An issue by any other name is still related to... taxes

When all is said and done, the fuel behind nearly every political issue is money. Congress is the most opinionated and out spoken abacus the world has ever seen. Everything gets tallied and put into it's proper allocation: tax brackets, census generations, funding for programs, incentives and growth , even your own Social security number designates what part of the country you were numbered in.
This is the main reason that politicians pay attention to illegal immigration. Unknown people cannot be quantified and thus they cannot be taxed. Whether you are democrat or republican this is a thorn in your side. While at any point in time neither party is content with the tax system, both parties will agree that the system itself hinges on participation. Everyone puts their money in the pool ( the contribution amount is arguable) and those funds are the glue that holds our municipalities, counties, parishes, states, and country together as a sovereign unit. They educate, they take care of those in need, they build roads, they even serve as incentive to growth. Not paying into the American tax system and taking advantage of its benefits is an attempt at a free lunch.
There is still a strong puritan influence in the United States. There is an over whelming feeling that everyone should pull their fair share of the load. This is why we as a country get so angry at the idea of unaccountability, most recently on Wall Street. Using anything that is tax payer funded without being a contributor is against the foundation of American culture and the political system. For some the conundrum gets even more complicated when they want nothing more than to contribute and are unable.

Presidential election effect and hangover..

During the peak of the presidential election much local news was pushed to the back burner. Since then the Dow has continued to drop and the local news and responses to immigration have been muted a tad. However, there have been two major events that have lead to local out cry even while a nation in turmoil and fear grips the rest of the country. The Phoenix metro area has lost two lives to drunk driving by illegal immigrants.

The first death was of officer Shane Figueroa of the Phoenix police early in the morning on October 25th. The man that was found at fault for the accident first identified himself as Jose Rivas Gonzalez. The name he gave police was an alias used on forged identification. The 50 year old suspect's real name is Salvador Vivas-Diaz an illegal immigrant. Vivas- Diaz is facing charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault, obstruction of a criminal investigation, and forgery. Coverage on this case has not been as in depth as similar cases with the death of an officer have been in the past. This has upset many in the Phoenix area.
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/MoAlonzoDunsmoor/37336

Besides the newspaper outlets, local talk radio has picked up on the story. Below is a link to Ankarlo mornings on 92.3 KTAR. The broadcast from October 27th, 2008 is the first public mention I heard in regards the immigration status of Vivas-Diaz and one of the more information filled discussions on this case.
http://ktar.net/blogs/dankarlo/2008/10/page/2/

Not even a month after the death of 25 year old Phoenix officer Shane Figueroa, 16 year old Kelly Tracy was killed by an illegal drunk driver on her way to a parade in Gilbert. The local high school band member was in the car with her brother when 32 year old Manuel Contreras- Galdean hit the two teens while under the influence of alcohol. Contreras- Galdean has 2 prior DUI offences.

Sheriff Joe vs. Mesa

The Sheriff has had a difficult time with the city of Mesa in recent months. The Mesa Police chief publicly declared that Joe (Arpiao- here you say Joe and everyone knows who you are speaking about) would not give him enough notice of his crime suppression sweeps. The Mesa Police chief wanted to make sure that he had adequate officers in the area of the sweeps to keep the public safe, and the inevitable protestors under control.

This morning MCSO showed up at the Mesa public library to enforce the Employer's Sanction Law. Joe received a tip that the City of Mesa's contracted cleaning service, Management Cleaning Controls, was knowingly employing illegal immigrants. This morning 16 people, all illegal immigrants were arrested. 3 of these people were at the Mesa public library, the remaining 13 were arrested at their homes. Additionally, MCSO is charging 10 of these people with identity fraud. According to CBS news this evening there are 200 additional employees of this company under investigation for possible identity fraud. MCSO served a police lieutenant with the Mesa Police as well. his exact charges in regards to this sweep are unknown, although there is sense that he knew these employees were illegal.

Joe is not the only one who has amped up his campaigns in the last couple of days. This week there have been protests outside the meetings of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. A group newly formed in January who call themselves the Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Accountability have drawn hundreds of members and supporters to County Board of supervisor's meetings for the past few months. The meetings attended include those in regards to the MCSO contract as acting law enforcement in the city of Guadalupe.

MCSA was formed by a group from religious and community organizations who focus on the purse strings to effect the policies of Joe Arpiao and MCSO.
"The Board of Supervisors is ultimately where the money comes through for the Sheriff's department. We wanted to have more (of) a public accounting. Other people took the sheriff on a frontal assault on issues and weren't effective." stated Parraz, the group's leader. "Change doesn't happen overnight. We're not going to allow them to continue to bully us, at the same time we're never going to resort to violence, do personal attacks, undermine them as people. It's consistent, it's reaching out, it's involving ordinary people in the process, it's being creative. It's sometimes breaking the rules and at other times cooperating." - -www.azcentral.com -"Arpiao Critics keep heat on supervisors,"- 10-15-2008.

Root of the Issue

Maybe it is because it is an election year, but it seems to me that the root of most political constipation on any issue is hate. It is much easier for people to hate then it is to address a problem or to admit that things are a little bit more complicated then just black and white. It is much easier to label a person who disagrees with you as despised then it is to admit to yourself that your feelings are one of many, and your feelings alone are not sole justification for any political stance.

Instead of stepping back and taking a deep look at an issue, people in general look at their emotion. They do not see the issue, or problem, or situation. Most people can only see how they feel. YOUR having feelings does not solve or better any sort of predicament. Do we need to stop hiring lawyers as politicians and instead start looking for well spoken engineers?

