to the country at this time.
There are two deeply divided sides of this issue. One consists of the people who brought the law to court and believe it should be removed. Here are some of the reasons why people believe the law should not exist. The children with illegal parents will not go to school for fear of never seeing their parents again. Parents will be afraid to go to work. Bad cops who like harassing people will stop potential people just for the fun of it. There is a fear that the cops will be seen more as immigration agents then as police officers. Also they believe people will start talking about ethnic cleansing going on in the state.
The other side consists of people who believe that it will help out the states with jobs and money. Representative Mo Brookes of Alabama is on this side. This is his response to the critics of this new law. “Those are the intended consequences of Alabama’s legislation with respect to illegal aliens,” Brooks said. “We don’t have the money in America to keep paying for the education of everybody else’s children from around the world. We simply don’t have the financial resources to do that. Second, with respect to illegal aliens who are now leaving jobs in Alabama, that’s exactly what we want.” The fact that the law is doing what it was designed to do means that it is working. This is the overall message of all the supporters of this new law. After it was passed thousands of kids did not show up for school and thousands of parents did not show up to work. When the illegal immigrants do not show up to school or work it opens up resources that would otherwise be used up. People also believe that this will deter illegal immigrants from coming into Alabama.
Links: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65351.html
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/10/alabama_law_quotes.html/#r1
If you had to take a side on this issue and state your case on why this was the right choice, which side would it be and what are your reasons for choosing it?
I do agree with this law to a certain extent. I think that illegal immigration is wrong and any way to check should be done. Children should not be taken from their parents because they did not have the choice of coming here to the U.S. The parents are the ones that should get punished for their choice. It can be racist though to ask for someones documents just be your judgment on them. Cops shouldn't make that choice because not everyone that comes illegally is a certain race just because they come from the same country. I think that if they want this law that it should go for everyone. If you are pulled over for anything illegal then you should have to prove that you are here legally. This will stop discrimination and still catch illegal immigrants.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this law, to a certain extent as well. I do believe that illegal immigrants should not be allowed into this country, I believe there should do some sort of citizenship test offered in other countries in order to move here, or some sort of process that allows an orderly fashion. I believe that having schools check immigration status is fine, but the state should be reasonable about it. Children should be allowed to stay due to the fact that it was the parent’s choice to come to this country, not the child’s. It should be under the parent’s fault. Also, I don’t really believe that officers can ask anyone who looks illegal to prove they are a citizen. It is racist and should not be tolerated for. But, I do agree that there needs to be a more concrete procedure in order to get illegal immigrants out and to bring them into the country in a more satisfying way because people will always want to come to this country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this law to a certain extent as well. I think that Illegal immigrates should not be allowed in our country. But I think that they should not be allowed to go up to people acting suspicious and ask for there papers. The only way that they should be able to ask for papers are if they are doing something bad, they should not just ask any person that look like they are not citizens. People are also afraid to get to school and to get jobs becuase they do not want to be taken out of the country and have there family be left behind. If someone is being deported I think that the whole family should go as well the kids should not be left behind. I also think it is racist because people should not be able to go up to someone that looks like an illegal immigrant and ask for papers because sometime they did come here the right way and they might find that to be discrimination.
ReplyDeleteI am really on the fence about how I feel about this issue. At times I feel like immigration is something that people are making too big of a deal about; if it weren't for immigration none of us would be here really. I don't like that people are so uptight and possessive about this country. I think that we should not be so rigid and harsh about immigration, many immigrants might just be trying to make a better life for themself, which is something we have no right to deny. On the other hand, the way immigration is going about is making things messy and harder for some people. With illegal immigrants, I think that it's not right of them to be trying to stay here illegally, I think it would only be fair to everyone if they did it properly. If someone immigrated to their country if they were still there they wouldn't want that person doing it illegally, because they would not think it is fair. With the cops being allowed to pull over anyone who looks suspicious, I am really indecisive about how I feel. It is racial profiling, but it is a way to try and figure out this issue. Government and politics aside, I think it is a bad thing to do to try and keep people out. We humans are so possessive and selfish, that we don't want to share anything and don't want to allow other people opportunity if it means it might take it away from us, it's just something that we are all guilty of. When looking at it through politics, I can see why it is so big of an issue, and I would rather not take a side if I could.
