Statement of Purpose and Intent



On March 12th, 2011 I began a 400 mile trek along the Arizona-Mexico border from Agua Prieta to San Luis Rio Colorado, an adventure with a purpose I am calling BorderVenture.

Through BorderVenture I hope to raise awareness of border issues, expose exaggeration of border violence, combat the racial profiling, discrimination, and often outright racism that seems prevalent of late, and to record and recount personal stories of people living near or trying to cross the border. I will record my experiences and stories in this blog, and hope to have them further covered by supportive media, organizations, and other websites and blogs. I plan to aggressively publish my experiences through media outlets, interested groups, the Internet, and through whatever other avenues I am able. I will write tirelessly and advocate my findings to all who will listen, publish, and share them.


Sunday, February 27, 2011

Adding Insult to Injury

With the wounds inflicted by HB 2281 still feeling quite fresh, Arizona Senator Senator Russel Pearce recently proposed SB 1611, the self-titled "Immigration Omnibus" bill.  Clever name- perhaps a bit more creativity than I expected from an Arizona Senator.  Omnibus being a term for a vehicle that carries many passengers (a bus), and also for a comprehensive law that provides many stipulations at once.  So the bill essentially hopes to "bus away" all of the immigration concerns that keep Senator Pearce awake at night.  The bill consists largely of revisions and additions to already-standing legislation, and is essentially a violation of what most people would consider "basic human rights", and not to mention, the Constitution of the United States of America.  Rather than reiterate what the proposed bill states, here is a statement by the American Civil Liberties Union: ACLU Denounces Passage of Irresponsible Bill...
and if you don't feel like reading the whole statement, here are some bullet points taken directly from their article concerning some of the new provisions:

  • Prohibits universities or community colleges from admitting any student who cannot present one of the listed documents to prove legal status;
  • Mandates that all businesses register with E-verify or face the revocation of their business licenses; 
  • Establishes new eligibility requirements for public benefits that violate federal law and enhances penalties (from a class 2 to a class 1 misdemeanor) for agency employees who fail to report “discovered” violations of federal immigration law; 
  • Limits the types of documents a person can show to prove their identity;
  • Requires the state police training agency, AZ POST, to summarily revoke a peace officer’s ability to serve the public if the officer does not uphold state or constitutional laws, even if the officer is just trying to exercise his or her professional discretion; 
  • Prohibits judges from considering bail for any undocumented immigrant who is charged with any felony offense;
  • Establishes mandatory 6-month jail term for anyone convicted of using another person’s identity to obtain employment; and 
  • Prohibits individuals from obtaining a vehicle title and registration, fingerprint clearance card or license of any kind until they are able to demonstrate satisfactory immigration status.

And if you want to see exactly what the proposed legislation is for yourself, here is a link to the official document:  SB 1611
So if you feel the way I might about this new proposed legislation, please feel free to tell your Arizona "representatives" to vote "NO!" on SB 1611.  And maybe next time, lets try to get some better representation in there.  Somehow, I don't think that this guy comes anywhere near representing Arizona's population:

6 comments:

  1. This bill is perfectly fine it requires you to prove you are a legal citizen. The only people who will have a problem with this bill are those that are illegal immigrants.
    These are all acceptable documents according to the bill:
    a) an Arizona driver license issued after 1996 or an Arizona nonoperating identification license;

    b) a driver license issued by a state that verifies lawful presence in the U.S.;

    c) a birth certificate or delayed birth certificate issued in any state, territory or possession of the U.S.;

    d) a U.S. passport or certificate of birth abroad;

    e) a foreign passport with a U.S. visa;

    f) an I-94 form with a photograph;

    g) a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employment authorization document or refugee travel document;

    h) a U.S. certificate of citizenship or naturalization;

    i) a Tribal certificate of Indian blood; or

    j) a Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs affidavit of birth.

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  2. You're kind of missing the point there, anonymous. To quote the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddles masses yearning to be free." And maybe another document you may have heard of, the Declaration of Independence, states "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." And maybe one more, this time from Amendment 14 of the United States Constitution... "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." I just want to point out that the first part of that defines citizenship, but the last two sentences clearly stipulate that no State shall deprive ANY PERSON (not just citizens) of life, liberty, or property without due process, and that no State shall deny ANY PERSON (not just citizens) within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. SB 1611 is not only discriminatory and racist in nature, it goes against the core principals this country was founded upon, and it's unconstitutional.

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  3. Evan:

