The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to condemn Arizona's new immigration law and will not let employees travel or do business in Arizona until they repeal the new legislation.
The initial resolution drawn up by School Board President Richard Barrera included a travel advisory warning for students K-12 and their parents about the dangers lurking in the state of Arizona. “This law is wrong,” he said.
However, board member Katherine Nakamura, who eventually voted for the resolution, recalled the increasing violence in Mexico and the board decision not to warn the student body about the thousands of murders and decapitations taking place 30 miles to the south.
Good point.
Upon reading Arizona’s new 16-page law, citizens will find it mirrors, nearly word for word, the federal law on immigration. Governor Jan Brewer said the fact that the White House has failed to respond to the growing violence in her state for more than a year has left her no choice but to let state law enforcement officers do the job Washington D.C. does not want to do.
This hasn’t stopped open-border activists from pressuring Democrat leaders and attending public meetings from city councils to school boards up and down California. Several cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego have adopted resolutions to boycott Arizona.
All this time and resources have been spent by city officials in a state that is broke, broke, broke.
Meanwhile, the majority of the country supports Arizona’s attempt to regain law and order in a state where its social programs are severely over burdened and law enforcement overwhelmed.
With all the media in place, a handful of speakers shared their two cents about why or why not the board should be taking up this issue.
Illegal immigrant activist, Javier Valdovinos, from the San Diego chapter of La Raza Educators, said Arizona's new law reminded him of how the Nazis treated the Jews in Germany.
“We need to remind students we can't remain silent when they see wrong,'' he said.
A parent of two Hispanic children, Sheila Boling, who used to live in Arizona, saw things much differently than the school board and open border activists. “The board seems to trust us to elect them and teach our kids, but we are inept at decided where we should travel. The schools have no money to teach anymore and they are worried about what another state is doing to protect their residents? It makes no sense,” said Boling.
She even went further and blamed big business for continuing their practice of hiring illegal immigrants encouraging them to cross into the country illegally for jobs. “If the government did their job and put big fines on these businesses the prospect of jobs would disappear and so would the flood of illegal immigrants to this country.”
Another community leader, Reverend David Brown gave the school board a stern warning that drew applause. “We elected the school board of this city to educate our kids not get involved in outside issues.”
Teri Linnell, who is running against Duncan Hunter for Congress, put it a little differently. “The resolution is a waste of time and money and is only increasing divisiveness.”
The school board resolution denouncing Arizona in part stated the law “undermines fundamental civil rights and civil liberties and poses a special threat to people of color who live in and travel through Arizona.”
According to the board members the Arizona law contains criminalization of unlawful presence that could lead to racial profiling and threaten public safety by hindering the relationship between law enforcement and the Latino community.
Needless to say, the bill calls for no racial profiling, and will not target anyone walking down the street – if you are abiding by the laws in Arizona there is no reason to worry.
The claim that “people of color” will be treated like Jewish people in Nazi Germany are flat out false, according to Arizona resident Al Garza, who is also Latino. “When you drive you are expected to have your driver’s license with you and if you travel to Mexico and pass through check points you are expected to provide Mexican officials with your ‘papers.’”
In April Arizona Gov. Brewer signed the controversial new bill and said she would “not tolerate racial discrimination or racial profiling in Arizona. As committed as I am to protecting our state from crime associated with illegal immigration, I am equally committed to holding law enforcement accountable should this statute ever be misused to violate an individual's rights.”
Barrera's first version of the resolution asked the district to advise students and parents against traveling to Arizona.
“If we're truly concerned about our children, I wonder why we don't send a travel advisory 30 miles south in Mexico,'' chimed board member Nakamura, and just like that the travel advisory was deleted.
The provision also called on Congress to adopt federal immigration reform, the sooner the better.
This week the Los Angeles City Council also adopted a resolution demanding Arizona repeal the new law.
Councilman Ed Reyes said the law was un-American. “I cannot go to Arizona today without a passport,” he said. “If I come across an officer who's had a bad day and feels that the picture on my I.D. is not me, I could be summarily deported - no questions asked. That is not American.”
In Arizona, if that indeed happened, the Governor said there would be severe consequences and pointed out Arizona’s law enforcement is top-notch.
However, the council suspended all travel to Arizona for city-related business and told city department heads not to negotiate any contracts with companies in Arizona if it is legally and fiscally possible.
The city council also ordered a review of existing city contracts with Arizona-based companies in order to terminate them as quickly as possible. They also suggested the city attorney prepare legal ordinances to steer clear of Arizona businesses.
Legally the city doesn’t have the authority to tell its proprietary departments to end existing contracts; they can only suggest they terminate them.
It’s also worth pointing out that Los Angeles is completely broke and must make a number of cuts in services or raise taxes on the already overtaxed residents in the city.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner
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