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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Six questions for supporters of Arizona law

THE OPPENHEIMER REPORT

BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
Miami Herald
5-15-10

AOPPENHEIMER@MIAMIHERALD.COM

This has been a bad week for those of us opposing Arizona's anti-immigration law: New polls show that a huge majority of Americans support the legislation, and key candidates for November's mid-term elections are now saying they want similar laws for their own states.

Three separate polls -- from the Pew Research Center, The Wall Street Journal-NBC and McClatchy-Ipsos -- show that about 60 percent of Americans support the Arizona law, which requires local police to question people about their immigration status when they have ``reasonable suspicion'' that they are not in the country legally.

There's no question that the polls show a clear public sentiment that something has to be done to stop the steady flow of migrants. But I would like to ask six questions to supporters of the Arizona law, and to politicians who are considering similar legislation in 16 other states:

1: Are you aware that the Arizona law turns every Hispanic in Arizona, including U.S. citizens, into a potential suspect? Do you like the idea of police stopping members of the largest U.S. minority group because of the color of their skin, or their Spanish accent?
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