Marco Rubio says Arizona immigration law could ‘unreasonably single out people’
On Tuesday, Republican candidate for governor Nathan Deal declared he would implement Arizona-style immigration laws in Georgia.
But signs that all Republicans aren’t on board are popping up. This from Politico.com:
Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio said in a statement Tuesday that he fears the law puts the Arizona’s police force in an “incredibly difficult position.”
“It could also unreasonably single out people who are here legally, including many American citizens,” Rubio said.
“Throughout American history and throughout this administration we have seen that when government is given an inch it takes a mile.”
Rubio criticism was quickly followed up by a fellow Floridian, former Gov. Jeb Bush. In an interview … Bush said the law is not “the proper approach.”
“I think it creates unintended consequences,” he said. “It’s difficult for me to imagine how you’re going to enforce this law. It places a significant burden on local law enforcement and you have civil liberties issues that are significant as well.”
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79 comments Add your comment
Jumbo G is the king on conventional thinking
April 28th, 2010
8:09 pm
Ok. First of all the bill reads that if one is able to produce an AZ driver’s license then there will be no need to ask immigration status. I think most cops do that when they pull one over. Secondly, I say Obama and his hangers-in should simply adopt the border restrictions that Mexico imposes on its southern border. All this racism crap is just that, CRAP. You guys that play the race card like Obama attacks capitalism have cheapened the term. Obama and the left need to be honest. They want another underclass, like they have done with other minority communities, that will forever vote Democrat. Obama will require that we show our proof of health insurance (our papers) but not to prove that one is here legally. Hogwash! You libs are tied in knots with your double standards and doubletalk. Horsefeathers! I cannot wait ’til November!!!!!!
Dave
April 28th, 2010
8:35 pm
During World War II my grandparents fled Europe to the United States. I remember that my great grandfather said the greatest day in his life is when he earned the right to be a citizen of this country. They both worked hard, took night classes, learned about our constitution and laws. They worked for it as my Father once told me that his father said ” No one should live in this country on the backs of others.” I hope that my story tell’s you something that to be a citizen has to be worked for but as tax payers we are burden with BILLION of dollars to support people who are to lazy to earned that right,
TW
April 28th, 2010
8:44 pm
“support people who are to lazy to earned that right”
‘lazy’ is the abundant meth head white trash this state is FULL of – especially in Nathan Deal’s North Georgia. Matter of fact, under Nathan’s negligence, NGA has developed as the meth capital of GA. Thanks Nathan!
Seriously though, you have to pay two white guys twice as much to get the same amount of work done as by a single Mexican.
Oh, and they’re also better Christians
Jumbo G is the king on conventional thinking
April 28th, 2010
9:37 pm
TW is a racist. He is playing the race card.
Kirk
April 28th, 2010
9:45 pm
My wife is a Russian citizen. Back in 2006 we had to apply to have her immigration status changed from Conditional Resident to Permanent Resident. Her Green Card was expired, but the USCIS sent her an offical letter that extended her legal status for an additional year while the application was being processed.
We went to our local DMV to renew her Georgia drivers license, and had to come back another time, because the DMV employee was incompetent and did not accept the letter as proof of my wife’s legal status. It seems that our tax dollars often pay for employees who need a government job because they could never make it in the private sector.
I can only imagine the trouble my wife would have had if the police had asked for her papers…
Drew
April 28th, 2010
11:54 pm
This is not about immigrants; it’s about ILLEGAL immigrants. ILLEGAL… as in AGAINST THE LAW. We have laws concerning all this, all we lack is the enforcement, the enforcement that Arizona has decided to take up after decades of dereliction by administrations of BOTH parties. If the feds won’t do it, it’s up to the individual states. Hooray, Arizona.
And Janet Napolitano is an incompetent fool.
junebaby
April 29th, 2010
4:31 am
this immigration law in arizona is a bad law, period. and for people who say they should arrest the employers, this will never happen, as almost all employers are republican voters. they will never harass members of their own party, as many of them all share similar ideals: make as much money as you can, whether it’s illegaly earned or not, use anyone and anyway you can to do this, including misinformation, fraud, thievery, slavery, lying, cheating, and if it comes to it, murder! and this is also done under the protection of the us govermental system, including congress, the courts, and at times the executive branch, all enabled by the willing sheeple being led alond by rings through their noses. this law will never stand, as soon as it starts to affect their pocketbooks, it will be rescinded. is anyone is willing to bet me that it won’t be???? they’ve talked about going after the employers for years and years, and it hasn’t happened yet. republican legislators(especially) will never allow that to happen!
