Detroit Free Press lead editorial: "Don't make Arizona's mistake here "

[Bozita]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100601/OPINION01/6010313/1069/Dont-make-Arizonas-mistake-here

POSTED: JUNE 1, 2010
EDITORIAL
Don't make Arizona's mistake here


State Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Township, who's running for the state Senate, has pledged to introduce an Arizona-style bill targeting illegal immigrants. Civil rights groups say the bill will raise serious constitutional issues. Constitutional or not, it's a bad idea. In taking on a job rightly the business of the federal government, Meltzer's plan is unduly intrusive and will almost certainly aggravate racial profiling.

The bill would give police officers the authority to request immigration papers or proof of citizenship from people stopped on another offense, including traffic violations, and arrest illegal immigrants. It's the kind of sweeping power local police officers shouldn't have -- and don't need. With cuts in state revenue sharing and a serious recession, local police departments don't have the resources to do their jobs now.

Meltzer is correct that immigration policy impacts local, state and school governments. But that doesn't mean it is their business to enforce it. Immigration and border control remain a federal responsibility, poorly served by a hodgepodge of state solutions.

This bill is almost certain to increase racial profiling by pushing police officers into making arbitrary judgments -- some kind of so-called reasonable suspicion -- about a person's legal status or citizenship. To her credit, Meltzer acknowledges that racial profiling is already a problem and could be one under her bill. But in such cases, she says, there are remedies and recourse. People can file complaints with police departments or even take the matter to court.

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[FiveGoodMen]

1. K&R

[pinboy3niner]

2. K&R

:kick:

[marmar]

3. I've seen Meltzer speak......She has three brain cells, two of which are fighting each other.

nt