    I feel you are VERY misguided in your venture. Look at every other country on this planet, especially the ones that liberal minds want this country to end up like and what do you see: you need to prove your citizenship, you need to have the proper papers to get into the country and to receive the benefits and financial support of that country. Our LAWS say THE SAME THING. Yes, our country was built upon helping those in need, but it did so by implementing LAWS for how you get to become a citizen, or even set foot on our soil (and back then it was VERY different, they definitely would have had something to say about millions coming in illegally and sucking billions out of the economy every year). We don't want to become a welfare state for all of Mexico or every other poor country. Our economy has limits (Have you seen lately?? our nation has serious financial problems affecting everyone out there trying to get work). We have FEDERAL LAWS for citizenship that need to be followed in order for someone to become a citizen and obtain these rights you're speaking of (yes, you do actually have to be a citizen to get many of the benefits of the laws we have in place that you mention above...ask any attorney or read up on the matter). Our declarations and constitution were outlining rights for citizens!!! It's totally implied (and specified) for anyone with a 3rd grade education to understand!!! It wasn't a declaration of how to support the entire world, or those who can sneak in here by breaking federal laws for goodness sake LOL. It was about how we want to treat the people within our borders who got here LEGALLY, not an outline for how to save the world. Our country was founded on a rule of laws to protect our citizens. We literally have over 1 million ILLEGAL immigrants break into to our country EVERY YEAR because we're standing here with our wallets open and our economy collapsing (I LOVE LEGAL immigrants, as do 99% of conservatives, but for some reason we can't seem to convince liberals that breaking the law to get in (stepping in front of those trying to do it legally!) and stealing thousands from our economy in the process is wrong.....I just don't get the disconnect there, especially since liberals pride themselves on their education. It's a simple concept to understand). These are stats by the border patrol, not pulled out of thin air. In San Diego (where I live) hospitals are is serious financial trouble because a huge % of their patients are illegal and don't have to pay for the $10,000 to have their baby, yet a CITIZEN has to fork over the money. How backward is that? This is why they're risking their lives across deserts to get here: We're giving away money while drowning in DEBT!!!!!I China owns us!!!! I know people that work in these hospitals and say it's absurd how many people being treated are not legal (and costing our country billions). Our teachers are getting fired for lack of funds, but you don't see it published how many THOUSANDS of dollars it costs for JUST 1 illegal child (the citizen of ANOTHER country) that we educate.

    continued below....

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  4. The perpetuation of absurd ideals by people who think we can continue to let millions more into this country without it completely collapsing is a huge misguided concept that you will see literally change the way of life here in your lifetime (for the worse), and I hope you see this before it is too late. You're an idealistic student- we've all been there, but once you try to get a job and support a family but cannot because thousands are given away to anyone (as a prize) who can sneak here and not get caught...you might start to change your views on how many people our country should be supporting that don't belong here.

    No I'm not a racist or bigoted (many of my friends are black and hispanic and gay ), I'm just a realist who knows how misguided you are. One country cannot support the world just as I'm sure right now you cannot go out and adopt 100 babies because they are in need of food and shelter....you would go bankrupt. Our country cannot support a % of Mexican population without consequences. Did you know we have WAAAAY more LEGAL immigrants per year than any other nation on the planet? they understand the economics of immigration-- you need to do some research. MEXICO has WAAAY stronger policies than we do on who they let in and when they can ask for proof of citizenship without being told it's a human rights violation.

    I graduated from your school Summa Cum Laude. I'm highly educated, started a business from nothing by working 60 hours per week (on average, some 80 hour weeks) for the past 12 years. I Give to charity, but do not feel I should be supporting criminals who sneak across the border when I'm working 60+ hours per week just to pay MY bills. I seriously cannot believe the lack of understanding in how the real world works among our students of today. You will find out in the next 50-10 years, remember this posting and say "aaaahhhh", I see his point now. I don't expect you to understand it now. I have 20 years experience in this world compared to you.

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  5. Thank you for taking the time to write a comment on my blog. I appreciate you giving your perspective. I don't have the time to write a full response right now, but I wanted to point out one error you have made-you're assuming we (U.S. citizens) are supporting Mexicans and immigrants. They support themselves quite well once they are allowed to establish themselves here, just like white people.

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  6. Hi Evan,

    I understand you are busy and I will try to check back to see your views on the matter.

    In response to your 1 statement above, I was referring to the illegal immigrants that come here (by illegal means that would land them in prison if they did the same thing in many other countries around the world, including Mexico LOL) knowing they have medical issues (or are pregnant), sneak into the country, and then head for the hospital (or do so later when they have medical issues while residing here illegally and not paying taxes or putting in their fair share)....I was not speaking of documented immigrants who are here legally and pay taxes etc. I nor any other conservative has a problem with them (though we often get misrepresented in that way and called racist as well- it's a liberal tactic to diminish our real stance, much akin to accusing anyone of something to belittle them in the eyes of others)- you're right- we're not supporting them. It's the other 1+ million illegal border crossers (per year- that's border patrol estimates) I'm referring to. I know from speaking to many people that work at the hospitals in San Diego (and from having a parent teach in a school in AZ where more than half the students were undeniably illegal for reasons that don't take much intelligence to figure out as their teacher and meeting their parents) that this is definitely true and it happens much more than many people even understand. Because we have to do these medical procedures whether a citizen or not (which in itself is not bad practice for ethical reasons, however without proper border controls it leads to massive abuse which is not what should happen), those MASSIVE costs due to taking advantage of our generous system have to be paid by someone.....so, medical costs go up, and thus health insurance costs go up. We're talking BILLIONS in medical costs, not a few thousand. So, by not having a proper immigration system that lets legal people in (As we all want) while keeping those out who simply want to come in undetected and use up out resources, we end up having increased costs for all of our citizens (by way of higher health insurance, higher taxes etc). One pregnancy costs $10,000-$20,000 in most cases (paid by the state or the hospital and costs passed on to us) and 1 illegal student costs roughly $10,000 per year (a recent stat I heard on a news show) to educate (once all costs including teacher pay and administrators and hard costs of having a school). Multiply this by millions living here illegally, and I think my calculator might not have enough digits to show how many billions per year our system is being drained by Mexican citizens, NOT US citizens. That was my point.


    Anonymous #2 directly above (I didn't make the 1st comment)

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