Governor of Texas Expresses Concern Over Arizona Immigration Law
Governor of Texas, Rick Perry issued a statement expressing concern over certain provisions in the Arizona immigration law. According to him, the tough immigration law would not be the right one for Texas. However, he chose to reserve his comment, when questioned if he would veto a similar legislation.
The Arizona law, that authorizes the local and state officers to question any person about their immigration status whom they suspect unlawful, has sparked uproar nationwide questioning its constitutionality. The law also states that if the immigrants do not possess the necessary documents to prove their status it would be registered as a crime of illegal immigration under the Arizona state law. It means that they were liable to serve a jail term of up to six months along with a fine.
Taking all this into account, Perry stated that some features of the Arizona immigration law would allow law enforcement officers to act as immigration officials. He felt that the act could divert the enforcement officers from their existing law enforcement duties necessary to keep the citizens safe, especially in a situation that requires questioning an unauthorized immigrant. Such events could only pose a serious threat to the society.
According to him, guarding the national borders should be a top priority. In his endeavor to keep the border secure, he had even requested for 1,000 National Guard troops to support civilian law enforcement efforts.
The Arizona law has reopened the debate over the US immigration reform. Supporters of the law feel that only such tough laws can assure the safety and security of U.S. citizens, especially when the federal government’s inability to guard the U.S’s border with the Mexico is taken into account. Whereas, critics believe that this law is biased and would only pose people with brown skin as suspects.
The bigger obstacle to an anti-illegal immigration law in Texas is Joe Straus, who has made a deal with Democrats to block the law in exchange for their political support, according to Joe Berman, the law’s sponsor. http://texasundersiege.blogspot.com/2010/06/will-straus-block-new-texas-immigrant.html