Was SB 1070 worth it? Commentary
by Hugh Holub on Jul. 28, 2010, under border issues, politics, SB 1070With Federal Judge Susan’s Bolton’s injunction against key parts of SB 1070 going into effect, let’s take a look at what has been accomplished:
If the goal of SB 1070 was to rid Arizona of illegal aliens… it failed. It was never going to do much anyway.
If the goal of SB 1070 was to impose Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s priorities over the rest of the state’s law enforcement agencies…it failed.
If the goal of SB 1070 was to prod the federal government into taking a more aggressive stance on securing the border…it worked. We got 534 National Guard troops. Big deal.
If the goal of SB 1070 was to make Jan Brewer the front runner in the August GOP governor primary…it worked.
If the goal of SB 1070 was to bring all the nativists and racists out from under their rocks…it worked.
If the goal of SB 1070 was to damage Arizona’s reputation nationally…it worked.
If the goal of SB 1070 was to alienate Hispanics from the Republican Party…it worked.
If the goal of SB 1070 was to prove State Senate Russell Pearce is really running the state…it worked.
Meanwhile the state has spent a lot of money on the SB 1070 issues, the political climate is dangeoursly polarized, Arizona looks like a un-reconstructed Southern State to the rest of the world, and racial tensions within the state have been exacerbated. All so the extreme right wing in the Republican party could stir up a dust storm in the state for their political benefit.
I still think we ought to deport Brewer, Arpaio and Pearce. At least don’t vote them back into office.
Judge Bolton did us a big favor in shutting down the most offensive portions of SB 1070.
Now, lets catch our breath and focus on what securing the border really means and on immigration law reform.
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July 28th, 2010 on 12:18 pm
A lot of the damage is done and can’t be undone, I’m afraid.
July 28th, 2010 on 1:45 pm
Hi Tip, glad that you’re back. What’s up with Target?
July 28th, 2010 on 2:24 pm
Hi Thanks :)
Be sure to Boycott Target
July 28th, 2010 on 12:36 pm
Dear Mr. Holub, Not to make a Holuballo out of this, but…..in case you didn’t realize, Your country and mine is under attack by a foreign enemy and for 20 years we have welcomed them with open arms, we let 10,000,000 million cross over and 8,000,000 overstay their visas. Is that OK with you? It’s not with me, this a war my friend, not a declared one but a silent one, no shots have been fired, many have been killed though. The worst thing is that the Mexican government subsidizes this action, California has already been lost to this war. That by the time that bleeding hearts realize what is going on, this war may be lost! Never fear America, there is still plenty of people in this country willing to fight for this cause , someday soon blood will be shed over this, maybe you won’t be ready for this Mr. Holub, mark my words and say you saw it here first. This will happen, its just a matter of time.
July 28th, 2010 on 1:50 pm
Hey Bill, maybe if you could have convinced America never to illegally invade about half the other countries in the world, your argument might carry some weight. As it is, for anyone to think Americans can be indignant about a so-called “invasion” on their “sovereign territory” is just plain ignorant of history.
July 28th, 2010 on 5:06 pm
Mr. Ger, unless you are an actual Native American, your argument does not get much traction. In what year did YOUR relatives “invade”? The indigenous folk were upset about it, to be sure, but going on the warpath did them no good.
July 28th, 2010 on 12:45 pm
“I still think we ought to deport Brewer, Arpaio and Pearce.”
What fascinating commentary. So this is what passes for “journalism” in the brainy berg of Tucson?
July 28th, 2010 on 12:49 pm
A voice of sanity in Tucson! Wonderful article Mr. Holub.
July 28th, 2010 on 1:03 pm
Yeah, Mr. Ger, the Republi-Cons, the Tea Baggers, and all the other “descendants” of the Confederacy have made it quite clear that they want to wage a second Civil War. And when it ends as badly for your side as the first one did, I trust those responsible will get their wish to no longer be citizens of the U.S. – they should be stripped of all rights forever!
July 28th, 2010 on 5:18 pm
You have lumped a lot of folks together under one label, Mr Shrdlu, which is the same mistake Mr. Ger is making. On reflection, you might agree that it is flawed policies, not people, that are causing the problem. That is where all the focus should be.
July 29th, 2010 on 7:56 am
But it is also true that people are behind those flawed policies. Those people are fair game.
July 28th, 2010 on 1:30 pm
“If the goal of SB 1070 was to rid Arizona of illegal aliens… it failed. It was never going to do much anyway.”
Well, thousands of illegal immigrants and their families have left the state, that’s a great start – check with the school districts, you will get real numbers there. And that’s just families with children! This bill also got potential illegals thinking twice about crossing illegally because of the consequences of going to jail, that’s a good thing too.
This piece is indeed a commentary and does not report any actual facts. I hope the readers are smart enough to do the difference and make their own opinion.
