Let me be clear here, Hispanics and Latino/Latina are not all dark skinned, dark haired people, and yet the law that was passed in Arizona is intended to target just those people because that is the stereotype that most people think of when they think of Latin America. There are people from Latin America with French, German, Italian and even Japanese last names, and yet the likelihood is that most people think of them all as having Spanish last names.
Let me also be clear here. This law will not solve the problems of crime coming over the border. Oh, I know that people are going to say that it will, but let us be realistic. What it will do is get a lot of cops killed while pulling over people for being Hispanic looking. Smugglers are not going to be pulled over and deported. Smugglers and the cartels that employ them are going to wait until the cop gets to the window and shoot them in the head. These are not nice people you are talking about and they WILL shoot first and not bother to ask questions later.
This will do more damage to the Arizona economy than anyone will predict because it means that many Mexicans will avoid Arizona for their vacations. These are tourists and they will not take kindly to being questioned by every gringo cop who wants to feel macho by harassing every brown skinned person that they see.
What about all the people here legally who work on the farms and are guest workers of the United States? These are the people who will be harassed, and because they have a right to say I don’t want to be harassed will walk away and find work elsewhere. Watch as crops whither and die on the vine because the laborers that Arizona depends on won’t be there.
Odds are that the majority of the Mexicans who are in Arizona are there legally, not illegally. Then again, this is not about stopping illegal immigration. This is about scoring points with racists who think that this will stop illegal immigration.
Despite what many people may also think, this will not stem the tide of illegals coming over the border. Instead, they will just line the pockets of the forgers out there so that they have fake green cards because- lo and behold- there is no way for the local police to access those records.
Have fun trying to fill the jobs that Americans won’t take even in a recession and have fun watching your state crash and burn.
Raquel Welsh is Hispanic. Talk about way outside the stereotype.
"Let me be clear here, Hispanics and Latino/Latina are not all dark skinned, dark haired people, and yet the law that was passed in Arizona is intended to target just those people because that is the stereotype that most people think of when they think of Latin America."
Where in the AZ bill does it specifically mention dark skinned people, Mexican, or even Hispanic people? Tell me where this passage is in the bill and I’ll accept that it is racial profiling.
It is targeted to anyone illegally, NOT just to three specific groups.