The root of the immigration dilemma is that no one wants to sit down, pick it apart, diagnose the problems, and then solve them practically. Complaints do not create solutions, only background noise. Until we look at immigration reform as broken equipment we will never be able to piece it together into a functioning machine.

The first step towards any large assembly and repair is to lay out all of your parts in plain sight. Anyone who has ever assembled anything knows spare parts = missed and lessened performance.

It is easy to misinterpret the importance of a part when it is separated from the final project. It is hard to look at any single aspect and recognize how it leads to overall function without getting a clear look at the final product. The directions to law in this country are simple. They do not hide themselves within the bar exam, nor do they take a PHD to read. The instructions we need to interpret immigration reform lay here : http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

The Constitution of the United States of America.

Catching up to speed

There have been various significant events that have transpired over the last year and a half that have great weight when it comes to the immigration debate in Phoenix. While there are other events that have happened, the following have become a vital part of any immigration discussion involving Phoenix.

Phoenix Police Officer Nick Erfle was shot an killed by an illegal immigrant in September of 2007.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2008/06/illegal_immigrants_who_shot_at_officers_had_run-ins_with_the_law_last_year.php

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/97683

The "Employer Sanctions Law," was passed by the state legislature and signed by the Governor . This law essentially suspends and or revokes the business licenses of Arizona businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants.

Basic info on the law:
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special46/articles/1128biz-sanctions101.html

Responses to the new law:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/related/71835.php

http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=2efa549b-f5a3-477f-9834-0536716cd30b

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/211554.php

To date, this law has been upheld by every court of law it has come across. Illegal immigrant workers have been detained under the publicly announce enforcement of the Arizona Employer Sanctions Law, but no business has yet to be charged. Many of these investigations are still on going.

Crime Suppression Sweeps: Sheriff Joe and the MCSO (Maricopa County Sheriff's Department) have been conducting Crime Suppression Sweeps in which the majority of arrests have been arrests of illegal immigrants.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/115619

http://www.abc15.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=91ed4d77-84c6-4cd7-a410-30b02074ca9f


Protests: All across the valley at places like Pruitt's furniture store on Thomas Road, in the cities that Crime suppression sweeps are taking place, and in the city of Guadalupe, people are voicing their opinions on illegal immigration through protest. Just last week I drove through Guadalupe to find "elect Dan Saban for Sheriff," signs posted in English and Spanish on almost every visible business and home.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/115493

The town of Guadalupe vs. Sheriff Joe:
The town of Guadalupe and Sheriff Joe are at odds of who will be the law enforcement for the city. This week the contract between MCSO and the City of Guadalupe was nullified, leaving the possibility that the small portion of the Phoenix Metro area will not have ANY law enforcement at all. Guadalupe is in essence, no one's jurisdiction.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/2008/04/03/20080403mr-MCSO.html

http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/2008/09/29/20080929superrevote0929-ON.html

Cast of Characters

There are some main players in the immigration arena that is Phoenix. I will start off with a "who's who," and if I can find it, a brief blurb in their own words about their beliefs on immigration.

Janet Napolitano- Governor of Arizona
Here is a link to :

"Testimony of Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
Submitted to the
Subcommittee on Immigration,
Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security,
andInternational Law
“Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Impact
ofImmigration on States and Localities”

http://azgovernor.gov/documents/07-05-17%20Gov%20Napolitano%20Judiciary%20subcommittee%20testimony.pdf

Phil Gordon- (No you batman freaks not Police Commissioner) Mayor of Phoenix

Here is a link to a speech :

August 21, 2008
"The Cost of Immigration Enforcement"
Mayor Phil
Gordon

http://www.mayorgordon.com/news/view.cfm?id=-531507949



Joe Arpiao- Maricopa County Sheriff
There is not anything on the Sheriff's site that speaks of his beliefs on immigration, however I did find this article in the Washington Post titled:

One Sheriff Sees Immigration Answer as Simple
By John Pomfret and Sonya
GeisWashington Post Staff Writers Saturday, May 20, 2006; Page A03

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/19/AR2006051901856.html

Andrew Thomas- Mariocpa County Attorney

"Our office is responsible for the prosecution of more than 40,000 criminal
cases each year. My highest priority is holding criminals accountable for the
crimes they commit against people and the community." -http://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/ September 25, 2008

There is nothing on the county attorney's site in regards to his beliefs on immigration.

Elias Bermudas- Activist
Elias is a member of the group Immigrants Without Borders, and he is often quoted by members of the media for an immigration Activist's perception of events.

Here is a link to their blog on blogger:
http://demediacraticnation.blogspot.com/2006/07/groups-immigrants-without-borders-and.html


Another great site to check out to see more info on these various folks is: http://www.politickeraz.com/

Mission Statement

I moved to Arizona in early 2007. While I have always been aware of the "immigration debate," the climate in regards to immigration in Arizona, specifically the Phoenix Metro Area, is hotter than the desert summers.

Over the last year and a half I have seen and heard things that have astounded me at first and over time I have now come to expect. The complacency of such volatility has clouded my response on many occasions. For this reason, it is important to record and sort through the dramatic and important events that are unfolding in the Valley of the Sun. These are the events that will lead to the shaping of our policies and ideas in regards to immigration. So many would be shocked at the amount of angst and hate that is just waiting to explode from the epicenter that is Phoenix, Arizona.

I truly believe that what the South was and is to race relations historically the Southwest will be to immigration. As any person with a degree in history would do in a time when they feel they maybe witnessing a series of events with the possible result of this magnitude, I will try and document as much as I can.