September 10th, 2010 on 3:51 am
Indeed.
Face the facts.
The HARD facts.
I grew up just outside of Douglas, and it is a war-zone. My family is slowly selling off their homes and property and moving, due to the constant break-ins and violence.
Yeah, I have an opinion. When it affects my family, my elderly grandmother and aunt, yes, I DEFINTELY have an opinion, and it is not a touchy-feelie happy one.
Let’s grow up and face the facts. REAL facts.
Border crime is REAL, and it is happening NOW, on BOTH sides of the border, and the main stream media is not reporting it accurately.
Spend a few days down there, then tell me I am wrong….
July 28th, 2010 on 2:18 pm
“I still think we ought to deport Brewer, Arpaio and Pearce. At least don’t vote them back into office.”
Great logic. Let’s deport all the legal citizens, and keep all the illegal immigrants.
If the goal of this article was to make you look like you have no idea what you are talking about… it worked. If the goal of this article was to deliver an insightful commentary of the recent decision… it failed. If the goal of this article was to make you look like a left-leaning hack… it worked. How about, we deport you, or “at the very least” deport your article to Mexico. Perhaps, they will change their immigration enforcement.
July 28th, 2010 on 2:30 pm
“Well, thousands of illegal immigrants and their families have left the state, that’s a great start ”
Is It ? this is the effect of sb1070, Russ Pierce & Jan Brewer.
1) the thousands of “familys” that left the state wont pay Arizona the taxes for products purchased. Wallmart, the malls, your buissness & mine.
2)the largest gem show in the world, will be looking for other locations for thier multi nation international clients. ( don’t want them to end up w/ sheriff Joe)
3)Our Gov Jan Brewer, Russ Pierce and that other bald guy, keep telling the world that 80% + of the 500 to 600 thousand hispanics in Az are “drug mules, murderers, rapists & terrorists,Phx is the 2nd worst kidnaping city of the world.
So I suppose as good Americans, we all have the obligation to tell everyone we can to stay awayfrom Arizona ( for thier own good )
4) # 1 and # 2 are true…….# 3 is the lie that almost destroyed our state.
July 28th, 2010 on 7:54 pm
“If the goal of SB 1070 was to bring all the nativists and racists out from under their rocks…it worked.”
Yes, it did work — it brought out all the hispanic racists, too. Wanting the law enforced isn’t racism, folks. I love the T-shirts that say “We will not comply.” Well no kidding — you won’t comply with any of the laws that don’t suit you. That’s how we all got here.
July 28th, 2010 on 8:40 pm
Wanting the law enforced isn’t racism, folks.
Except it isn’t the law anymore. We all have the responsibility to resist unjust laws and SB1070 was (past tense) unjust.
July 29th, 2010 on 2:18 am
For 26 years John McCain does nothing. For 16 years Jim Kolbe does nothing. Think, home builders and cash for campaigns and you got the ticket. The sponsoring thought, as Psychologists like to say, is that the primary motive that fueled the ‘nothingness” of immigration reform has been a subterranean desire to bust the Unions in Arizona once and for all. Mission accomplished. As we all know, only in Arizona can the carpenter that builds a home not afford to own one.
So home building is on the rocks, real estate is in the crapper, and labor is now not needed and low and behold here comes immigration reform. How coincidental. I guess all those retired Generals and Defense Contractors in Sierra Vista already got their custom tile installed.
The Right To Work State has achieved its goals. Surreptitious, as it may have been, the war against the Unions has been won. The prize? Arizona is loosing its middle class by the hour, and the cost of goods is rising exponentially as the net migration into the State has dropped significantly. So when all the Mexicans go home, who wants to be a carpenter for $9 an hour. A wage that will afford you a studio apartment. I guess we will see. No middle class, no taxes. Arizona could go backwards real fast.
July 29th, 2010 on 7:54 am
For the record, Mike and any other interested parties, the exact quote in reference to George Bush that resulted in Don banning me from his blog was, “Now, if any man ever needed dragging behind a truck…”. I will, for now, not go into the exact context within which the statement was made. I will, however say that I find it odd that Mr. Smith has a problem with my one fantasy of revenge, while having no problem with the reality of hundreds of thousands of deaths, many even more horrific, in a war that Mr. Bush illegally started.
August 20th, 2010 on 2:08 pm
hey guys yall really think that a law like that will work well its not look at us working our butts of for what so that yall can pay us nothing. guys put your self in our shoes go and work in the field for hours and quit your jobs and try to support your famillys with that money. im 14 and standing up for MY RACE wich is the MEXICAN RACE i bet you will do the same for yours. IS SB 1070 WORTH IT? think about it
September 10th, 2010 on 3:55 am
mexican by blood and heart?!?
then go live there.
tell me how bad us Americans are after you join the workforce there.
at 14, I hate to see such venom and hatred towards those of us who ARE the American worforce.