Idaho should not follow Arizona's racist law

BOUNDARY COUNTY

HUMAN RIGHTS TASK FORCE

We hear that there are some within Idaho who are suggesting that that we follow the lead of Arizona and enact legislation similar to the controversial law that was passed there recently.  

It is not surprising that this enactment has been followed nationally by widespread condemnation, threats of boycotts, and lawsuits as well.  

The Boundary County Human Rights Task Force joins these protests for the moral, practical and legal problems they pose. Extending authority to law enforcement personnel to demand proof of citizenship from those they suspect are undocumented is clearly racist.  

Question: What arouses suspicion? Answer:  They look like Mexicans.  Actually, a law of this kind endangers all of us, since demanding of documents by law enforcers are tied to their subjective judgments rather than to any specific crime,  

A number of law enforcement officials in Arizona have complained that the law will create more difficulty in fighting crime, since people looking like Mexicans, regardless of their status, will be reluctant to risk the hassle of dealing with law enforcers.

But leaving moral and practical questions aside, Arizona is now being sued by a number of civil rights groups, and the Federal government is considering a lawsuit of its own.  

Defending lawsuits costs money, lots of money.

Let us not follow Arizona’s lead. An anti-immigrant, racial profiling law would do damage to Idaho and to the people it represents.