Lots of bloggers and media people have made so much noise about this, they could probably blow apart the arch pictured here. (I suspect this is the very arch under which all the illegals are entering Arizona…but don’t tell anyone!)

I posted the other day, suggesting that the political climate in Arizona and their experience with criminals entering Arizona illegally may have a lot to do with this new law.

But then, I remembered they have a neighboring state, New Mexico, that doesn’t seem to have gotten into the fray at all. Neither has Texas. What’s the difference?

I can’t imagine that the border security, provided by the Border Patrol, is much different from state to state. Is Arizona flooded with an unusually high percentage of illegals compared to its neighbors?

There is one difference that pops out to me.

Arizona has an Hispanic population of 30%. Texas has a population of 36% and New Mexico has a population of 45%.

Is Arizona just exercising a form of racism? Considering the high population of Hispanics in both Texas and New Mexico, could the legislature/governor get a tough law like Arizona’s passed?

If the law in Arizona remains on the books, I anticipate lots of law suits and court challenges for people arrested under the provisions of the new law. It’ll be interesting what the Arizona Supreme Court says or, if the cases get appealed to federal court, what the feds say.

What are your thoughts?

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The legislature just passed one of the most far-reaching immigration laws in the country. As I understand it, the law would allow police to stop people who “look” like they might be illegals and ask the not only for identification but also if they are in the country illegally. Of course, if they are are, the police can take action to begin deportation proceedings.

Should we be concerned?

On the one hand, this appears to be very scary. I’ve read blogs comparing this to Nazi Germany where Jews were stopped because they looked “Jewish.” But unless all the legislators in Arizona are nuts, is there more to this than meets the eye?

Granted, I think Arizona has some of the most politically conservative people in the country. Remember, this is the state where John McCain, who has voted for some of the most conservative legislation in his career, is now being challenged in a primary because he’s not conservative enough!

Still, the new immigration law is so far out there in comparison to the rest of the country, it makes me wonder if the rest of us are missing something.

I think it’s difficult for those of us living in Minnesota, who face the threat of only a few Canadian hockey players coming across the border, to fully understand the frustration of people in Arizona about the illegal criminal activity coming across their border. The drug trade with its violence is a real problem for them. People with serious diseases are coming across to receive free treatment in the Arizona hospitals at taxpayer expense. I’ve read blogs from public health officials warning that some of the diseases brought by illegals are unknown in our country and threaten to overwhelm their public health capabilities. So…

Do any of you recall that a few years ago, President George Bush promised a stop to illegals coming across the border by ordering the National Guard to seal the border of Arizona? The only problem was, after Bush made a splash in the media, he refused to fund the deployment of National Guard troops and equipment, so they left in a few weeks.

Could the legislation in Arizona be a power play?

Maybe the smart people in the legislature are trying to get the attention of the country to point out that no one else, including the federal government, is helping them seal the border against violent, criminal illegals.

The law, as I understand it, may not even be constitutional. Let’s see how the litigation plays out. In the meantime, maybe Arizona has purposely put this out there to get a reaction. Or, is it simply pandering by the politicians to the fear and concerns that many people in Arizona truly feel? The intelligent politicians must know this law will engender thousands of law suits and challenges. Did they pass it to be able to pacify their constituents?

I don’t know. What do you think? Is this a sophisticated move to get federal help or is the legislature and governor nuts?

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Former President Bill Clinton successfully lobbied for the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee from North Korea. Writing about this at the Women’s Media Center blog, Journalist Ji-Yeon Yuh raises a fascinating and probably accurate question: What were the two journalists really doing in North Korea?

The North Korean government caught and convicted them of illegally entering the country. They had to enter illegally because they were tracking the trafficking story of women out of North Korea and into China. It seems like a problem far away with little we can do to make a difference. That’s wrong.

The US State Department estimates that as many as 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year and that a total of perhaps 27 million are presently enslaved because of trafficking. Here’s the scary part for us: the majority of profits generated ($15.5 billion according to the International Labor Organization) from trafficking comes from industrialized countries–like the United States.

Eighty percent of humans trafficked are women and girls, usually sold into the sex industry. I know from personal experience…well, let me explain that!

As a lawyer, I have worked in the juvenile courts in Minnesota. Like all other states, we have a child protection effort, supported by laws, child protection social workers, and prosecutors to enforce the laws. Most cases involve local parents who are not parenting adequately or present harm to the children. I have been invovled in cases where several young girls have come to Minnesota on a “temporary” basis, mostly from countries in Africa. They’ve been promised jobs and good schools. When they get here, instead of the promises, they find themselves coerced into the sex industry.

Ironically, instead of police finding them, they show up in child protection. Every girl I’ve ever represented has come here, sponsored by an “uncle” who offers them a home, food, and clothing. When the igirls fail to show up for school, are referred for medical problems, or are stopped as runaways/vagrants, the county government reacts by protecting them from their “families.”

The girls are offered counseling, safe housing, education, and support. Usually, that works to get them out of the trafficking trap. But often, I’ve had clients who say they want to get out, are frightened of their “uncles,” and start to take advantage of services. But then, they fail to come to the next court appearance. The “parent/uncle” who has been ordered to return and accept services to stop the child abuse disappears also. My suspicion is they simply move to a different county. For instance, in Minnesota, if the uncle were to move across the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to St. Paul, he’d be in another county jurisdiction and could start the network all over again.

Some ask, “Can’t the uncle be prosecuted for being a pimp?” Sure, if you can find anyone to testify against him. Child protection at least offers the girls an opportunity to escape–if they can and want to.

Internationally, human trafficking generates #32 billion a year in profits according to the Internatinal Labor Organization. Think about that…doesn’t it seem likely to attract the best criminal minds in the world? And besides women, what other things are they bringing into the US? Could they threaten our national security? Is our government capable of fighting them? More about this in my next post.

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