Do I look illegal to you?

I don't have a lot of time to post today, but I've been meaning to write a little about the new immigration law in Arizona.  I taught adult immigrants from Mexico for one and a half years after college.  I've met dozens of "illegal aliens."  Many of them have met my family and some have been to my house.  And I can tell you that they don't look any different from my students who were legal.  Sure, all of them have different physical appearances, but there was nothing that distinguished my undocumented students from my documented students at first blush.  Or even second blush.  Even the governor admitted she did not know what an illegal immigrant looks like, but she said if the police "work on this" and "get a description" then the law will be enforced fairly and without discrimination.  Right.

I have heard people say their shoes could distinguish them.  Or their clothes.  Or their jobs.  This is not only ludricris, it's insulting.  Shoes or clothes?  If that is all that's taken into account, then every person, regardless of race, would be profiled based on their personal style or perhaps economic status.

But we all know that the illegal immigrants targeted by this bill are Hispanic, mostly from Mexico.  So how can there possibly be no element of racial profiling, which is supposedly outlawed by the bill itself? 

The bill says that once legal contact is made (which, may I point out, could occur pretty much for any reason: a broken tail light or an incidental swerve over the line could result in being pulled over), then the officer may ask for papers if the subject is acting "reasonbly suspicious." 

Ok.

What is reasonably suspicious?  Is it sweating, shifty eyes, perhaps weeping?  Is it a certain walk?  Is it speaking Spanish?  Is it a full car?  Or is it the lack of something?  The lack of an expensive car or designer clothes?  The lack of knowledge about the rules of the road?  The lack of white features?  Honestly, what are they looking for.  We need to find their training manual, because I want to know what tells them who is illegal and who isn't without racial profiling.  If the police think that all illegal immigrants drive bad cars, wear dirty clothes, speak only Spanish, and can't control their fear in the presence of police, well, then they are ignorant.  News flash: there are illegal immigrants who do not, and there are legal ones who do. 

It's inevitable that legal immigrants and citizens will be asked for papers.  If I were a Hispanic citizen living in Arizona, I would need to carry proof of citizenship around, wouldn't I?  Or would there be something about me that would distinguish me from an "illegal?"  How is this not racial profiling?!  I suppose a Canadian living or vacationing in Arizona would also have to show documentation.  For those who support the bill, this hypothetical, along with explicit language in the bill outlawing racial profiling, seems to be proof that it will not happen. 

But we all know, or at least my fellow law students do, that a bill does not have to be discriminatory on its face.  Hello, disparate effect!

Then there are those who see no problem with racial profiling.  Notice, they are all white.  They've never been the subject of racial profiling, and don't understand why "slight inconvenience to a few people" is such a big deal.  I'm not going to let that ruffle my feathers, because it's beyond the point.

The point is that the law is unconstitutional.  It will inevitably lead to judging somone based on their race or other physical attributes.  The government is simply not authorized to do that.  It is against the values of most Americans and against American law.  Let's hope the Supreme Court does the right thing and strikes this down. 

I'm posting a video from MediaMatters.org.  If you don't know who they are yet, you should.

Fox's Judge Napolitano says the AZ immigration law could lead to racial profiling

Here is a great video about the governor's response to the question, "What does an illegal immigrant look like?" and Judge Napolitano's explanation of the illegality of this law.

Fox's Judge Napolitano says the AZ immigration law could lead to racial profiling

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Who is the reasonable man?

In criminal law. I wish I got more out of this class. It's disappointing, and I'm afraid of getting to civil procedure and my professor asking, "What did you even learn?" and I'll squeak out, "Utilitarianism?" At least it's almost over; this is the last week of classes.

Rough to-do list:
Finish reading, which should be done before the reading period.
Outline
Register for classes
Journal write-off article
Campaign for SBA position (elections next week)
Get things in order for Mexico
Credit card bills
Alumni weekend at Eureka


So, I'm busy. The first two items on that list are more time-consuming than I can even tell you. I don't know how it's going to get done. It might not. But it has to.


I had a really good weekend, in case you were wondering. The first bonfire of the season was on Friday at our friends Chris and Kelly's house. Then on Saturday, my friend Emily came up from El Paso, IL, to see David Sedaris with me. We laughed our butts off. And he drew animals in our books. He asked me what animal he should draw, and I said, "Can you draw a dachshund?" He snorted. "Can I draw a dachshund? Ha." And he drew a really good dachshund. I got a penguin in the other book. Emily got a cat and a flamingo.


Class is over.
Listfully,

Rochelle

You've Got Trail

Sometimes, when I am supposed to be working on an assignment, I get distracted.  I open up my favorites folder, the place I put things I don't want to remember now, but I don't want to forget, and let the interweb guide my attention to some erroneous sidetrack, through a series of tubes, and then to another, then another, then another. 

Today, while avoiding a 3,700-word trial brief that must have a word count and academic integrity pledge stapled to it by 10:00am tomorrow morning, I opened up my favorites folder and found Jayme's blog.  I read it, and then I found Abbi's.  And then I thought, "I need one of these."

Thus, the paper trail.  See, it's a cute title, because I am on a course in my life that involves a lot of paper, which would probably carry more meaning if I were studying environmental law.  Anyway, I've regretted not keeping up a journal since I abandoned my old one when I was in college.  In some ways, I'm glad I haven't chronicled the torture of 1L.  On the other hand, it might have been nice to be able to look back at the most difficult four months of my life and be reminded of . . . Nope, nevermind, glad it's done. 

Well, almost done.  I still have to finish a trial brief and somehow stay focused enough to finish outlining and studying for finals.  I will say, though, that I have more energy and enthusiasm than last semester.  It's entirely because the day after finals end, I'll be on a one-way flight to Mexico. 

Studiously,
Rochelle

~~~~~~~~~~

She had this attitude, not that she was better than us but that she was as good as us -

and that simply was not true.

~David Sedaris, When You Are Engulfed in Flames