The Crazy Train

By Cindy Gomez
Editor

We’ve all watched as the State of Arizona is discussed nationwide for its newly passed law SB 1070. On the heels of the law, Minnesota and about 10 others have sought to enact similar laws.

Politics being what it is, there has been much speculation about the real reason behind such state laws. Many have argued that Arizona’s Gov. Brewer is seeking the limelight out of desperation as she faces reelection. Appeasing the “teabaggers” is high on Brewer’s agenda, and race-baiting always seems to catch the attention of that crowd.

Before the law even has a chance to go into effect in August, the state has already been slapped with a lawsuit from the Department of Justice.

First, because brown people of the state argue—and justifiably so—that the new law makes racial profiling legal. Second, because they think the law is unconstitutional. The Department of Justice seems to agree.

With the lawsuit underway, the State of Arizona—and those who are following in its footsteps—are facing a barrage of criticism. People have boycotted states like Arizona, causing losses to local businesses. The workforce is obviously affected in Arizona, and other states will follow. Who wants to work in states with archaic laws when there are so many others still willing to honor the human rights of their residents?

But now we have Rep. Jim Kasper, of District 46, declaring that he will introduce a bill like SB 1070 here in North Dakota. Which begs the question, why? Does Kasper think the state has such a large surplus that a lawsuit by the Justice Dept. is a pittance to us? Perhaps. We might at least wait and see if Arizona’s law holds up in the courts before spending our time and money on a law that is probably unconstitutional.

Kasper said that he does not want to initiate a “witch hunt” on illegal immigrants in the state, but rather give officers the ability to verify the residence status of individuals they encounter. But that’s not the job of our local law enforcement. That’s the job of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Furthermore, we already have a means by which to identify those that police regularly encounter. It’s called an ID.

Kasper pointed to the recent detention of 32 farm workers in Oakes, as evidence that North Dakota needs more stringent immigration regulations. Did he fail to read that the farmer was unable to find any local workers to plant his onions? Labor shortages are increasing in the state. State leaders are proposing incentives for people to stay in North Dakota and work. And here comes Kasper, proposing a law that would aggravate the shortage by making immigrants that come to this state uncomfortable, if not fearful.

That may just be Kasper’s aim. Legal citizens who live or work around illegal immigrants are likely not report crimes or cooperate with law enforcement out of fear that their friends, neighbors, and coworkers will be deported.  And illegal immigrants themselves will be afraid to step forward to help police catch criminals out of fear of being deported.  This law actually makes North Dakota less safe. We are already facing a situation locally where a U.S. Army Veteran, Jose M. Vega-Mendoza, is facing deportation for some legal infractions committed in youth.

Does Kasper care about the safety of North Dakota’s residents or the shortage of farm workers? Does he want to see North Dakota’s crops harvested? If such a law were to go into effect, we would see an interesting beet season in our area. Especially since North Dakota’s population is not only decreasing, but the number of people under the age of 35 is decreasing, while the majority of the population is increasingly seniors.

Perhaps Kasper is simply seeking what Brewer wanted, “teabagger” style support and some limelight. He certainly picked the right issue to get attention. Even if he goes into the history books for being “one of those” who jumped on the crazy train and proposed such a racist law, he’ll certainly get his 15 minutes of fame out of it. We hope it’s worth the humiliation to the state.

At least it is refreshing to see that not everyone is as eager as Kasper to adopt such a position. The legislators rumored to be co-sponsoring the bill are keeping their dark glasses on and their names out of the news. Maybe they’re onto something.

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