Fast Facts on Arizona's Immigration Crack Down
The New Law's Dangerous Economic, Social, and Legal Consequences
Counterpunch: April 23, 2010
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed today what is now the most punitive and
sweeping anti-immigrant state law in the nation. This law's full effects
will not be measurable for months to come, but it is already clear that it
will be challenged in court because it denies rights guaranteed in the U.S.
Constitution. And until the legal issues are settled, the new law will have
a detrimental effect on Arizona's economy, as well as city and state
budgets.
The law essentially legalizes racial profiling:
a.. The law puts communities of color in the crosshairs by requiring state
and local government workers to determine if a person is illegally in the
United States based on a "reasonable suspicion."
b.. Legal experts maintain that the law will result in racial profiling,
as it does not prohibit police officers from relying on race or ethnicity in
deciding who to investigate. Of course all Arizonans don't all look alike.
Like America, Arizona is a diverse state with multiple generations of U.S.
citizens. Three out of every 10 Arizonans are Hispanic, 1 out of 10 is
American Indian, and 13 percent are foreign born.
The law undercuts the Constitution and imbues local police with federal
authority:
a.. Arizona is attempting to grant local police arrest authority for
administrative violations of federal immigration law, even though the state
police does not even have that authority under federal law.
b.. The measure does not require the local police to have a search warrant
or even suspect that some illegal action has occurred.
c.. The law criminalizes the solicitation of work even though courts have
previously ruled that the solicitation of work is protected speech under the
First Amendment.
The law will harm the state and local economies:
a.. The National Employment Law Project pointed out that smaller-scale
anti-immigrant ordinances have cost individual localities millions of
dollars. The Texas-based Perryman Group calculated that if all unauthorized
immigrants were removed from Arizona, the state would lose $26.4 billion in
economic activity, $11.7 billion in gross state product, and approximately
140,324 jobs.
b.. The Immigration Policy Center noted that, "with Arizona facing a
budget deficit of more than $3 billion," the new law will "further imperil
the state's economic future."
c.. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and other local leaders anticipate a drop in
new business ventures in the state because of the harsh new law. Phoenix
Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski observed: "We're the laughing stock of the
country because of these crazy laws."
The law will be expensive and take cops away form community policing:
a.. The Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police firmly opposes the law for
fiscal and public safety reasons, noting that fear of government officials
will diminish the public's willingness to cooperate with police in criminal
investigations and will "negatively affect the ability of law enforcement
agencies across the state to fulfill their many responsibilities in a timely
manner."
b.. Local taxpayers will bear the heavy costs of lengthy court litigation.
c.. The costs to arrest, detain, process, and transport undocumented
immigrants out of Arizona will drain local government treasuries. There were
an estimated 460,000 undocumented immigrants in Arizona as of January 2009,
making up 4 percent of the state's population. If the federal government
were to handle the entire undocumented population, the cost would be
approximately $23,482 per person, based on a recent study by the Center for
American Progress.
Arizona and other local and state governments are taking action on
immigration because Congress has failed to enact comprehensive immigration
reform that restores border security, provides a flexible visa program to
meet business and family needs, and deals with the 11 million undocumented
immigrants in the United States. This is a federal issue and must be handled
by Congress immediately before other states start to follow Arizona's lead.
***
From: Frank Dorrel
WHAT: House Concert at The Dorrel's: Charlie King & Karen Brandow
WHEN: Saturday, May 1st ~ Doors Open at 7:00 PM ~ Concert: 8:00 PM
WHERE: The Dorrel's, 3967 Shedd Terrace, Culver City 90232
"Charlie King is one of the finest singers & songwriters of our time." -
Pete Seeger
Dear Friends,
Don't Miss Our House Concert with the Fabulous
Charlie King & Karen Brandow
Saturday, May 1st
Doors Open at 7:00 PM ~ Concert Begins at 8:00 PM
at
Frank, Jane & Emily Dorrel's
3967 Shedd Terrace, Culver City 90232
$10 at the Door
Drinks & Desserts Served
Charlie & Karen will do two sets!
RSVP to: 310-838-8131 or to: Fdorrel@addictedtowar.com
Dear Friends,
Charlie & Karen are such beautiful musicians and human beings. They sing
about everything we are involved with in the Peace and Justice Movement.
They will lift your spirits and give us hope for a better world. If you are
free, please join us on Saturday, May 1st. We would love to see you that
night. You will be glad you came.
Frank Dorrel
Charlie King & Karen Brandow Biographies
Charlie King and Karen Brandow are musical storytellers and political
satirists. Their repertoire covers a century and a half and four continents.
They perform with the sweet and precise harmonies of life partners. They
sing and write passionately about the extraordinary lives of ordinary
people. "Two voices that complement each other beautifully & instrumentation
that is spare, acoustic & just right" - Victory Music Review. In addition to
a full time career of concert touring, King and Brandow have sung in support
of numerous groups working for peace, human rights, environmental sanity and
alternatives to violence.
Their central vision as entertainers is to leave audiences with a sense of
optimism and possibility about the future. "We try to cover a broad
emotional landscape in our concerts. The stories we collect and the songs we
write take the listener on a journey of humor, heartache and hope. What we
most value in a song is the way it helps us see an old reality in a totally
new light."
Charlie King has been at the heart of American folk music for over 40 years.
His songs have been recorded and sung by other performers such as Pete
Seeger, Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, Peggy
Seeger, Chad Mitchell and Judy Small. Honors include an "Indie" award for
one of the top three American folk recordings of 1984. In May of 1998 the
War Resisters League gave their Peacemaker Award to Charlie and to Odetta.
Pete Seeger nominated Charlie for the Sacco-Vanzetti Social Justice Award,
which he received in November 1999. Charlie has released a dozen solo albums
since 1976. He has also released three albums with the touring ensemble
Bright Morning Star, and numerous compilation albums with other artists.
Charlie was born in 1947, and was raised in Brockton, MA. He cites as
musical influences the folk music revival of the 1960's, the civil rights
movement and the Vietnam War era. Folk legend Peggy Seeger says, "If we had
more Charlie Kings in the world I'd be less worried," and Tom Paxton adds,
"Luckily, we have him!"
Karen Brandow has been performing with Charlie King since 1998. While doing
human rights work in Guatemala from 1986-1994, Karen studied voice,
performance and classical guitar. She performed at political and cultural
events in that country as a soloist and was a founding member of the a
cappella singing group, the Non-Traditional Imports.
Karen was born in 1954 in Philadelphia, PA. She began singing and playing
guitar as a teenager. While living in Central America, she broadened her
repertoire to include Latin American music of the "Nueva Canción" or New
Song Movement. She performs songs in English and Spanish.
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