Arizona governor approves immigration bill

As a follow-up to a previous post on Arizona's proposed immigration bill, Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill into law yesterday, sparking protests across the nation. From Boston to California, protesters compared the bill to South African apartheid and Japanese-American internment during World War II.

Brewer's response? According to The Boston Globe, the governor justified the bill saying, "We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act. But decades of inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation."

The New York Times quoted the governor Friday, saying, "Border-related violence and crime due to illegal immigration are critically important issues to the people of our state. We cannot sacrifice our safety to the murderous greed of drug cartels. We cannot stand idly by as drop houses, kidnappings and violence compromise our quality of life."

President Obama called the bill "misguided," and The Huffington Post says the Justice Department will examine its legality.

While I salute the White House's opposition to the bill, I'm not so sure immigration--legal or not--is the problem here. Rather, I think rampant racism and coded language are the bigger issues. "Murderous greed of drug cartels"? What about mothers and children escaping abusive husbands or unsafe working conditions? Husbands trying to reunite with their families? "Kidnappings and violence?" What about service workers and domestic help? Why must we equate immigration--more specifically Latinos--with violence, drugs and crime? And at issue in this particular case: Why did a head of state endorse this image?

Racism, pure and simple. We attack drug cartels and we let Goldman Sachs off comparably easy. We label all Mexicans as drug smugglers, yet we don't assume all white-collar workers are wracking up billions in bonuses while their company spirals downward into debt. We think of Mexicans as dirty job-thieves, yet we take a softer hand to sexually abusive priests. Skin color, it would seem, dictates the boxes you can fall into and the punishment you can receive.

Let's just hope the Justice Department does its job better than the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Another shining example of white-collar workers at their best)

Photo Credit: The Associated Press