Governor Jan Brewer's Do or Die Moment on Immigration

by Clara Long · 2010-04-20 12:05:00 UTC
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Jan BrewerArizona Governor Jan Brewer is going to have a hard week. You should make it harder.

Today, Senate Bill 1070, which modifies Arizona's trespassing laws to criminalize undocumented immigrants, is going to land on the Governor's desk like a ton of bricks. If she signs the bill into law, she will severely compromise public safety, equal protection and the human rights of her constituents. If she vetoes the bill, she might severely compromise her chances of being reelected next year. What's a Republican Governor who was never really elected to do?

SB 1070 directs police to determine the immigration status of non-criminals if there is a 'reasonable suspicion' they are undocumented, dramatically expanding police powers to stop, question and detain individuals for not having proper identification. The proposed law also makes it a state crime to pick up an undocumented day laborer and for migrant workers to solicit work. It expressly forbids communities from adopting “sanctuary” policies that prevent police from carrying out immigration enforcement.

All in all, the law would dramatically increase racially discriminatory policing and increase the immigrant community's distrust of law enforcement.

Long sought after by Republican politicians, the bill made an election-year sweep of the House of Representatives, passing 35-21, along party lines. Now Brewer, a Republican Governor who took over for Democratic former Governor Janet Napolitano when she became Secretary of Homeland Security, has got to make the call.

Pressed on her stance at a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Event on Saturday, Governor Brewer equivocated. "In regards to Senate Bill 1070," she stated, "I will tell you that I never make comment, like most governors throughout our country, before a bill reaches my desk. But I hear you, and I will assure you that I will do what I believe is the right thing so that everyone is treated fairly."

Hmmm ... the right thing, huh?  I'm glad we cleared that up.

The truth is that vetoing this bill would be an incredible act of political courage for a Republican governor facing a primary in August, but a veto would also affirm that respect for human rights doesn't have to depend on party affiliation. That's why it's time to call, write, send paper airplanes and messenger pigeons to Governor Brewer urging her to do the right thing - veto the bill.

Photo credit: Governor Jan Brewer's Photo Gallery

Clara Long is a member of the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School.

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