Arizona State Legislature Provokes New "War Between the States"

It is nice for people to realize that we need not accept behavior that restricts the movement of American citizens. This is the problem with the Arizona law and the many Chicano and Native citizens who live in Arizona are as likely to be subjected to harassment as the individuals who have been smuggled in for profit.

The jails of California are filled with those who are unable to find employment or depend on the drug subeconomy. The agribusinesses that continue to promote the human trafficing have increased the stress on public health and education. The increased violence in communities and the assaults on the elderly remain a profound source of concern. Addressing the needs of the our society due to the migration need to be done without the platitudes of moral superiority. Solutions to infrastructure problems have not come from either side of the immigration issue to date.

I have lived in NM on the border region and am opposed to the idea of a wall as mere posturing and pork for those regions, rather than a real solution. That does not mean that things can remain as they are. Hospitals closing emergency rooms, the inability to provide education of children without English langauge skills and the poverty and living conditions have been seriously impacted on the infrastructure of all border states. The carrying capacity of our water resource systems are being taxed beyond their ability to function sustainably. State budgets cannot address the profound stresses that have resulted from increased population.

The focus of the debate needs to address real solutions to the consequences of the migration. The border with Mexico will inherently be porous and will be circumvented. The government of Mexico is no more concerned about addressing the migration than the government of the United States is. It remains their own social safety valve in addressing the poverty of their own citizens and a source for revenues that are sent to family members in Mexico. This is the international context of the issue. It extends beyond the impact of NAFTA and the maquiladoras. Those fleeing poverty and oppression in Mexico are not to blame for their willingness to risk their safety for a brighter future in America. But we cannot absorb the profound impacts based on existing policies or continued massive influxes of people.

The Arizona law is indeed bad law and will not contribute to the real tasks ahead. A real discussion needs to be based on what is not working and why, as well as how can we begin to provide workable solutions. Polarization of ethnic communities is sharpening and the Arizona law has increased it. It is worth our while to seek the foundations of the conflict, grasp how to increase our abilities to recognize the social conflicts that have arisen and provide some real assurances that public officials are beginning to address real concerns of people on all sides of the issues. Repealing the Arizona law would be the first step in recognizing the dramatic impact of it on perceptions among Hispanics in America.

The recent passage of a ban on ethnic studies curricula in Arizona will not solve the problems of high dropout rates in Arizona and California. It will not address the lack of achievement of students in the United States. It might be worth mentioning the failure of public education in both Arizona and California. This new law against Chicano studies will not decrease drop-outs, or improve the skills of non-English speaking students or provide technological education for the future economy. Priorities need to be made. This is not an instance of funding priorities, and for that reason and others I would not support this law. It is solely intended to polarize Arizona's people.

The fundamental issue remains the failure of American public education and the failures of American students to achieve up to grade level. It is curious though when this bill becomes such a focus of the media when compared to Prop 100 in Arizona which seeks to protect funding for public schools. The resulting boycotts from California cities is increasing the volatility of the issue. I guess if you can't do anything about improving public education, it is more effective for politicians to posture and point their fingers of disdain at the "bad dogs" in other states.

Our infrastructure in California is becoming critically overburdened. California public officials would do better to address our significant needs in education and address the budget and public infrastructure issues with a real sense of priorities for Californians.

Arizona's New "Anti-Immigrant" Law

Let's get to the heart of the problem. The proposed method of the "immigrant crackdown" is aimed at American citizens through a massive system of stopping, demanding papers and incarcerating or charging Americans without the approriate identification. This is a fundamental assumption of powers reminiscent of dictatorships in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. You can't be where you "don't belong" unless you can justify it. Having lived in NM, I have gone through many immigration checkpoints. Going into Mexico with Peace and Dignity and coming back again we had our vehicles searched. But all these are point of entry procedures. This on the other hand establishes a distinct class of individuals within the United States who are subject to public harrassment that include large numbers of American citizens. It not only won't work but is a restriction on the personal liberties of individuals, establishes restrictions on travel and movement and fundamentally alters the assumption of "reasonable suspicion" required for law enforcement officials.

It does absolutely nothing in addressing the profound impacts of the migration on public infrastructure in the US. Nor does it address the failure of the Mexican government to address the issue from its end better. It is critical for Greens to begin to wake up and address the massive impacts on the Carrying Capacity of our resource management, our public health services and our public educational systems. The political discussion to be held is not one that seeks to increase the police powers of our states or the Federal Government. Neither can it be focused on the agendas of posturing politicians promoting a new "iron curtain" on the border.

We cannot simply assume that we can address the circumstances that have arisen without new political structures and improved investments in public infrastructure. The United States alone accounts for 37.1% of the world's net immigration total. We do no one a favor when we simply disregard the impact of massive increases of people on our institutions. Plans for naturalization or amnesty need to address current impacts of the profound increases in population on our urban and rural communities. The duopoly political parties have disregarded the fundamental denials of education and health care that has resulted when emergency rooms are shut down or schools are not equipped to address the needs of the 44% of students in the state of California who speak a langauge other than English at home. The Green Party has the credentials, as a "green" party, to address these issues and remove the attempts to deny the rights and liberties of Americans.

The California Green Party candidates and Platform need to address the impacts of the continued population increases without contributing to xenophobic rhetoric. We need to be wary of simply echoing others and begin to find our own ways that reflect the valid concerns and worries of the California electorate and all the people of California. New solutions require better methods of addressing problems and not simply forcing draconian measures that attack our liberties. We certainly cannot leave the solutions to those with their own interests in maintaining the status quo or making the situation more divisive and repressive.