Morrus
April 29th, 2010
8:15 am
Vote out the incumbents and start over
Close Our Borders
April 29th, 2010
8:27 am
It is past time for the States to enforce our Immigration Laws which the Federal Government ignores. Illegal Immigration is illegal and regardless of what is said by the do-gooder Demos, anyone breaking immigration laws should be deported….. immediately. Anyone feeling different sould try and go stay in Mexico illegally and see how fast you are kicked out. Yet Mexico wants the US to stop deporting anyone who is here illegally. And the Obama is Goc followers will not address the issue. Instead they welcome as many illegals into the US as possible so when they make them all legal US citizens with access to all of the Socialist programs the Demos have proved for them, they will automatically vote for the continuation of the Three Stooges Agenda – Obama, Pelosi and Reid.
phantomworks
April 29th, 2010
8:34 am
Der papers please! This law smacks of the Third Reich and the Soviet era.How many LEGAL Immigrants will be stopped before the police finally catch the ILLEGAL ones? Rubio was right Many U.S. citizens will be hurt by this law since at first glance police cannot really tell who is a citizen or not.As for Gov.Brewer assuring us all there will be no racial profiling,perhaps that may be possible if police pull over anyone regardless of race or ethnicity including whites like me! If that unlikely policy were to be adopted,many of those same mostly white supporters would be victims of their own law! Such irony! At least they would be equal opportunity Despots! Those who protest Federal Tyranny but condone State and local tyranny are hypocrites! I Support the border fence,tougher penalties for companies who knowingly hire illegal aliens and even troops at the border.I do not support this sorry excuse of a law that presumes people illegal until proven otherwise.
Joel Six Pack
April 29th, 2010
8:46 am
Hate to keeping beating this horse but practical immigration reform consists of one core issue: creating and enforcing laws which penalize employers for hiring illegal immigrants. We can’t have both cheap immigrant labor and a restrictive immigration policy. If we want to get rid of illegal immigrants, we must get rid of the jobs that attract them here. Otherwise, we should pay your taxes to support education and healthcare for them and their children just like other Americans.
Roy
April 29th, 2010
9:24 am
Uh Oh, this could be trouble for Rubio. I know he needs to pander to the Florida latino vote, but if he gets too outa goosestep with the tea baggers (and they LOVE this new AZ bill) they’ll turn their wrath on him. Remember the nasty stuff they did to Sen Scott Brown??
A Realist
April 29th, 2010
9:47 am
So what if a few people are inconvenienced? If happens every day in Metro Atlanta. Folks, we’ve got a security problem on our southern border that needs to be fixed. If our liberal federal bureaucracy is not willing to tackle the problem then the states should have the right to protect their citizens. These illegals are not coming into the US through the border crossings or else they’d be caught…..they’re coming in through illegal means……they’re criminals….we have the right to arrest illegals because they are criminals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lmno
April 29th, 2010
10:22 am
Make it easy to immigrate here legally, and people will.
Lets see, I hang dry wall for $20 a day here in Mexico. I have 2 children. I can make 5 times the money if I did the same job 50 miles north of here. I would like to do that legally, but they tell me that it will take 10 years to be allowed to do that. By that time, my children will be grown.
What should I do?
MAKE IT EASY AND FAST TO COME HERE LEGALLY!
Chris
April 29th, 2010
10:26 am
I, like most people that would be labeled “liberal” actually support the premise of this law. There needs to be a way to enforce/check immigration/citizenship status. I just don’t think that Arizona’s plan is going to do it. For example – I was born and raised in GA and am ethnically considered “Caucasian.” However, I have a REALLY dark skin complexion and black hair. I often get mistaken for Hispanic – I’ve had people speak Spanish to me before assuming I’m Hispanic. So here’s the problem with this law:
If I visit Arizona there is a pretty good chance that I will be asked to “prove” my status. I don’t have a status – I’m a natural born citizen. When I can’t provide documentation of that, b/c my GA Driver’s License isn’t sufficient and who carries a birth certificate, I’m going to be hauled into jail on family vacation to wait for a court hearing where I have to prove my citizenship.
And what about the folks who are Hispanic who are natural born citizens?!
I think there’s got to be a better enforcement tool than this AZ law. I would support a combination of the following:
1. Stricter enforcement on employers who hire illegals.
2. Automatic checks of citizenship on people who are actually stopped for committing a crime – be it speeding or murder, your name gets run through the system that they already use.
