Juan Crow

[texaslawchick]

I came home last night and my (lily white) boyfriend nervously said, "Sweetheart, you know that I don't find ANYTHING about this law remotely funny. It's horrible, terrible, awful, and you know I wholeheartedly think that

Comments

Re: Other side?

[texaslawchick]

(I had to do two posts because I went beyond my word limit)

This is not to say that I don't think that there isn't a desperate need for comprehensive immigration reform. Pretty much the ONLY thing I supported of the Bush presidency without reservation was the reform package that was introduced in 2007. I think George Bush, also coming from a border state, uncharactaristically understood the complexities of this particular issue and crafted legislation that finely drew the lines appropriately. This bill acknowledged the positive contribution of the shadow workforce to our society without giving a free pass to those who came to this country without proper documentation. It beefed up border security considerably in a smarter way than that stupid, asinine wall down in South Texas does. I think that it was a good start, and I hope that the Obama administration picks up where it was left off.

I think that people are scared of the changing demographics in this country. I think people don't like what they don't understand, and having a Hispanic population that has grown to 36 percent (Texas), 30 percent (Arizona), 37 percent (California), and 45 percent (New Mexico) in the five border states scares a lot of people. Spanish can sometimes be the dominant language in communities now (and remember that the New Mexico constitution was written in English and Spanish). I know that the small town near the ranch has changed dramatically in the 30+ years that I've been goint there. The restaurants used to be burger joints and steak places. Now they're taco stands. The cashiers at WalMart have dark complexions and black hair. They're not the German descended good ol' boys anymore. I think that scares people, and I think that they lash out.

But I don't think that Arizona's horrific reaction is the right one. 30 percent of its population is Hispanic. Nearly a third of the people who live there now have to be afraid of their police officers for no other reason than they might "look" illegal. I think that Arizona was a fast growing state that profited greatly from the cheap labor that immigrant communities provide, and with all of the people who moved there, came a lot of intolerance to those of us born with latin skin tones and last names that sometimes need accents.

I wholeheartedly endorse comprehensive immigration reform. Arizona's law in no way addresses the issue. It just serves to scare and intimidate a third of its population.

FWIW, Claudia was hit by someone who was drunk and then drove off. She never had the opportunity to check the immigration status of the driver, but presumably the (Anglo) person drove off to avoid a DUI charge instead of an immigration check. She also faced a damaged car and big insurance bill.

Re: Other side?

[ext_105619]

So, I agree with you on most points. The one point where my opinion varies is the car wreck issue. In my case, after being hit, I chased the car down, and once I caught up, parked in such a way to block in the driver who hit me. I was furious and got out of the car to give him a piece of my mind... which, of course, he didn't understand. I called the police and 30 minutes later, the first officer showed up. She didn't speak Spanish, so we waited another 20 minutes for a second officer who did. These police were not impolite and treated Mr. hit-and-run just like anyone else. As it turns out, he had no driver's license, no registration, no insurance, nada. And he was driving a car at least as nice as, or nicer than mine. The police issued him a ticket for the original wreck and for the lack of license and insurance... but couldn't ticket him for the hit-and-run since I caught up with him. (True irony.)

Of course, I was still mad as hell. And madder when the police officers and I watched him get in his car and drive away. I asked them why they didn't address the fact he was clearly here illegally, and their response was, "Thank your Mayor for that. We can't even ask him if he's illegal."

Only because I had the stupidity to chase him down and the patience to wait for a police report was I able to pay a lower deductible for the damage. Otherwise, I would have been screwed. I followed up and went to court and absolutely nothing came of it. He never paid the fines, never reimbursed my insurance company for the damages, and never paid any consequences. He just disappeared. When I related the story to my friends, one out of every four had something similar happen to them or someone very close to them.

Now... take your sister's example. Were the police to arrive at the scene,
the driver wouldn't be getting back in that car. They'd be carted away to jail; the car would be impounded; and they'd be paying legal fees until the end of time. Now, I understand these are two very different offenses. However, these are our laws... and I can't help but think there's something wrong with some people being exempt from them.

Re: Other side?

[texaslawchick]

Wow. That's gutsy. I would have been terrified to chase a car down after having been hit. But would the cops have done any differently than they did had the person been here legally or been a citizen? It's not their role to enforce immigration laws, and plenty of regular people skip out on fines and payments. I know one person who recently paid inquired into his own record and discovered 8 unpaid violations from as far away as 8 years ago totaling up to $1200. He was born in the US, and actually has a very unpleasant view on immigration. If he ever were to get stopped again by the cops, he'd be hauled in on a arrest warrant. I suspect your guy would be too.

Again, I think that most immigrants tend to be hypber law abiding for fear of deportation, but there are of course bad apples in every group of people.