Arizona "tweaks" New Immigration Law; Some in GOP Still Backing Away

Many people have many thoughts on how we should fix the illegal immigrant problem plaguing our country and what we should do with the ones that are already here illegally. One thing is for sure.... doing nothing will only allow the problem to expand and become a bigger financial strain on states, counties, & cities, most of which are already facing a shortage of cash & cutting back on services.

One of the first steps, being a nation of laws, the federal government should enforce the current immigration laws. But what is a state to do when the federal government does NOT enforce their own laws and this lack of enforcement is creating a financial strain on the well being of the community along with creating an unsafe environment for U.S. citizens?

Most would say it is incumbent on the elected state officials, within the powers vested in them under our Constitution & affirmed in their State Constitution, to take action in addressing the problems when the Federal government refuses to do so. The State of Arizona did just that and is now facing a full frontal attack on their states rights by the federal government that allowed the problem to grow to epidemic proportions.

In attempts to address the concerns of the PC Korretniks on the left, illegal immigrants & the expected onslaught of legal challenges, the State of Arizona recently refined the language in their controversial and so-called civil rights violating new illegal immigration law....

From L.A. Times --

The initial law, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer last week, required police to determine a person's immigration status if officers formed a reasonable suspicion about their legality during any "lawful contact." That led to suggestions by some legal experts that police would be obligated to scrutinize even people who asked for directions.

Lawmakers on Thursday night changed the language to require scrutiny only of people who police stop, detain or arrest. They also changed a section of the bill that barred officers from "solely" using race as grounds for suspecting someone is in the country illegally; opponents had argued that that would allow race to be a factor. The legislators removed the word "solely" to bar race from being used by officers enforcing the law.

"It absolutely clarifies what the intent was," said Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Brewer, who supported the changes and is expected to sign them into law. "It's undeniable now that this bill will not lead to racial profiling." More....

The intent of AZ's new law was always clear -- removing the illegal immigrants already there and stop/stem the flow of illegal immigrants from over the porous border that the federal government refuses to address. It has nothing to do with being against a certain race or culture. Nowhere in the law does it say only target people from Mexico or specific races from Latin America.

The mostly disobedient and far from peaceful protests by groups against enforcing any laws dealing with illegal immigration (other than complete Amnesty) has the GOP in a tizzy. Instead of supporting the will of the voters some high profile members of the Elephant clan show they are more concerned with votes & running for political cover than doing what's right...

Arizona's immigration law has been an immediate hit with the Republican base, but some of the party's top strategists and rising stars worry that the harsh crackdown may do long-term damage to the GOP in the eyes of America's Hispanic population.

And the party's long-term thinkers worry that the Arizona law is merely a quick political fix which may create a permanent rift with the fastest growing segment of the U.S. electorate.

"It's like a virus that you get and you don't feel like you're unhealthy for the first few days, but after that you have a fever and you're really sick," says Matthew Dowd, former President George W. Bush's chief strategist in 2004. "You can't win a national election and you can't win certain states without the Latino vote. And Republicans already had a problem."

"I think there is going to be some constitutional problems with the bill," top Bush strategist Karl Rove said during a stop on his book tour. "I wished they hadn't passed it, in a way." (AZ Central)

And they've even got their "bought & paid for" wing of the Tea Party speaking out against the law....

Even Sal Russo, the longtime California Republican political operative who helps fund the Tea Party Express, acknowledges that the Arizona law creates problems for the party.

"I think Republicans do a poor job of communicating to non-traditional Republican voters," Russo said. "We've done a poor job in reaching out beyond the Republican base, and I think that's been part of the problem. (AZ Central)

Even though this new law has bi-partisan support in Arizona, and the fact that AZ Governor Jan Brewer actually saw an increase in poll numbers AFTER the law was signed, as usual ignoring the will and voice of "We the People," Russo & the GOP want to make it about the "party" and not the people.

A couple of polls being ignored by the spineless GOP and the "drive-by" Tea Party Express is a Gallup poll showing 51% of Americans aware of the Arizona law support it -- along with 39% of the people polled who have not yet heard of the law also supported it. The 39% most likely reflects U.S. citizens happy somebody is just doing something about the illegal immigration problem in this country.

And in a poll done by SurveyUSA, 82 percent of Florida Republicans who have heard about Arizona's law agree with it—and 81 percent think Florida should pass a similar measure.

You can click here to sign the Tea Party Patriots petition supporting Arizona's new law.