Senator John McCain is under fire from students to reverse his decision on illegal immigration. Over the years the Senator has always sponsored bills aimed at legalizing students who are children of illegal immigrants. However, this year McCain has switched tracks and has not offered any support.
This is widely believed to stem from the threat he faces from J.D. Hayworth, his primary challenger. Hayworth is a talk show host and is a firm believer in tougher laws against illegal immigrants.

Dressed in Cap and Gowns, five immigrant students held a sit-in at McCain’s office on Monday in Tucson. They want him to go back to supporting legislation that will help young illegal immigrants find a way to legal status. Police arrested four of the five protestors on charges of misdemeanor trespassing. Three of those arrested were illegal immigrants and are due to face deportation proceedings.

The students want the Senator to support the Dream Act in particular as they do not have the confidence that broader overhauls to the immigration laws are on the horizon. The Democrats have already incorporated the student’s bill in their proposition for an overhaul.

The students were not the only ones unhappy about the new immigrations law. A fifth lawsuit challenging the new Arizona law was filed on Monday. It is believed that this particular suit has the greatest opportunity of being heard in court. This is because the suit has been filed by a coalition formed of religious, labor and civil rights groups.

There are two ways to look at the new Arizona law which aims to stamp out illegal immigration. The good thing about it is that it presents a solution, however controversial, to a long standing problem. The bad thing about it is that it sets precedent for other states which is financially ill timed.

Americans like to be paid and paid well. When it comes to construction jobs, farming jobs and other menial tasks Americans want no part of it because it pays little for the amount of work done. For example, picking strawberries on acres and acres of land for $10 a day (the minimum amount stipulated by the government) is something that no one wants to do.

With the recession hitting the U.S. very hard, many construction companies and farmers are struggling to pay even the minimum rate. This is where illegal immigrants have proved to be a godsend. They do not bargain on wages and do everything that is required. Although this is really an abuse of worker’s rights, it is unfortunately what has been powering the nation for many years.

If more laws like the Arizona law come into place, then employers have no choice but to pay increased wages to their workers. This in turn drives up the cost of the finished product. Again, the recession comes into play here. First of all people don’t have the money to pay the increased cost of goods and second, with a lack of sales production is not justified at the increased cost.

While it may seem a callous way of looking at the situation, the reality is that America needs its illegal immigrants - at least until it is well and truly out of the recession period.

Illegal immigrants in the state of Arizona are close to being dealt a crushing blow. The state House has already passed a bill which takes an extremely tough stance against any illegal immigrants residing within the state. The bill now awaits passage in the Senate which, unfortunately for any illegal immigrants, is a foregone conclusion.

The bill has several major provisions which may be controversial. They are as follows:

1. All immigrants will be forced to carry identification to prove their immigration status in the country. Failure to do so results in a misdemeanor charge.

2. Officers can arrest those who are not able to prove that they are in the country legally.

3. Any sanctuary rules and soft immigration policies that hinder immigration law enforcement are now banned.

4. Day laborers cannot impede traffic in their efforts to seek work.

5. Transporting illegal immigrants while having knowledge of their illegal status in the country is now an offence.

If the Senate passes the bill it will come to the desk of Republican Gov. Jan Brewer. Brewer can then decide whether to veto it, sign it OR let it through without her signature. This is where the news gets worse for illegal immigrants. The CAN be enacted even without the Governor’s signature. With the elections just around the corner, this is the route the Brewer is expected to take. However, Brewer has so far not committed to the course of action she will take. Re-election maybe tricky for the Governor as the Latino community has threatened to vote to get her out office in the upcoming elections if she fails to veto the bill.

Douglas, Arizona is in shock over the killing of rancher Robert Krentz by a suspected illegal immigrant. The Arizona region has turned into a hotbed for illicit human trafficking and the drug trade due to strict enforcement conducted in other border states. The murder of Krentz could be the catalyst for sweeping changes in the handling of border security and immigration.

Krentz was known as a kindly soul who helped those in trouble while crossing the border. Although he did not actively encourage or help people cross the border, he did offer assistance to those he encountered on his property on a purely humanitarian basis. The rancher had been travelling in his all-terrain vehicle and working on his property last week when the incident occurred. Krentz had been in contact with his brother at the time over the radio and was heard to say the words “illegal alien” and “hurt”. Nothing untoward was suspected by the brother at the time as he assumed that Krentz was helping someone who was crossing the ranch.

However, as the rancher failed to show up at noon at the stipulated meeting point the brother first raised the alarm with the family who helped search for Krentz and then informed the authorities. Krentz’s body was later spotted by a helicopter close to midnight. The rancher had been shot dead and his dog, too, had been shot although not fatally. A set of tracks from the scene of the crime led authorities for 20 miles before it crossed over the Mexican border. As yet, no motive is known for the killing.

The lives of illegal immigrants is about to get very tough in Arizona. Illegal immigrants could be charged with trespassing under a new controversial measure that is doing its rounds through the Legislature. If the bill is passed, Arizona would become the only state with this type of measure in place.

But rather than the trespassing charge ruffling any feathers, it is the other measures proposed in the bill that are causing the controversy. Hiring or being hired as a day laborer is a crime IF the vehicle that stops to hire the laborer is impeding traffic. Therefore, the person doing the hiring and the person(s) getting into the vehicle as a result of the hire can be charged under this law. But the most controversial measure is that the law requires law enforcement to ascertain whether a person is in the country legally or illegally. In other words, the law will require law enforcement officers to officially indulge in racial profiling and take decisions based on that.

Those who are against this law, point out that this is a waste of time & resources on the part of the law enforcement department. This could result in legal taxpaying immigrants leaving the state due to persecution caused by the racial profiling. They also contend that everyone would have to carry a proof of their citizenship with them all the time to prove their identity and immigration status.

While support against the bill mounts, the bill itself is buzzing through the legal system. Identical bills have been placed in each chamber of Legislature; this would cause it to be processed faster as there would be a fewer number of public hearings.

The fickle nature of the government is only too evident as the census is around the corner, well at least in the case of illegal immigrants. Usually illegal immigrants are a burden to the state, represent an increase in crime rates, take away jobs, etc. But with the census coming up all that changes and suddenly, illegal immigrants are a blessing in disguise.

Why? Money is a valid reason. The more they come out and get counted in the census, the more money a state receives for healthcare, education, transport and a number of other services. Federal aid in the form of $400 billion will be dispersed using a formula that takes into account the population of a state. So in the days leading up to the census you can expect to see a lot of cajoling and coaxing to get the illegal immigrants to stand up and be counted.

Unfortunately this will not be an easy task. The population in question lives in constant fear of being separated from their families, being thrown in jail and being deported. Add to this, the sterling work being done by the Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in dealing with illegal immigrants and the point becomes obvious. When a Federal Worker arrives at their doorstep and inquires whether they would answer a few questions, chances are an illegal immigrant would not say “yes of course, why don’t you step in”.
Of course this also raises an ethical question. If a state benefits in gaining financial support due to its illegal immigrant population, should it pursue tougher stances against them in the future or not?