Arizona’s odious law SB 1070, has served as a catalyst for
anti-immigrant racism all over the country. The law requires police officers to
question a person’s immigration status during a stop, detention or arrest if
there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is an undocumented immigrant.
It targets and criminalizes people of color regardless of their legal status,
because it effectively gives the police total power to racially profile.
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Protestors march against anti-immigrant racism Phoenix, Arizona, Jan 16 2010 |
SB 1070 has polarized the people of Arizona by further
marginalizing the immigrant community that was already living in the shadows.
It has emboldened right-wing politicians who are using this law as political
fodder in their race for office.
Michigan Attorney General Michael Cox is one of the top
three Republican candidates in the race for that state’s gubernatorial primary.
In response to the Obama administration’s federal lawsuit against SB 1070, he
has rallied nine states to support Arizona’s immigration law in court. In the
latest legal brief, Michigan is joined by Alabama, Florida, Nebraska,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia, as well as the
Northern Mariana Islands. This is an opportunist legal maneuver that uses
racism as a way to gain support for his campaign.
Wave of
anti-immigrant racism sweeps beyond Arizona, Michigan
An anonymous group in Utah, fueled by anti-immigrant fervor,
sent a list of 1,300 names to immigration offices and media outlets July 14.
Violating federal law, it included detailed information such as Social Security
numbers, addresses, birth dates, and names of children and family members. The
list was comprised of almost all Latinos and the anonymous group demanded that
everyone on the list be deported. (PSLweb.org, July 22)
In a similar vein, Massachusetts legislators recently tried
but failed to pass a law including a provision for a “report your neighbor”
hotline targeting alleged undocumented immigrants.
Beyond the bourgeois political arena, SB 1070 has mobilized
racists who are taking violent measures to patrol the border, raising the
climate of fear in communities of color. The tightening of the border has
caused a record high number of deaths in the month of July as it pushes
immigrants to more remote, rugged and dangerous Arizona desert terrain.
A reputed neo-Nazi, Jason Ready, is now leading a militia in
the Arizona desert. His patrols have already turned in a few border crossers to
Border Patrol. His group is heavily armed and identifies with an organization
that believes only non-Jewish, white heterosexual people should be American
citizens and everyone who is not white should leave the country.
At the same time, SB 1070 has galvanized the struggle
against anti-immigrant racism. At May Day marches and rallies around the U.S.
this year, the Arizona law was a focus of attention. Hundreds of people marched
during a torrential rain in Boston, Mass., to protest the presence of Arizona
Governor Jan Brewer July 10. (PSLweb.org, July 15) And many plan to protest in
Arizona July 29, the day before SB 1070 goes into effect. SB 1070 as well as
the Arizona law banning ethnic studies and similar bills being considered in
other states are despicable attempts to divide the working class using
anti-immigrant racism as a wedge. It is incumbent on all progressive and
anti-racist people to mobilize and defeat the anti-immigrant racism in the
streets.
