Arizona’s new immigration law finds favor locally

[Jeanfromfillmore]

This article isn’t all that different from many other, but the comment at the end is worth the read.
Survey: Arizona’s new immigration law finds favor locally
By HERB BROCK
Wanda Kopczynski has a unique perspective compared to most area residents when it comes to the recent and ongoing controversy surrounding Arizona’s new immigration law.
The Lincoln County woman actually has lived in Arizona and says that experience and the many years she also lived in Seattle helped shape her opinions about immigration.
“I grew up in Kentucky but lived away for more than 40 years, and that time was spent in parts of the country where their communities were multicultural,” Kopczynski, who works at a Danville retail business, said Saturday.
During the years she lived in Tucson, Kopczynski developed through friendships with many Mexicans and other Hispanics an understanding of their culture and an appreciation for their work ethic and desire for a better life.
“It’s easy to categorize a group of people who you don’t know, and that’s what I think a lot of people are doing when it comes to Hispanics and immigration,” she said. “From my friendships with Hispanics, I discovered most of them, legal and illegal immigrants, are very hard-working people who love America and are here to realize the American dream like the rest of us.”
From her time in Arizona, Kopczynski also learned the state has a history of elected officials who are intolerant when it comes to certain minorities, from Native Americans to undocumented immigrants.
“I am really not surprised that Arizona’s elected leaders would enact such a harsh law,” she said. “Arizona has been home to a large Indian population for decades, dating back to before it was a state, but the state didn’t give them citizenship or the right to vote until the 1940s or so.”
Regarding the influx of immigrants from south of the Arizona-Mexico border, Kopczynski said migration has been going on for years.
“People from Mexico and Central America have been coming into Arizona, other border states and now here in Kentucky and every other state for years, taking a lot of jobs Americans weren’t doing, and they did it with the apparent approval of a lot of politicians and businesspeople and other employers alike,” she said. “Now they suddenly want to crack down on these people.”
Kopczynski said Arizona’s law is an overreaction that will waste the time of police officers.
“It’s foolish to have a law that requires police, who have plenty of important things to do as far protecting people and going after real criminals, to spend their valuable time checking out so-called suspicious-looking people and demanding to see their papers,” she said.
Kopczynski believes federal immigration laws should be enforced by federal law enforcement officials, not by the states. She favors a plan that would call on the feds to do a better job of enforcing the border but also would give illegal immigrants an opportunity to apply for citizenship as long as they comply with a checklist of requirements, such as paying taxes.
“We shouldn’t punish the millions of illegal immigrants who already are here,” she said. “Meaningful enforcement should start at the border.”
What they say
Kopczynski was one of two dozen people interviewed Saturday in the parking lots of various Danville shopping centers about Arizona’s controversial immigration law.
Most said they favored the Arizona law because it shows the state is going to get tough on illegal immigration and will enforce laws that the federal government has been lax about enforcing.
Several participants said they don’t support the so-called “pathway to citizenship” plan for illegal immigrants included in some immigrant reform proposals. Some even said they favored deporting every illegal immigrant.
“lllegals take jobs away from American citizens, and they take advantage of the system,” said Chris Stevens of Madison and Boyle counties. “I favor strict enforcement of our immigration law and deportation for every illegal the law catches.”
Tom Abner of the Danvlle area said he has “no problem” with immigrants coming into the country, providing they take the proper steps to gain citizenship. However, he said immigration laws either aren’t being enforced or those who are supposed to enforce them are being too lenient.
“Illegal immigrants seem to have more freedom and liberty and enjoy more benefits of American society than us Americans,” he said. “They seem to be getting certain jobs ahead of Americans, and they don’t seem to need auto insurance or have to pay taxes.”
Bill Bottoms of Danville, who said illegal immigrants are “nothing but outlaws,” said Arizona’s new immigration law should serve as a model for other states.
“Arizona is just frustrated that the federal government is not doing its job,” he said. “All they are doing is enforcing laws that should be enforced. I hope Kentucky follows Arizona’s lead.”
Gabriel Brown of Liberty agreed, saying Arizona is “fed up” and has decided to do the job the “federal government isn’t doing.”
“I am not against immigrants coming into this country to find jobs, as long as they do it legally,” he said. “My main concern with illegal immigrants is that they take advantage of our system, and that includes taking jobs that should go to legal citizens.”
Virginia Harness of Crab Orchard also cited the employment situation as a reason she wants the federal government to do a better job of enforcing immigration laws.
“It doesn’t seem to be fair to American citizens, including many Hispanics who have done it the right way and gotten their citizenship, for people to come into this country and get jobs when so many citizens are unemployed,” she said. “They get other benefits as well from education systems and our entitlement programs.”
Harness also noted that Mexico and other countries that are upset at Americans who want to enforce immigration laws have even stricter laws on their own books when it comes to aliens. She said if an American is living in Mexico illegally, they likely will be imprisoned.
Harness stressed, however, that she doesn’t favor harsh penalities against illegal immigrants or deportation.
“I am not for stricter enforcement of the laws,” she said. “I guess you’d say I favor moderate enforcement, and that includes securing the border but also trying to handle the illegals we have now in the country in as fair and practical a way as possible.”
Margaret Van Dyke of Lancaster is in the “moderate” camp as well.
“It’s perfectly fine with me that so many people come to this country, but I think they need to start working toward their citizenship as soon as they arrive,” she said.
Van Dyke believes illegal immigrants are “given too many favors,” including special consideration for jobs and benefits that should only go to citizens.
“What I’m for and most Americans are for is fairness, and I believe it isn’t fair for illegal immigrants to get better treatment than the citizens,” she said. “But I’m not for any crackdown on illegal immigrants. I’m just in favor of enforcement of the laws we have.”
Copyright: AMNews.com 2010
I found these comments right in the mark:
Thanks for the article. I find the "favor" lukewarm at best. As a long-time resident of Arizona I think that most people would prefer that all the millions of illegals already here need to go home as well. We never wanted them. They have bankrupted our medical system, our social safety net, our educational system and everything else it seems. They are the most prejudice people in the region. Illegals from Mexico are most prejudice against US citizens of Mexican descent. I can show you some websites that might give you an idea of the militancy and hate we have to live with. These people will not assimilate. They consider it politically correct to force you to have to speak Spanish, provide interpreters for them, and go to the extra expense of having everything bi-lingual.

