Digital News Report – The people of Arizona have spoken on the issue of immigration law and the problem of illegal immigration. It’s my opinion that the course of action they have taken deserves our respect as well as our support.
That’s why I rose on the Senate Floor yesterday to support an Arizona bill – SB 1070 – that has come under attack from virtually every corner of the United States – as well as California.
While debating a measure on the subject of genocide on the Senate Floor – one of my Senate colleagues took the occasion to compare the subject of genocide to immigration reform efforts in Arizona. It’s a comparison that I found to be personally troubling – which is why I rose in objection.
The following is my statement from yesterday’s Senate Floor session:
“I’m somewhat offended to bring Senate Bill 1070 in Arizona into a discussion that we all agree on – the subject of genocide. I would suggest that you read the bill. I would suggest that you go to the internet and read the 14-pages that basically mimics federal law. It reinstates for the State of Arizona what federal law has already stated for the past 50-years.
There’s nothing new in there. What we’re seeing is a very popular reaction of ignorance to a sincere attempt to control a serious problem in the United States: the problem of illegal immigration.
You can’t hide from it. Because those people who are going to leave Arizona are going to come to California. And this Senate will be forced to face the question – sooner or later – of what are you going to do to stem the tide of illegal immigration and the huge costs to the people of the State of California.
The people of Arizona have spoken. They have reiterated a law that says the federal government has not done its duties to protect our borders. So now we are instructing our state agencies to enforce the law that federal agencies refuse to enforce. The feds are not doing their duty – so now the state has to do it.
Sooner or later – this Senate will have to face the same responsibility. People in the State of California are asking you for a solution to this problem. For you to blindly say – or equate – SB 1070 in Arizona with the genocide question is hypocrisy in the highest – and worse yet – is plain untruthful.
So – let’s keep this debate to the Armenian Genocide resolution – which we can all agree on. But let’s not bring in the State of Arizona and the good people’s intent to solve a problem that the federal government continues to ignore.”