3. Verification of status when registering for schools, renting/purchasing property (including autos and vehicle registration) At least in GA, this often isn’t done.
Venkat
April 29th, 2010
10:42 am
A couple of years back, GA DMV system was not integrated with USCIS and they gave me a one year license even though I was a permanent resident. The new law concerns legal immigrants more than the illegal ones.
The law and the governor might have good intent, but all it takes is good cop on bad day to harass citizens/immigrants who do not look American enough.
As a GA citizen what documents do I need to carry when I want to visit the Grand Canyons? Is my GA license good enough? What about my US born daughter? Do i need to carry her birth certificate?
The law is such that police could stop anywhere, even taking a walk around your community.
Venkat
April 29th, 2010
10:55 am
Another crazy thing happened after I became a citizen recently (naturalized). I took my certificate of naturalization to local SSA office to update my status They said they do not accept the certificate until USCIS informs SSA. They asked me to wait for a few weeks.
So if a certificate issued by USCIS (a federal branch) is not accepted by SSA (another federal branch), think about the various possibilities of things going bad between a USCIS and local police.
The Mrs.
April 29th, 2010
10:57 am
My husband is from West Africa. He been in the country for 8 years and became a US citizen in 2009. The official language in his country is English but he has an accent when he talks. Has an English first name but African last name. It is recommended NOT to carry you Naturalization Certificate with you because #1 it is larger than a letter sized paper, #2 it can take up to a year to replace if lost or damaged.
He wouldn’t have a problem in GA since he has a driver’s license but if we were to go to Arizona to visit friends and were pulled over for a traffic violation in Arizona things could go bad. If the police had a way to check the I.C.E database immediately I wouldn’t be concerned but it doesn’t sound like they have a direct connection to the system.
deegee
April 29th, 2010
11:26 am
I agree with you, Imno. However, if you want to be more accurate in your example, a Mexican drywall hanger would likely be paid the equivalent of $20.00 a week (not a day), or 200 pesos. He could come north and earn around $500.00 a week or 5,000 pesos thereby improving his income 25 times. That’s quite an incentive.
deegee
April 29th, 2010
11:30 am
Additionally, Imno, the 10 year wait for an immigrant visa is for a family visa, not a work visa. You would need a family member who is a citizen or permanent resident to sponsor you. You can’t get an immigrant work visa if you want to hang drywall. The DOL wouldn’t approve your employer’s application.
The Mrs. Should read the bill before commenting.
April 29th, 2010
12:26 pm
Hey, the Mrs. READ THE BILL. If one has a valid driver’s license then the authorities will look no further into immigration status. Nice try , though.
DJ Sniper
April 29th, 2010
12:35 pm
And so it begins……
http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/Man-says-he-was-racially-targeted-forced-to-provide-birth-certificate-91769419.html
deegee
April 29th, 2010
12:45 pm
Hello READ THE BILL, and what if you have a valid drivers license but your passenger does not? Are the police required to call ICE on them?
jon
April 29th, 2010
6:00 pm
VILLAGROSSA IS ONE BIGOTED MAYOR,AND SO ARE MILLIONS OF LATINO POLITICIANS.
DawgFan
April 29th, 2010
10:52 pm
Whoever wrote that post to the Mrs saying “read the bill” has evidently not read the bill. What an idiot!
drunkinpublic
April 29th, 2010
11:59 pm
arizona is leading the new way,other states should follow their lead.Save america before its to late and impeach our new socailist president and let the do gooders go with him to s.f. c.a. and start their own country there.
The Mrs.
May 1st, 2010
1:27 pm
I have read a lot about the bill. IF YOU HAVE A VALID ARIZONA DRIVER’S LICENSE THEN THERE IS NO ISSUE. However, there would be an issue if you have an out of state driver’s license because each state has a different process. Some states, like Georgia, verify legal status of residents before issuing licenses but some states don’t.
I am for stricter immigration enforcement. My husband went through the proper process so I think that every immigrat should also follow US laws. But the issue I have is that Naturalized citizens could be detained in error.
love my country
May 1st, 2010
3:12 pm
Do they want to be U.S. citizens and loyal to our country or do they just want the benefits of our great country.
Debra
August 12th, 2010
9:17 am
1 in 12 babies born in the U.S. are offspring of illegals…….something needs to be done NOW!! I disagree with both Rubio & Bush on this issue. If the federal govt. won’t enforce the laws, then the states have no choice. Enough already!