Arizona governor: Boycott is misguided
Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, responds to calls for sports boycotts of
her state
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By Gov. Jan Brewer
Special to ESPN.com
Archive
In my 28 years of public service, I have made a lot of tough calls. But with a
federal government unwilling to secure our border for years and years, Arizona
is left with little choice. Imagine a sporting event in which rules have been
agreed to for 70 years, but the umpires refuse to enforce those rules. It makes
no sense. Although I recognize that Arizona Senate Bill 1070, as amended, is
not the entire solution to our illegal immigration problem in Arizona, most
people are united in the hope that it will finally inspire the politicians in
Washington, D.C., to stop talking and to start action now.
By now, sports fans everywhere have heard something about the passage of Senate
Bill 1070, a measure I signed into law. It has resulted in protests outside
ballparks hosting our Arizona Diamondbacks and has led to calls on Major League
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig to strip the City of Phoenix's opportunity to
host baseball's Midsummer Classic in July 2011.
Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesArizona Gov. Jan Brewer took in the
Diamondbacks-Phillies game a couple of days after she signed SB 1070 into law.
Urging Major League Baseball to take away next year's All-Star Game from
Phoenix is the wrong play. In Arizona, both proponents and opponents of Senate
Bill 1070 have stated that economic boycotts are an inappropriate and misguided
response to an issue that is clearly worthy of proper public debate and
discourse. Put simply, history shows that boycotts backfire and harm innocent
people. Boycotts are just more politics and manipulation by out-of-state
interests. As a border state, Arizona has already paid a heavy price for the
federal government's failure -- hundreds of millions, if not billions, of
dollars in unreimbursed costs -- and its citizens should not be punished
further.
It is critically important that all Americans understand the impetus for this
new law and have a clear understanding of the law itself. Our neighbor to the
south, Mexico, is in a massive battle with well-organized drug cartels. Because
of Washington's failure to secure our southern border, Arizona has become the
superhighway of illegal drug and human smuggling activity. In December 2008,
the U.S. Justice Department said that Mexican gangs are the "biggest organized
crime threat to the United States." In 2009, Phoenix had 316 kidnapping cases,
turning the city into our nation's kidnapping capital. Almost all of the
persons kidnapped were illegal immigrants or linked to the drug trade.
Essentially, our border leaks like a team with a last-place defense. The very
same week that I signed the new law, a major drug ring was broken up and
Mexican cartel operatives suspected of running 40,000 pounds of marijuana
through southern Arizona were indicted.
While drug smuggling is the principal cause of our massive border-violence
problem, many of the same criminal organizations also smuggle people. Busts of
drop houses, where illegal immigrants are often held for ransom or otherwise
severely abused, are not uncommon occurrences in Arizona neighborhoods.
Today, Arizona has approximately 6,000 prison inmates who are foreign
nationals, representing a cost to our state of roughly $150 million per year.
Arizona taxpayers are paying for a vast majority of these incarceration
expenses because the federal government refuses to pay what it owes. Homeland
Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, as governor of Arizona, sent numerous
requests to the federal government to pay for these prisoners -- only to be
given the same answer she and President Barack Obama are now giving Arizona:
They will not pay the bill.
The Immigration Issue
Arizona's new immigration law has become a hot-button topic in the world of
sports. Over the past several days, ESPN has presented a number of perspectives
on the controversy.
• Jeff MacGregor: Razing Arizona
• Steve Nash: Opposed to law
• J.A. Adande: Suns make a statement
• OTL debate on Arizona law
• Fay Vincent's advice for Bud Selig
• SportsNation: Your thoughts
When I signed the legislation, I stated clearly I will not tolerate racial
discrimination or racial profiling in Arizona. My administration worked for
weeks with legislators to improve SB 1070, to specifically clarify and
strengthen its civil rights protections. I issued an executive order to
implement proper training and enforcement protocols for our police so that the
intent of the language could not be misconstrued. Although it is already
against the law, the new law undeniably prohibits law enforcement officers from
considering race, color or national origin in implementing the new statute.
I have worked for years without fail to solve problems diligently and
practically. I have done so always with an eye toward civility, and always with
the greatest respect for the rule of law.
This new law is no different. As committed as I am to protecting our state from
crime associated with illegal immigration, I am equally committed to holding
law enforcement accountable should this statute ever be misused to violate an
individual's rights.
There have been countless distortions, honest omissions, myths and bad
information about Arizona's new law -- many, undoubtedly, spread to create fear
or mistrust.
So here are the facts:
1. The new Arizona law creates a state penalty to mirror what already is a
federal crime. Despite the most vile and hate-filled portrayals of proponents
of the law as "Nazis," actions that have been condemned nationally by the
Anti-Defamation League, it is ALREADY a federal requirement for legal aliens in
the United States to carry their green card or other immigration document. The
new Arizona law enforces what has been a federal crime since before World War
II. As anyone who has traveled abroad knows, other nations have similar laws.
2. Contrary to many of the horror stories being spread -- President Obama
suggested families risk being pulled over while going out for ice cream -- law
enforcement cannot randomly ask anyone about their immigration status. Much
like enforcement of seat belt laws in many states, under SB 1070 there must
first be reasonable suspicion that you are breaking some OTHER non-immigration
law before an officer can ask a person about their legal status. Only then,
after law enforcement officers have a "reasonable suspicion" that another law
has been broken, can they inquire about immigration status -- but ONLY if that
individual's behavior provides "reasonable suspicion" that the person is here
illegally.
"Reasonable suspicion" is a well-understood concept that has been thoroughly
vetted through numerous federal court cases. Many have asked: What is
reasonable suspicion? Is it race, skin color or national origin? No! Racial
profiling is prohibited in the new law. Examples of reasonable suspicion
include: a person running away when approached by law enforcement officers, or
a car failing to stop when the police turn on their lights and siren.
3. Arizona's local law enforcement officers, who already reflect the great
diversity of culture in our state, are going to be trained to enforce the new
immigration law in a constitutional manner. It is shameful and presumptive for
opponents to question the good will and the competence of Arizona's law
enforcement personnel. The specter that is raised of rogue, racist police
harassing people is insulting to those in Arizona who risk their lives in the
name of law enforcement every day.
President Theodore Roosevelt said, "No man is above the law and no man is below
it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it.
Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor." Arizona has
been more than patient waiting for Washington to act. Decades of federal
inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable
situation. Arizona has acted to enforce the rule of law equally and without
bias toward any person.
It is time for our country to act to resolve our border security problem; an
economic boycott in Arizona would only exacerbate it -- and hurt innocent
families and businesses merely seeking to survive during these difficult
economic times.
A boycott that would actually improve border security would be to boycott
illegal drugs. Dramatically less drug use and production would do wonders for
the safety of all our communities.
Jan Brewer is the governor of Arizona.
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