The real crime in Arizona

A CRIME wave is taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border, but it has nothing to do with the right-wing scaremongering about immigrant "drug gangs."

The crime is murder, and U.S. immigration policy is to blame. According to state officials, July could be the deadliest month ever for immigrants trying to cross the Arizona desert from Mexico--the result of higher-than-average temperatures, but also tighter border security that is forcing immigrants to cross more remote and dangerous wilderness.

This outrage is only one part of a campaign against immigrants that must be opposed. Those who care about justice will have a chance to take a stand in solidarity with immigrant workers and their families on July 29, the day that Arizona's anti-immigrant SB 1070 is scheduled to go in to effect, when activists there and around the country are planning actions for immigrant rights.

The death toll at the border is reaching terrible proportions. By the middle of July, Pima County medical examiner Dr. Bruce Parks was reporting that 40 bodies had been brought to his office. "Right now, at the halfway point of the month, to have so many is just a very bad sign," Parks said. His office handles the dead from three counties and is storing about 250 bodies right now, using a refrigerated truck to deal with the soaring numbers.

And what is the answer of the Obama administration? Send 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border on August 1--with more than 500 destined for Arizona.

Militarizing the border does absolutely nothing to address the reasons why people risk their lives trying to cross the border--poverty and the hope of a better life. What it will do is cause immigrant workers and families to take even more dangerous chances during crossings. More will die as a result.

Then again, it's no surprise that Obama is sending so many troops to Arizona--fear-mongering and border militarization go hand in hand. Arizona is the birthplace of SB 1070--the anti-immigrant bill signed into law in April that requires local law enforcement to detain anyone they have "reasonable suspicion" of being undocumented.

The law has sent a chill through immigrant communities in Arizona, fueling an exodus of people who used to call the state home. Sergio Diaz, owner of an English language school in Phoenix, told Britain's Guardian newspaper, "We've been in business since 2000. At the end of this month, we are going to close." He added, "My students are about 90 percent undocumented. Three months ago, we'd have up to 200 students every day; now, there are only 15. They are all leaving, or preparing to leave."

In other words, SB 1070 is doing exactly what its proponents hoped--terrorizing some of the most vulnerable people in society. The effects are being felt not only by the undocumented, but all immigrants and non-whites, who justifiably fear falling into the hands of law enforcement.

IT WAS a welcome development when the U.S. Justice Department announced on July 6 that it was filing a lawsuit against Arizona's anti-immigrant law. Hearings are set to begin this week. The federal suit is among several now before the federal courts, including ones filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund that challenge the law on a stronger basis--that its green light for racial profiling is a violation of basic civil liberties and human rights.

A federal court could impose an injunction that stops SB 1070 from taking effect on July 29. That would be a victory for immigrant rights--but not a long-term solution to the climate of fear whipped up around this vicious anti-immigrant law.

Action in the courts is important, but it's no substitute for activists making uncompromising and public arguments against SB 1070, the string of copycat Arizona-type laws under consideration around the country, and the wider wave of attacks on immigrants.

Conservatives are making the issue of immigration a rallying point. Thus, right-wingers are preparing for a fight in the courts over SB 1070. According to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's office, money has poured into a legal defense fund for the law--nearly $1.2 million, most of it in the days after the Justice Department filed suit.

What's more, SB 1070 has clearly opened the door to further scapegoating. In Utah, a list of 1,300 state residents--with details about each person, including their home address, telephone number, date of birth and, in the case of pregnant women, their due dates--was sent to law enforcement and media outlets. The words "illegal immigrants" were marked across the top of each page--and the list came with a letter from the "Concerned Citizens of the United States," which called on those named to be deported immediately.

State officials scrambled to find out whether the threatening letter came from someone in one of their agencies. By then, though, the damage was done--another act of terrorism against immigrants.

If attacks like this are allowed to continue unchallenged, anti-immigrant ideas will grow--and so will organizations of the far right. Recently, a neo-Nazi announced his and his friends' intention to guard the Arizona border themselves, replete with military fatigues, body armor and assault rifles.

The right's vile hate is no surprise, of course. But for millions of immigrants who voted for Barack Obama in 2008, the experience of the Democratic administration is surprising--a very frustrating one.

In a speech about the issue of immigration on July 1, Obama spoke with compassion about "a broken system" where undocumented workers "live in the shadows" and are "vulnerable to unscrupulous businesses who pay them less than the minimum wage or violate worker safety rules."

But Obama also promised stepped-up border enforcement and harsh penalties for the undocumented drawn to this country by the promise of work, no matter what their situation. He said he supported legislation that would force the undocumented to "register, pay their taxes, pay a fine and learn English. They must get right with the law before they can get in line and earn their citizenship."

As the Los Angeles Times reported, "After reading a transcript of Obama's immigration address, former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer said in an e-mail that 'this speech could almost word for word have been delivered by George W. Bush on the exact same subject. Do they just copy our old speeches?'"

Actually, in terms of enforcement, the Obama administration has done Bush one better--detentions and deportations are up, and the Department of Homeland Security is committed to a quota of at least 400,000 deportations a year by the end of 2010. And the latest Democratic proposal in Congress for "comprehensive immigration reform" contains harsher enforcement provisions and a more tortured "path to citizenship" than any previous legislation.

DESPITE THE disappointments from Washington, however, supporters of immigrant rights have good reason to be inspired to action.

The passage of SB 1070 sounded an alarm for activists around the country--a recognition that this fight isn't just about Arizona, but everywhere; it's not just about the undocumented, but all workers; and it's not just about racial profiling laws, but about deportation, border militarization, E-Verify and immigrant children's right to an education.

Actions will take place around the country in the run-up to July 29, the day Arizona law enforcement is supposed to begin implementing SB 1070, and immigrant rights groups are organizing caravans to Phoenix for protests at the Capitol building on that day.

In Arizona, the call is out for city governments, police jurisdictions, universities, K-12 schools, school districts and businesses to publicly state that they won't comply or cooperate with SB 1070.

Those who can't be in Arizona are bringing a message of solidarity--¡Todos somos Arizona! We are all Arizona!--to their own cities.

In Chicago, activists will protest at the Cook County Jail against deportations and the collaboration of local law enforcement with federal authorities. In New York City, the Arizona Diamondbacks will be the target of protests--part of a national campaign that is calling on professional sports to take a stand against SB 1070, including the demand that the 2011 All-Star Game be moved out of Arizona.

At each of these events, activists can strengthen the solidarity that our side will need for the struggles ahead of us--immigrant and native born, documented and undocumented, standing together.