I sent the following letter to the Governor of Arizona in opposition to the recently passed law, our readers might find interesting:
You’re going to get a lot of emails I’m afraid in response to this. As an Immigration Attorney in Dallas, obviously I am interested in seeing where this goes. I would imagine most folks would think immigration lawyers would oppose such a law because such a law would limit their business. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, such a law would probably increase business for us. People would be motivated to come to our offices to get help who might not otherwise take the time to do so. Also, for those of us who represent folks facing deportation, obviously we would also see an increase in business from the enforcement of such a law. So, our opposition is actually counter to my interest as a business owner and legal practitioner.
This law is a recipe for disaster. I have seen it so many times in my career – any time anyone who is not trained to enforce immigration law becomes obligated to enforce it, whether it be local police, employers through verification laws, or property owners seeking tenants, unconstitutional discrimination is inevitable.
No one can look at a person and determine whether the individual is legal or not. Very few can look at a document and ascertain its authenticity. Those with brown skin will all become targets for enforcement, and US citizens will inevitably be harrassed, hurt and offended.
Imagine the frustration of a US citizen being deported from the US by ICE. Often times, even with no ties to Mexico, these folks wind up dropped off in Mexico City with no ID, no money, no family ties, all because they are Hispanic. In fact over 300 US citizens in this situation have been deported illegally by Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently.
If ICE can’t figure out who is legal and who isn’t, how can local law enforcement be reasonably expected to? It is not possible. Signing this law will lead to discrimination, disparate enforcement of law, and I expect, considerable fallout litigation for all of the errors local law enforcement will inevitably make.
The City of Farmer’s Branch, Texas passed an ordinance a few years ago that required landlords to check for immigration status. They have lined greedy lawyer pockets (I expect some of whom are somehow related or connected to members of the city council) to the tune of $3,800,000 and counting to try to convince the federal courts the ordinance should be upheld. They have become a joke and have cost their constituents over $140 per person that could have been used to improve the city.
Please don’t become another Farmer’s Branch. Send a message that you will not tolerate laws that will inevitably discriminate on unconstitutional grounds. Thank you.