5 Responses to “To-Do List”

1. David in Cal Says:
   April 29th, 2010 at 9:04 am

   I wish people who criticize Arizona ’s law would read it. The law provides that stops must be “reasonable”. If it’s used to harass Hispanics, i think judge will rule that practice unreasonable, hence illegal.

   Furthermore, the law provides that someone can be asked for ID only he’s already stopped for some other purpose, such as trespassing.

   Finally, it’s not that burdensome. The law provides that the person stopped simply has to show his drivers license or other state ID and that’s the end of it. I show my drivers license all the time: when I fly or check into a hotel or rent a car or enter a hospital, Some credit card uses require showing a drivers license. Ditto for entry into some office buildings.

2. Gary in Chevy Chase Says:
   April 29th, 2010 at 10:16 am

   “Reasonable” is a very scary word. What you or I (or the Supreme Court) might find reasonable may differ significantly. We need a judge to issue a warrent to conduct a “reasonable” search in most cases. A police office needs “reasonable cause” to stop someone on the street and demand identification, and while most oficers are upright and proper, there are at least some who abuse this standard. Such abuse impacts our constitutional rights.

   For example, is it reasonable to assume that a group of “Latino” men standing in an alley where day laborers are regularly picked up by contractors are engaged in a conspiracy to violate the law against employing illegals? Sure it’s circular, but it might also be viewed as “reasonable” by the conservative/activist judges who run the Supreme Court.

   As to government ID: you might be surprised at the number of US citizens who do not carry ID with them; not everyone has a drivers license, and not everyone has alternative “official” documents.

3. David in Cal Says:
   April 29th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

   One modification of the above post. According to an op ed in USA Today, the new law specifically prohibits the use of racial profiling.

   Some fear that the law will empower police to challenge the legal presence of all Hispanics, legal and illegal, based solely upon their appearance, but that’s not correct. Police officers may only question the immigration status of a person when they have “reasonable suspicion” to believe that the person is in the U.S. illegally. This provision merely extends to immigration offenses a half-century-old tool called “stop and question,” created by the U.S. Supreme Court. To prevent racial profiling, the law states that in constructing “reasonable suspicion,” police officers “may not solely consider race, color or national origin.”
   http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-04-28-editorial28_ST1_N.htm

4. David in Cal Says:
   April 29th, 2010 at 7:17 pm

   Today’s NY Times has a defense of the law written by Kris W. Kobach, who I believe is the author of the law.

   http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/opinion/29kobach.html

5. David in Cal Says:
   April 30th, 2010 at 6:21 pm

   Arizona is tweaking its new immigration law to more strongly prevent racial profiling and broad-based stops. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/in-response-to-critics-arizona-tweaks-new-immigration-law-92495249.html

Leave a Reply