ReplyDeleteI must say that i agree with the law about illegals being found and kicked out of the US. However to stop every person that looks mysterious is just wrong. If the law was edited a little bit it would be perfect. They should have to have legitiment proof that the person is illegal before they check for their papers. That way not everyone is pressured and scared of the police. The police should not be allowed to harass just anyone they see on the street. If they have proof that the person is illegal then the law should be heavily enforced.
ReplyDeleteI mostly agree with this law, but with some exceptions. The addition of this law would help benefit the high unemployment rate in the United States with removing the illegal immigrants from their jobs. However, I feel like the children of illegal immigrants should still be allowed to go to school to have an education. I realize many people don’t want to keep paying schools to educated illegal children, but it’s not their fault that they were brought here illegally. Their parents are the ones to blame, but if the parents are detained, then the children are too. In addition, I feel like the police will take this new law as an advantage and not use it appropriately. I don’t like the idea of them narrowing it down to Latinos as suspects of being illegal and not think about the other races that could also be suspects; this could cause an uproar of discrimination. The police will not be seen as the good guys anymore, but instead will be avoided and this might cause an increase in crime rates among the United States. Overall, this law will definitely have to be watched carefully to see if it will prove to be helpful or not.
ReplyDeleteI also agree to this law, but only to a certain extent. This law states that illegal immigrants are not allowed in the country, which I agree with. But it also says that officers can question anybody for being a legal citizen or not. I do not agree with this because as said above, in other responses, it is considered to be racist. But then again, I think that if you got in trouble with the police, then they are able to check your documented papers proving your citizenship. Also, children should be allowed to stay since it was the parent’s choice to come to the country and it should be the parent’s fault, not the child’s. In all, I think there does need to be a better method of getting illegal immigrants out of the country and back to their original country.
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ReplyDeleteI partially agree with this law. I think it is more than fair for it to be against the law to be illegal and undocumented, and for schools to check the immigration status of children and their parents. However, I find it absurd that officers in this state can now demand documentation from anyone they believe is an illegal immigrant. That right is based solely off of stereotypes and officers with a certain bias can and most likely will abuse it. Police officers should only be able to reprimand someone for things which they can see them doing, not which they believe they may or may not have done.
ReplyDeleteI can see how this law would be a controversial issue because there are so many different ways to look at it. At first, I thought it was wrong since illegal immigrants don't have to pay the taxes that citizens do and some immigrants bring back the money they made here to their father country where it is worth a lot more. However, after reading about how immigrant children are scared that their parents may not come home and their status is checked upon entering school sort of disturbed me. Most of the immigrant parents believe they are giving their kids a better opportunity but the kids have no option in being a citizen or not, they are not old enough to independently make the decision to be a citizen. In this way, the law seems like it could escalate and get out of control, especially if racial profiling and emigration of these immigrants continues. Perhaps there should be a larger push on making illegal immigrants become citizens, rather than deporting them back to their country.
