Against SB 1070
Supporting SB 1070
While there are serious issues surrounding illegal immigration, there is a great divide in opinions on what to do about it. As seen with the Chinese Exclusion Act, simply barring a group from the country is not the way to go about controlling immigration. Looking at Arizona SB 1070, despite potentially good intentions, giving officers open permission to use racial profiling and demand proof of citizenship is not the best way to control it either. Looking into the primary sources I used: the actual documentation of both laws along with Supreme Court rulings on both, I was able to see the merit and the issues with both pieces of legislature. While I have no grand proposed solution on immigration problems, I do know that it is definitively un-American for our borders to be barred. Our country cannot and will not bare down and refuse entry to those with the need and desire to find refuge within our borders.
Arizona Senate Bill 1070:
The Supreme Court’s documentation and ruling on Arizona SB 1070:
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882:
The Present Aspect of the Immigration Problem (1894):
Arizona SB 1070
This piece of Arizona legislature made it any peace officers duty to check for documentation of legal status in the country during any “lawful stop, detention, or arrest” or during “lawful contact.” With no further specification of what is included in “lawful contact.” This section of the law basically entitles any officer to practice racial profiling in order to determine whether or not a nonwhite is an illegal immigrant. While the intent of the law is clearly to discourage illegal immigration and to enforce immigration laws, the demands of the law were deemed “misguided” by President Obama, who said, “No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of what they look like.” The Supreme Court ultimately supported the clause of the bill that allowed officers to check for papers, even though that was the section that the opposition found most appalling.
While racial profiling was not the intent of this bill, in practice, it was the only way to enforce it. The bill met strong support and attacks upon its enactment. Concern of civil rights violations were common, claims that the bill was racist and unconstitutional also surfaced. Its supporters were correct in citing that it is already federal law that immigrants have documented proof of legal status, and they held firm that more action was necessary in the fight against illegal immigration.
The Difference Today One would hope that approximately 130 years later America would not be facing the same racist issues in regards to immigration. One would assume that Supreme Court cases like US v. Wong Kim Ark would show that birth in the United States grants citizenship. Repeal of immigration quotas shows that in the United States we cannot shut our doors to those who desire to come here. However, there are still issues of immigration, racism, and racial profiling coming through in current legislation. Arizona Senate Bill 1070 is a prime example of such.
Chinese Exclusion Act Contd.
Looking at the Chinese Exclusion Act with modern eyes, it is obvious that exclusion of any one race is unconstitutional. The fact that your citizenship was challenged, even if you were born in America is wrong, but the Chinese Exclusion Act was still mandated and carried out for many years. The Chinese were considered somehow “different” from Americans, somehow genetically inferior as the eugenics movement tried to express. Samuel Gompers explains in his article “Restriction of Immigrants” that certain immigrants are contaminating the American gene pool, a claim that when held up to modern science seems laughable. There was so much fear and disgust with people who were different, that Americans were prepared to simply bar them from the country with no regard to whether or not they were even citizens.
Cases like US v. Wong Kim Ark show that many who were in fact citizens were detained and refused entry to the country. The fact that citizens had to struggle and fight to prove their citizenship, treated like criminals upon reentry into their home country, shows the issue with laws such as this. Attempts to block certain groups from the United States simply cannot be done. Without immigration there would be no Americans, without children of immigrants, there would be no Americans.
Chinese Exclusion Act http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc_large_image.php?doc=47 The Chinese Exclusion Act put an end to Chinese laborers immigrating for 10 years. No laborer “skilled or unskilled” could obtain citizenship to the country. A complicated process was put in place to make it exceedingly difficult for any Chinese to obtain citizenship at this time. Vicious racism made it nearly impossible for the Chinese who were already citizens to stay where they were. Violent, cruel acts were common against the Chinese people, much like any other racial group experiencing racism throughout United States history. Another section of the act made it necessary for Chinese who were already citizens to obtain special papers before reentering the country. Even though the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution clearly states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States … are citizens of the United State.” The amendment goes on to further protect all citizens right to “life, liberty, and property” and prohibits deprivation of such without “due process of law.”
We all know the story of Christopher Columbus, sailing the World in hopes of finding Asia and a new trade route to bring his country riches beyond its wildest dreams. Instead he found the West Indies, a land populated by people he called Indians. Fast forward through American history and find the pilgrims exiting the Mayflower in hopes of finding a beautiful, prosperous land where they could practice their religion and exist in their own society under their own rules. Years of war with the natives brought much bloodshed and great losses, but overall, for the white “Americans” it was a great win. The country gained independence from Great Britain and began creating its own laws, ruling itself under a three part government equipped with a checks and balances system and a Constitution to ensure basic freedoms and safety for all citizens. The United States of America is often called a melting pot because of the vast array of cultures that have found a home here. Immigrants from every country imaginable have found a home here, bringing with them a history all their own. The goal of America was never to create an exclusive land, where only one race or one economic status of people could live. America was a land of dreams where anyone could escape their hardships or troubles if they were willing to work for it. At different points in our history we lost track of what America was really about. Racism has racked our country and shown itself in many different avenues. The two that I will mainly compare are the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and Arizona Senate Bill 1070 of 2010. One fights the entry of the Chinese, the other, Hispanics. Both are prime examples of legislature that was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (in whole for the Chinese Exclusion Act and only in parts of SB 1070).
The United States, since the 18th century, was seen as the land of freedom and opportunity. This was a major reason why so many immigrants chose to come to this country. They saw it as a new beginning. All immigrants had different reasons for coming to America. I believe many immigrants came…
The Age of Mass Migration starting 1880 gave insight to many new immigrants that wanted to come to this country. During this period of time, the US was starting to develop the western part of the country. This development led to new sources of wealth for men whom were traveling west. Mining,…
Now there were many new laws and regulations being made for labor and immigration. Unions were also becoming new means of fighting for a worker’s right to be paid more. A major immigration act was passed in 1986, according to the “A People and A Nation” book. It was called the Immigration…
PBS Interactive. “Archives of the West from 1877-1887.” PBS. PBS, 2001. Web. 02 Aug. 2012.
The immigration also greatly affected the growth of modern cities. Economically, immigration was a major cause of city expansions. The mass amount of people created jobs. These jobs consisted of construction, farming, and many others. According to borderbattles.sscr.org, the majority of…
Hirschman, Charles. “Border Battles: The U.S. Immigration Debates.” The Impact of Immigration on American Society: Looking Backward to the Future. SSCR, 28 July 2006. Web. 02 Aug. 2012.
The Age of Mass Migration was the stepping stone for the present day economy. The second period of mass immigration started 1965 according to a source previously stated. The year 1965 was very significant because of the Immigration Act that was signed. President Johnson signed this Act. …