Mexico issues travel alert over new Ariz. immigration law
“It must be assumed that every Mexican citizen may be harassed and questioned without further cause at any time,” the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued Tuesday.
The government missive is escalating an already volatile debate on the measure signed by Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who said the law was necessary because the federal government has failed to address persistent illegal immigration.
Arizona law simply regulates immigration the same way that federal law and federal authorities currently regulate,” Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said, responding to the Mexican government’s alert. “It seems misguided to be angry exclusively with Arizona. Racial profiling is specifically written in the state law to be illegal.”
The law continued to draw threats of boycotts, while Attorney General Eric Holder suggested the federal government could launch its own legal challenge and that the measure was subject to “potential abuse.”
Supporters, meanwhile, say the measure was overdue to deal with Arizona’s illegal immigrants, which number about 460,000, state records show. The law gives local police unprecedented authority to identify and detain suspects if they have reasonable suspicion that the suspects are in the U.S. illegally.
“Arizona has crossed the threshold of its tolerance,” said Paul Babeu, a strong supporter of the law and sheriff of Pinal County, Ariz., located in the heavily traveled smuggling corridor between Phoenix and Tucson. “We can no longer afford to do nothing. Where is the outrage?”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, appearing on CBS’ Early Show Tuesday, described the illegal immigration problem in his state as “the worst I’ve ever seen.”
“The (new) law,” said McCain, “is a response to the president and the administration’s failure to secure our borders.” McCain, who is in the midst of a difficult re-election campaign, is a one-time co-author of legislation that offered illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
On the other side, critics voiced their opposition. In San Francisco, City Attorney Dennis Herrera called on municipal leaders to launch a boycott of Arizona businesses.
“Arizona has charted an ominous legal course that puts extremist politics before public safety, and betrays our most deeply-held American values,” Herrera said in a statement.
In Washington, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano questioned the law’s legality. “The first thing to be done is for the Justice Department to determine whether the law is constitutional,” she told the Senate Judiciary Committee. The alert issued by the Mexican government came a day after Mexican President Felipe Calderón condemned the law as discriminatory.
Although it does not take effect for more than 90 days, the government bulletin urged Mexican citizens to carry “available documentation … (to) avoid needless confrontation.”
