The fact that the state legislature in Arizona (backed by 70% of that state's population) have taken it upon themselves to pass legislation to deal with the overwhelming problem of illegal aliens in that state has gotten quite a bit of attention lately, to say the least. Here's a roundup of some of today's headlines...
Pressure Mounting to Legalize Immigrants [5] (WashTimes)
When this year started, immigration was an afterthought issue, as Congress was facing high national unemployment, a huge deficit, an unfinished health care bill, and energy and financial regulation bills next in line.
But immigrant rights groups refused to accept that calculus and have cajoled and pushed their way into the discussion. Along the way, they've been helped by politics, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's re-election bid in Nevada depending on tremendous Hispanic support....
Arizona takes the cuffs off the police [6] (Washington Examiner)
... The only people who approve, it seems, are the American citizens who have to live with the consequences of the federal government's long-standing failure to enforce its own immigration laws and protect the country's border with Mexico. Seventy percent of Arizonans -- and 60 percent of people surveyed nationwide -- favor the law signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer last week. The bill's chief sponsor, state Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, summed up local sentiment when he said that it will "take the handcuffs off the police and put them on violent criminals."
This is not the first time the public has been at odds with policymakers in Washington on immigration issues, nor will it be the last. But it's a clear warning that Obama will be on shaky political ground if he tries to ram an immigration bill through Congress without addressing border security issues first. ...
Arizona takes off its 'rainbow shades' [7] (Cal Thomas)
... If a state, or nation, has laws it will not enforce for political reasons, it mocks both the law and politics, to say nothing of the cultural order. If the language of laws has no meaning other than what lawmakers assign to them after a law is enacted, it is proof that we have arrived in a kind of legal "Wonderland" in which Alice is told by Humpty Dumpty, "When I use a word ... it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."
To which Alice responds, "The question is ... whether you can make words mean so many different things." Politicians constantly try....
JD Hayworth sees momentum in Arizona law [8]
... Mr. Hayworth said he strongly backs the new law, and accused Mr. McCain of changing positions. He said the senator, who has called for deploying 3,000 National Guard troops to the border, failed to support the Enforcement First Act Mr. Hayworth proposed in 2005 that included that provision.
"There is a lot of flip-flopping going on in the McCain campaign," said Mr. Hayworth, who served in Congress from 1995 to 2007.
Recent polls show Mr. Hayworth narrowing the gap with Mr. McCain in the GOP primary. A Rasmussen poll released April 16 showed Mr. McCain's support in the primary race at 47 percent, compared with Mr. Hayworth's 42 percent. In January, Mr. McCain had 22-point lead....
The Arizona Uproar [9] (American Thinker)
... An estimated 500,000 illegal aliens live in Arizona, and many are decent folks, to be sure. But the border is still wide open, and many more are coming. Last year in Border Patrol's 262-mile-wide Tucson Sector, agents arrested 241,000 illegal aliens, a drop of more than 130,000 from 2007.
It sounds great until you understand that gotaways outnumber arrests by three to one.
Does the country realize this, or have the people bought Janet Napolitano's political fairy tale that border security has been "transformed" from where we were in 2007? ...
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TAKE ACTION: Click here and contact your members of Congres [10]s and tell them you want more border enforcement, and that you oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.