ReplyDeleteAs well as the classmates who posted previous to me, I am split between the two sides of the law. If I had to choose only one I would choose the side that Representative Mo Brookes of Alabama is on. Like him, I believe that if the immigrant is here illegally, they should be checked by police if they are under the assumption they are undocumented. Even though the United States is a country of equality, the children of illegal immigrants are getting the opportunity as the children whose parents are here legally and paying taxes. The economy in the United States isn't stable enough to cover these illegal families that aren't putting any of their own money into the system. I support this law because like Tyler said, it may prevent people from coming to the US illegally. Even though the officer are putting stereotypes on the immigrants and making assumptions as to who they portray to be an immigrant, they are doing it for a appropriate purpose since the United States isn't in the position to look past the people who are doing nothing but hurting the economy. I can understand that it is a shame for the families to avoid work and school but I cannot justify and defend them, because of the sole fact that they are here illegally and using up the tax dollars that legal families are contributing to the economy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this law that illegal immigrants should be checked for papers and if illegal then they should be deported from the country. But I do not agree on how this process is being done. This law is basically using racial profiling to catch illegal immigrants and I do not think that is fair or right. Cops should not be allowed to walk up to any person who looks suspicious and ask for papers right on the spot. For one reason, most people legal or illegal do not always carry their papers to prove of citizenship on them and also people are scared and nervous to know that at anytime a police officer can come up to you and harass you for papers. So I believe that this law is a very good law when you look at the meaning behind it, to keep out illegal immigrants, but it needs to be fixed in a few parts about how they are going to check if a person is an illegal or not.
ReplyDeleteI personally agree with this law, but like everyone else, to some extent. People who come here illegally should not be tolerated for. We have tons of people trying to get into this county legally, and it is not fair to them. This new law is tough one, but shows the illegal aliens that we serious about this major problem However, i do not think that someone could be stopped and asked for their papers, based on appearance. I find this to be considered racist, and unethical. For example, if a cop has strong feelings about immigration, they may just stop any person they see that could be maybe Latino. This is not right for the people who do the right thing and come into this county the right way.
ReplyDeletei do agree with the law and how people coming to the U.S. illegally should not be aloud. in the article it says that all the illegal immigrants are getting jobs and getting there kids education, because you have people who cant get there kids to school because they are poor too but the LIVE in the U.S and they don't. The illegal immigrants do deserve to get an education but we should figure something out for them. So yes i believe that this is a great law to help the U.S.
ReplyDeleteAs many other people had said, I agree with this law to a certain extent. I believe that illegal immigration is wrong and an issue that the United States must take action with. If an illegal immigrant is found to be here illegally, I agree with the United States to send them out of the country because there are people who are abiding by the law and trying to enter the United States legally with documents, etc. However, for police officers in Alabama & Arizona to be patrolling and stopping people who seem "suspicious" is very stereotypical, racist and completely unacceptable. It would not be very convenient or ethical for immigrants who are here legally to be constantly carrying papers to prove that they are in fact here legally. Children aren't attending school and parents aren't going to work in fear that they may be stopped by that one officer who is just trying to give everyone a hard time and asking for documentation strictly based on appearance. Anybody living in the United States should have the right to an education and not have to live in fear, but I do understand where the states are coming from by making the law since illegal immigration is such a big issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this law because I believe that the United States is having a huge problem with the amount of jobs available to Americans. I feel as though illegal immigrants are occupying many jobs and this law restricts them to do so. The reason being is because many illegal immigrants choose not to go to work, in fear that they might have to prove that they are legal immigrants. On the other hand, I disagree with this law as well because I think this gives the police officers too much authority and it enables them to be racist as well as stereotypical towards men and women they believe to be illegal. This allows racial profiling which I think is morally wrong and authority figures should not be allowed to do so. In addition, people come to America in search of a better life but this law enables the families to live in fear of being caught as illegal immigrants. Parents are then unable to attend work which means they won't be able to provide for themselves as well as their families. Children are also not going to school based on not having documentation on a legal immigrant status which restricts them from receiving a proper education. I have very conflicting views on this law but I am leaning more towards the idea that this law is wrong based on racial profiling.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this law at a certain extent as well. I do believe that illegal immigrants should not be allowed into the country and I think that there should be some type of citizenship test offered in their country so that they can move here like Erika said. But I do not think that they should be allowed to walk up to a certain person and ask for their papers just because they look suspicious. I think that they should only be allowed to ask someone for their papers is if they catch them doing something bad or illegal. If someone gets deported I think that the whole family should go so that no one gets left behind. I also think that it is very racist for officers to ask anyone who looks illegal to prove that they are a citizen.
