Steve Smith: Response to Immigration Bill (SB 1070)

My name is Steve Smith. I am a proud resident of Maricopa, and I am currently running to serve as your state senator. The recent immigration bill that just passed has been a lightning rod issue not only here in Arizona, but is now the hot topic throughout the entire country all the way to the White House (as you may recall, President Obama called the bill ‘misguided’).  Many people have asked me my opinion of the immigration bill (SB 1070), and my answer is simple; it is a great start for Arizona!

In a way it’s kind of sad though that a bill even had to be written and then passed by the Governor just so that our existing federal laws can be enforced, but thank goodness it has been. To briefly summarize, this bill gives law enforcement officers the right (once probable cause has been established), to ask a person if he or she is a legal citizen here in the United States. The law does not allow police to stop suspected illegal aliens unless they have already come across them through normal “lawful conduct” (such as a traffic stop), and explicitly prohibits racial profiling.

 Of course, most critics of this bill will mistakenly call it racist in nature, but illegal is not a race; it is a crime! 

To that end, I have met personally with Senator Russell Pearce (the author of SB 1070) and with Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu to discuss the illegal immigration issue, and both men agree that this bill is certainly not racist and is not a violation of federal authority, but rather is a necessity for Arizona.

In one statement, Senator Pearce said:  “Aside from the unfounded accusation of racial profiling, the chief complaint about the bill is that it infringes on federal jurisdiction by enforcing laws. However, there is a long legal precedent going back to 1976 that allows states to pass legislation to discourage illegal immigration so long as it does not conflict with federal law. SB 1070 was specifically designed to mirror federal immigration law to avoid such a conflict.”

Additionally, after meeting with Sheriff Babeu (the most honest law enforcement officer I have ever met), he also supports SB 1070 and insists that his officers would not practice any kind of racial profiling, but would act only on probable cause. 

 Let’s face it; illegal immigration is destroying this state not only in terms of dollars spent (over $2 billion annually), but also by the influx of drugs and gangs (approximately 1/3 of the prison population is comprised of illegals, and currently 95 illegal aliens are in Maricopa County jails for murder). This danger could not be any more evident than by the recent killing of rancher Robert Krentz and by the attempted murder last month of Pinal County Sheriff’s Deputy Louie Puroll, both at the hands of illegal immigrants.

Over 80 percent of illegals in Arizona travel through Pinal County! This is our home, where we live and raise our children; when is enough, enough?

Going back to Senator Pearce, he also had this to say:  “In criticizing the SB 1070, Barack Obama said, ‘Our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others.’  There is nothing irresponsible about enforcing our law, but President Obama is right in that this is only necessary because the federal government does not do its job.”

All of this being said, this bill is not the end-all in fighting illegal immigration as it does not address securing the border (which must be done immediately if we truly wish to get a hold of this problem), but again, it is a great start for Arizona and, hopefully, the country.

Maricopa resident Steve Smith is running for a seat in the Arizona state Senate.

Submitted photo

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