Opponents furious over Arizona's 'Nazi' immigration law

By Andy Goldberg Apr 28, 2010, 15:31 GMT

Los Angeles - The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles is not generally regarded as a bleeding-heart liberal.

So when Cardinal Roger Mahoney said that Arizona's new immigration crackdown 'encouraged German Nazi and Russian communist techniques,' it was hard to dismiss his invective as just another knee-jerk reaction from leftwing loonies.

Last week, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that requires local police to question people about their immigration status if there are reasonable grounds to suspect they are in the country illegally. It requires everyone to carry proof of identity, regardless of the legality of their immigration status.

The law has made Arizona ground zero of the US immigration issue, as its long, desert border with Mexico offers a gateway into the United States to millions of poor Mexicans eager for a chance at the American dream.

For years, federal officials have largely avoided dealing with the issue, scared off by the complicated politics, the impossibility of sealing the lengthy border, and the thorny civil-rights implications.

But such technicalities did not prevent Arizona from passing what is considered the toughest state immigration law in the country, backed by a growing band of rightwing anti-immigration legislators and millions of Arizona residents frustrated at the state's huge population of undocumented immigrants - estimated at 460,000.

Anger has grown as drug trafficking and gang wars have increased, and as immigrants allegedly take a greater share of government resources in hospitals, schools and prisons.

The slaying of veteran rancher Rob Krentz on March 27 in south- eastern Arizona by suspected illegal immigrants sparked a new wave of anger that eased passage of the bill.

Krentz and his dog were shot as he performed fence work on the 14,000-hectare ranch that his family has farmed for more than a century. Although no arrests have been made, speculation is rife that the killer was an illegal alien, or an immigrant smuggler, making his way from the nearby border.

'There is no higher priority than protecting the citizens of Arizona,' said Brewer, who also happens to be engaged in a tough Republican primary election.

'We cannot stand idly by as drop houses (intermediary places where illegal immigrants are deposited by smugglers), kidnappings and violence compromise our quality of life.'

Proponents say the law simply establishes state enforcement of long-standing federal immigration law.

Yet critics respond that the new law will compromise the quality of life of every person who happens to look Hispanic. Latinos fear being subject to almost arbitrary police apprehension and being asked to prove they are in the country legally.

'When I heard the law that passed, I couldn't believe it,' said Army medic Jose Medina, who was among the thousands of protestors rallying against the bill on Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona. 'If I take this uniform off, I'm just another person who came here illegally.'

Civil-rights activist Al Sharpton was one of many speakers at the rally to compare the law to apartheid, Nazi Germany and the segregation-era South. Sharpton said he would mobilize people from across the country to march in Arizona and get arrested if necessary to fight the new law.

'We cannot sit by and allow people to be arbitrarily and unilaterally picked off as suspects because of the colour of their skin,' he said.

'When I heard about it, it reminded me of Nazi Germany,' said Hispanic Federation President Lillian Rodriguez Lopez. 'It reminded me of South African apartheid.'

Her group is one of many that intends to appeal to the courts to strike down the law as unconstitutional.

Many senior police officers have blasted the law, saying it would build distrust between Hispanics and law enforcement authorities, and thus likely lead to more crime, not less.

Jewish organizations registered their outrage, saying the measure 'betrays the proud history of a nation built by immigrants.'

Across the border, leaders in Mexico were equally aghast.

'The criminalization of the migration phenomenon, far from contributing to cooperation between Mexico and the state of Arizona, represents an obstacle for the solution of common problems,' said President Felipe Calderon.

'Nobody can remain with their arms crossed in the face of decisions that so clearly affect compatriots who have contributed to growth for generations.'

He promised to bring up the Arizona issue in talks in May at the White House, where he is likely to find a powerful ally on his trip to Washington.

President Barack Obama has criticized the Arizona law as 'misguided' and called it a consequence of Washington's failure to deal with immigration problems. He pledged to renew his efforts to overhaul federal immigration policy in a way that would eventually legalize many of the undocumented immigrants now in the country.

The Arizona law could face challenges that would likely end in the Supreme Court. One possible avenue would be a case charging violations of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees protection against 'unreasonable' searches and seizure.