ReplyDeleteI also partially agree with this law. I believe that the law is reasonable to a point. Illegal immigrants are illegal and can be deported. And I do understand why they don't go to work and skip it and try to avoid the police to avoid being stopped and deported. But it isn't fair for tax payers to pay for illegal immigrants to go to school for they don't pay taxes because they are not registered to the country and aren't citizens. I also think that it is ok for schools to keep tabs on which students have illegal parents and are in our country illegally. Although, I don't think that it is ok to give the police the right to pull over random people just by discriminating towards them and stereotyping people based on what they look like and demanding them for their papers. There needs to be a line drawn and the police should not have the right to discriminate against people to crack down on illegal immigrants. So, I am in the middle of both sides.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with this law. According to the Constitution, we are all afforded equal protection under the law. The law must mandate that either everybody is stopped at a certain point like an immigration check point, or no one can be stopped for the purpose of checking their immigration status. If the police do stop an individual, they should have their immigration status check with their license and registration or they shouldn't have the policy. The Constitution cannot be breached just because a state wants to crack down on illegal immigrants. This brings up the other issue with this law. It does not fall under the responsibility of the states to deal with issues of immigration. The law would be unconstitutional even if it didn't violate the equal protection clause because it still would violate federalism. This law is extremely unconstitutional and the Supreme Court needs to strike it down.
ReplyDeletelike a lot of my classmates i agree with this law to a certain extent. I agree with Cassandra about the Illegal immigrants taking up jobs. Also illegal immigrants do not pay taxes, other people are paying for illegal immigrants to go to school. If an illegal immigrant is found, then they should be deported. However, the way the government is handling the situation is unconstitutional and rasict. The police should not be allowed to stop anyone who looks suspicious and ask for their documents. It is racial profiling.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, i am all for this law and the action of removing illegal immigrants out of the country. I believe that they should be taken out as soon as possible meaning i understand why this law came into play. I believe that these people don't belong here and should go back to their rightful home. I understand that this country is viewed as a savior in the eyes of many but coming here illegally is completely wrong. If they wish to come here they must come legally through a visa or any other legal way. However, giving the authority to a police officer on how to judge someone if they are illegal or legal is too harsh on the victim. This issue becomes a racist issue and unconstitutional. Officers i think should be limited on what to ask someone when they are questioning a citizen. As you see, many people are already angry about this law and rightfully so but i can see why the law was made. Having an astounding amount of immigrants is an issue and needs to be controlled as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteYou've probably heard this enough by now, but I also agree with this law to a certain extent. I view illegal immigration as wrong. People who came to the United States illegally have no right to be here and should be removed. America might be a place of freedom, equality, and oppurtunity, but coming here illegally shouldn't be tolerated. However, giving cops the right to stop anyone who looks suspicious and demanding their papers is racial profiling and isn't right. I think officers should have valid proof that the person is illegal to stop them and that should be the sole reason. I can see where both sides are coming from on this issue. On one side, there's the fact that they came here illegally and on the other side the way the government is handling the issue is wrong. I am kind of split on this law.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of illegal immigration and what to do about it is something that I have a tough time taking a side on, but ultimately I end up chosing the side against less immigration regulation. According to Numbers USA, America is currently home for 22.7 illegal immigrants among which 22.2 millions are of Hispanic origin. All south near-border states suffered from the flood of illegal immigrants throughout decades but Arizona was the first to actually take a stand, with Alabama now following. Both of these laws will show a huge decrease in illegal immigrants in both states. Not only that but it will tighten up the US Mexican boarder, making it harder to sneak people and drugs across it. The USA has a large market for Mexico's narco trade.The Federal government has failed this country because of a lack of enforcement of our existing immigration laws. Although many argue that the illegals pay taxes on wages earned illegally they ignore the burden of the taxpayers in social services, medical, and education costs. I understand the argument that we are all immigrants in some way but back when our grandparents/great-grandparents/ancestors immigrated here it was a time that the United States government was trying to populated out extremely unpopulated country. There was room and jobs available for the people coming here to America, and even then there were restrictions on who could come, and how many people we allowed in. And I also understand that a lot of the people that come here come because they really have no where else to go, they are escaping harsh governments or wars. But why is it the United States burden to take all these people?