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Physicians, business people, chiefs of police are against new immigration laws

There are times when news and stories mix in such a way they offer not only a snapshot of whatever is happening, but also the birth or consolidation of a new trend. I think that’s the approach we should take regarding several recent stories about physicians, business people, and chiefs of police from different states, but talking about the same issue: immigration.

In Phoenix, Arizona, hundreds of health care professionals marched to the state Capitol to express their opposition to SB1070 and similar laws, saying that law “has done a great deal of harm to Arizona and the nation.”

They also said those laws “interfere with a medical physicians' professional code of ethics” and “threaten the health care of a vulnerable minority community,” according to an AP story.

In Aurora, CO, the local newspaper published an editorial saying SB1070 and similar laws in Colorado will transform entrepreneurs in the “de facto immigration police”. The Sentinel newspaper added that those laws are “a calamity” and “of the racist nature.”

“Two things will happen if such a measure is passed. Anyone who even remotely looks or sounds Hispanic or foreign will be discriminated against during the interview process… Just as worrisome, business will become shy to hiring any employees for fear of being tripped up by such an encumbrance,” The Sentinel said.

In addition, the chiefs of police of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and Aurora, among others, also expressed their opposition to the new laws, indicating those laws may prevent police officers from doing their jobs.

In fact, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said, “We will be unable to do our jobs,” adding that, “Laws like this will actually increase crime, not decrease crime.”

There is more. According to a recent report by The Christian Science Monitor, “harsh immigration laws have little to no impact.” The report draws that conclusion after reviewing more than 1,000 immigration bills introduced in state legislatures.

However, those laws, “whether passed or not, is create open hostility toward immigrants of brown skin, regardless of their citizenship.”

There are several examples of that hostility. For example, according to a report by BBVA Bancomer, “an estimated 100,000 Hispanics left (Arizona) in the months after SB 1070 was enacted.”

Another consequence, according to Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates, is that “illegal and even legal Hispanic immigrants will avoid police at all costs.” “It won’t take long before criminals start targeting Hispanics, knowing they won’t dare call police for fear deportation,” Oates said.

In summary, doctors say new immigration laws will prevent them from treating patients; business people say those laws will prevent them from hiring new employees, thus creating a black market; and chiefs of police say those laws prevent them from doing their jobs. On top of that, The Christian Science Monitor says those laws are ineffective.

Why, then, more than 1,000 bills about immigration were introduced this year alone? Who promotes those bills and why? And will we ever get an honest answer to those questions?

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