The American Civil Liberties Union is raising eyebrows with the travel alert it has issued for Arizona, even before the state’s infamous SB 1070 (PDF) goes into effect.
American Civil Liberties Union affiliates across the country are issuing travel alerts informing individuals of their rights when stopped by law enforcement when traveling in Arizona. The unconstitutional law, known as SB 1070, requires law enforcement agents to demand “papers” from people they stop who they suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S. If individuals are unable to prove to officers that they are permitted to be in the U.S., they may be subject to warrantless arrest without any probable cause that they have committed a crime.
The ACLU points out that police, especially in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Venezuela-esque Maricopa County fiefdom, “are already beginning to act on provisions of the law” and their efforts are “meant to create a hostile enough environment for Latinos and other people of color that they voluntarily leave the state.”
Let me assure you that the ACLU’s warning, however headline-grabbing, is not over-the-top. Even in Yavapai County, I’ve seen people getting rousted by the side of the road and heard of the door-to-door sweeps. I know of one citizen — of non-Hispanic ancestry — who is leaving the state because she’s married to a Mexican-American and afraid for him and his relations. Maricopa County, where much of the xenophobia is centered, is much worse. My wife’s patients are afraid to drive to Phoenix to see specialists because of the danger of being pulled over and snatched by nativist goons in uniform.
If you are even somewhat browner than the average Norwegian, a trip to or through the Grand Canyon state might be a bit perilous — unless you like being forced to prove your American-ness to armed know-nothings alongside desert roads.
liberranter
July 1, 2010 at 9:26 amKudos to the ACLU, an organization that, for all of its far left-leaning agenda, actually gets it right more than it gets it wrong and is, sadly, one of the few legal advocacy organizations that actually stands up for the BoR. The Institute for Justice, a libertarian-leaning counterpart to the ACLU that to date has mainly been focused mainly on eminent domain and economic freedom issues, might want to jump on the broader BoR advocacy bandwagon as well. The more firepower in the freedom advocacy camp, the better.
That said, I really like the idea of “freedom” alerts of the kind the ACLU has just issued, a concept that can be applied to many other areas as well. While Arpiggo and his Maricona County Waffen SS thugs, in particular will no doubt derisively mock such public warnings as “stunts by liberal open borders advocates,” the damage being done to Arizona’s already justifiably tattered reputation is very real and will cost the state dearly.
What I find most disturbing, however, is that SB1070 is being hailed by states’ rights/10th Amendment advocates as an example to be emulated of states standing up to Leviathan’s bullying and extra-constitutional control. This seems to confirm my suspicions that far too many states’ rights advocates value the concept for its own sake, rather than as a means of preserving individual liberty in the face of centralized tyranny. I actually find the idea of an autonomous Arizona horrifying, given the dictatorial tendencies of its ruling classes and the appalling ignorance of the majority that allows these creatures to maintain their power base. To live in a state that is merely Leviathan on a smaller scale is is something I want no part of.