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the law to a certain point. I think that making sure that the thought behind the law is a good ideal but I think it was taken way too far. Even though we should be trying to get rid of all illegal immigrants this law basically forcing people that may look suspicious to have an ID or papers on them to prove their American citizenship. I think even though statics say that having illegally immigrants isn’t affecting the jobs we want I still think that because they are here illegally that they shouldn’t be allowed to stay. So Overall I agree with the law and disagree, I think it has good intent but is too harsh but we can’t have it both ways.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that illegal immigration is a big problem, I'm not sure I can agree with this law. It seems pretty harsh to me and could pose many issues. I think many aspects of the law are opening an opportunity for discrimination and harassment. It is allowing people who "look" like they might be illegal to be questioned. This seems very discriminatory to me. So even though I think the law was created for a good reason, the way it works is not acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this law because police have the right to ask motorist who may have broken the law for identification, registration, and their citizenship. Every motorist must adhere to those laws in all fifty states and if traveling to any other country requires you to provide proof of identification, it shouldn’t be any different here. The police need to be able to identify law breakers, illegal immigrants, and terrorists because they need to provide security to American families. Not everybody by performing an illegal act is a terrorist, but how would a police officer know that if he is unable to ask for identification. If you have already broken the law by entering this country illegally and you break another law on the road, it is only a matter of time before they break more. Americans don’t get away with breaking laws so why should we make an acceptation?
ReplyDeleteI am split between whether to agree or disagree with this law just like most of the other classmates posted. As many others said I agree with the law because anyone who is illegally coming into America should not be allowed. Our population is growing enough on its own, I do not think that we need to have it increase anymore. However, I do not think that the police should be allowed to ask random people to see their citizenship papers. The police need to have a sufficient reason and evidence before they ask anyone in the United States to see their citizenship. I understand that the police are trying to find the people who broke the law but unless if they have some kind of proof behind their theory they should not be asking people regarding anything about their citizenship. Every United States citizen is treated with respect if they have immediate proof that they belong to the U.S. but what about the Americans who are really citizens but don't carry around a document saying that they are? I do not think that anyone should have to carry around papers saying that they are a citizen. There are other ways that the government/police can identify illegal immigrants without embarrassing themselves and U.S. Citizens.
ReplyDeleteI believe that illegal immigrants should be banned from entering the USA, and deported if caught without the proper legal documents. The US is going through a severe economic crisis, and we are not able to support all these new immigrants coming in to our country each year. Not only that but they also abuse much of our benefits that should instead be going to the American citizens. I don't necessarily agree that they are taking our jobs, but I do agree that they are taking advantage of our benefits. It is wrong to discriminate against foreigners and purposely stop them just because they look suspicious. Rather what should be done is a thorough background check on every immigrant that has benefits or a legal job to check if they have the proper documents.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this law. If an American breaks a law then they are punished. If an illegal immigrant breaks a law and comes here then it is now racist to remove them from the country because they did break the law. I also think that we should focus on keeping the illegal immigrants out instead of focusing on getting them out. The other side of the law where police can ask for papers of anyone who they suspect is wrong. It can be very racist to someone who is not an immigrant or who came here legally to be accused of being an illegal immigrant.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this law, but don't at the same time. I believe that people who come here illegally should be kicked out, but at the same time they shouldn't. I don't believe the main objective of illegal immigrants is to take people's jobs or cause the U.S to go into debt. They have families to think about and they will do whatever is necessary to keep them alive and healthy. When there is a loved one you have to look out for you will do what you have to do.
ReplyDeleteI think the law will work it is a tough law but it is helping the United States get out of debt. In the long run we can get a better economy and have less of a immigration problem. Like i said it is a harsh law and it might not make a huge effect that they think it will as a country because only one state is following it but they are taking care of problems on their own terms because it has become such a big problem.
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