The most racially prejudice people in this area are the illegals. I lived through the Civil Rights era and the Black Panther militancy and rioting and its coming again to a street near you. And much worse than last time I promise.

As far as profiling worries or claims that this law will create it? Oh bull puckie! My brown family members get pulled over almost every week for driving while brown and we never had that law before. This driving while brown has been going on for a long time and even with the cutbacks it continues. So now we must make sure we have our birth certificates (hopefully copies will suffice.) Yes it is a pain and it is insulting and it hurts but we still want the illegals to go home and we still support the law. It is a concern to us about possibly getting deported illegally and erroneously but if that happens we will deal with it then.

Meanwhile I consider that the illegal presence has made slaves of U.S. citizens. Our social safety net has been bankrupted meeting the needs of illegals. We have had citizens down on their luck actually die because our local version of Medicaid (AHCCCS) determined that the money was better spent on illegals than on citizens. And yes this was on the front page of our local paper years ago before it became too dangerous to continue the dialogue. We pay taxes to create that social safety net and when we become deathly ill or some other hardship befalls us we are denied the benefit of that social safety net that we paid into for years. The illegals get it. The means that we are denied the fruits of our labor. The only class of worker that is denied the fruits of their labor is the slave.

I believe that not only do most citizens want illegal immigration to stop, we want all of the illegals here to go home as well. The people quoted in this article are straddling the Presidents' keepers' objectives with the wishes of the U.S. citizen and all the ivory tower idiots who haven't suffered under this system but who are suffering bleeding heart disease for the illegal while totally dismissing the needs of the working poor citizen.
This was a comment from another article that is worth reading:
Yes, immigrants are the essence of this country. People of all races and nationalities have made our country one great, wonderful orchestra, so to speak.

However, whether for the sake of people manipulation or from just plain ignorance, to refuse to distinguish between immigrant and illegal immigrant is like not distinguishing between the people who work at the bank and those who rob it.
Love the criminal, but stop the crime.
The crime of illegal immigration from around the world has gone unchecked at an enormous cost to us as a nation. It has been a huge and often tragic economic burden, extending from the individual to the states to the country as a whole. It has affected our security, our environment and our national cohesiveness. And, personally, I'm sorry for the extensive damage the Latino illegal immigrants have caused our Mexican friends, neighbors, members of our community and country.
Kudos to Arizona for its courage! There are problems with the law, but the state has provided us with a huge step in the right direction.
Sharon Reese,