Republican governor knows she can still count on voters despite legal setback

By Guy Adams

Friday, 30 July 2010

Share
Close
- Digg
- del.icio.us
- Facebook
- Reddit
- Google
- Stumble Upon
- Fark
- Newsvine
Print
Email

It wasn't all bad news for Jan Brewer, the hard-knuckle governor of Arizona who has taken ownership of the state's attempt to crack down on illegal immigration, and therefore managed to turn herself into one of the best-known players in a snowballing political debate that has polarised America.

Yes, the signature legislation she had oh-so publicly signed back in April has now been thrown into legal limbo. Yes, she has turned Arizona's good name into a byword for knee-jerk right-wingery, sparking a trade boycott which has cost the state tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars in lost trade and tourism and united major US cities with the governments of Mexico, Argentina and Ecuador in steely condemnation.

And yes, she has found herself at odds with almost all the major organisations involved in the civil rights movement, together with public figures such as the Rev Al Sharpton, the singer Shakira, the Black Eyed Peas, and what seems like half of Hollywood.

But Governor Brewer, a Republican facing a re-election battle before November's elections, knows that the only statistic that really counts is the one in the polls. And roughly 60 per cent of Arizonans support Senate Bill 1070, the tough law which aimed to combat illegal immigration. Their backing has been enough to give her a record 20 per cent lead over her Democratic rival, Terry Goddard.

Although she is widely despised by the Latino community, who make up 30 per cent of the state's 6.5 million residents, Ms Brewer knows that their turnout at elections is historically tiny.

Meanwhile the white community feels besieged by a Latino community which is accused of failing to integrate or learn English (many billboards in Phoenix's poorer neighbourhoods are in Spanish). Immigrants are widely accused of committing crimes, taking up places in public schools, and using free hospital beds.

Ms Brewer tapped into this sentiment, blaming migrants for a wave of violence. "Our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded."

That surprised the police and border patrol agencies. They have yet to record a single immigration-related beheading. Ever. In fact, violent crime in Arizona is at a 20-year low.

And though Ms Brewer talks of a "terrible crisis" affecting her state, official estimates suggest that the number of undocumented workers has fallen since 2008.

It nonetheless suits the governor and her Republican-dominated state senate to keep the issue bubbling away. She has declared that the injunction was "just a bump in the road," and she would appeal against it.

However it will take weeks, and possibly months, for her to even get a hearing. If the case makes its way to the Supreme Court, it could take years. "Jan Brewer played politics with immigration, and she lost," was how her opponent Mr Goddard put it yesterday.

Brittanicus

Just the rumor of--DE FACTO AMNESTY FROM WASHINGTON---filtering by word of mouth across Mexico, Latin America and the rest of the world--could have desperate, impoverished millions suddenly appearing along the border, ready to run the gauntlet? If you think this couldn't happen, you better read about the 1986--AMNESTY? Today, I heard that US U.S. Sen. Grassley other Senators again asking the administration if plans are underway for large-scale de facto amnesty. Here is an excerpt from the letter. 7/27/2010 Dear Secretary Napolitano: We remained concerned about potential plans for a large-scale effort to offer parole or to defer action on undocumented aliens in the United States. We realize that deferred action and parole are discretionary actions reserved for individual cases that present unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances. However, we do not believe that such actions should be used for a large population of illegal aliens or used to bypass Congress and the legislative process. News articles report that your department has denied the charge, stating that grants of parole or deferred removal are based on the merits of individual cases. While we have not personally been assured that plans have not been drawn up, we are interested in data that will guarantee the American people that the Administration is not using these discretionary actions in cases that are not urgent or based on humanitarian reasons. To me this is a very dangerous precedence and will certainly alienate the very government who swore allegiance en-mass of the American people to defend us. This administration will be seen as an enemy of ?THE PEOPLE? if such a?executive order?undermining the Congress an ultimate outrage of ?The Rule of Law.? If what Sen. Grassley surmises could be true, all of us are in series trouble. This would be a slap in the face of privileged legal immigrants, who have waited patiently for years. For our wilting Social Security in the future. Without the inception of the internet, we would never know of Arizona's financial hardship, an interoffice memo of a de facto AMNESTY. This abomination caused by the unceasing inroads of people slipping past the US border Patrol. National Newspapers have become the dark domain of Liberal articles and commentary, which is not feeding the whole story of the hardships, caused by the large neighborhoods of illegal immigrants. The criminal activities are specifically suppressed; because the truth is Liberal open border crowd doesn't want the truth to be known. Even if a De Facto?AMNESTY?was initiated, would the REAL DOUBLE FENCE BE BUILT, WOULD THE MILLIONS STOP TRYING SLIP INTO OUR NATION? Only the World Wide Web offers news articles that although not always known to be true, usually are? This country is never been without sympathy, but FAIRS analysis of illegal aliens draining $113 billion dollars a year from public money reservoirs, so we must demand that our countryman comes first. It is a growing sore that the border state of Arizona by mandated law must give health care, education and for many illegal foreigners incarceration. And these laws are forced upon all taxpayers and never reimbursed accordingly by Washington. The only defense innocent Americans have against this apathy was for Governor Jan Brewer to sign into law SB 1070, so they can start removing--ALL--foreign nationals from the state. The conflict now that is absurd is the federal government, suing its own people. This is will be a huge cross to bear for the Obama presidency, the Democratic leadership in this November. It seems he has surrendered to the open border lobbyists and turned a deaf ear to the US taxpayers, who must continuously furnish money for welfare programs for foreign nationals. A large chunk of this money is extorted under the 14th amendment that has resurfaced as ethically wrong. No illegal family should be allowed to have immediate citizenship for their infant, specifically if this was an intentional purpose to collect welfare benefits, low income housing, food stamps and other needs. WE AS THE VOTERS OF AMERICA CAN DO THIS, RIDDING OURSELVES OF SENATORS LIKE REID, McCAIN, PELOSI, SCHUMER, GRAHAM, FEINSTEIN PUSHING FOR AMNESTY AND THE DREAM ACT. WHAT WE SHOULD DEMAND FROM THE LEGISLATORS IS IMMEDIATE REVITALIZATION OF THE ?SAVE ACT & CLEAR ACT.? ALL INCUMBENTS INCLUDING GOVERNORS, MAYORS, POLICE CHIEFS AND CITY OFFICERS NEED TO JOIN THE JOBLESS. NO OPTIONS! LET?S REMOVE THE CORRUPTED TRASH. FIND FACTS AT NUMBERSUSA & GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION AT JUDICIAL WATCH. Bombard the Washington switchboard at 202-224-3121 WATCH--FOR--ILLEGALS--VOTING--IN--FUTURE--ELECTIONS.
Charles F. Sommers

Belittling immigrants in Phoenix, or any one else who speaks Spanish, for not learning English is pure nonsense. Spanish was spoken in this part of America long before it was stolen from Mexico and English became the language of choice. A country can easily exist with more than one language in use. Take a look at China. China seems to be an up and coming country even though a multiplicity of languages are spoken there; standard Chinese (Mandarin/Putonghua), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages. The diversity of languages doesn't seem to be holding them back too much. I would bet a healthy sum of money that many of the residents of Arizona who speak Spanish only were born in America. There are also members of the Navajo tribe who were born on remote parts of the reservation and speak that language as their first choice. What should be done with them gov. Brewer?