The new immigration law in Arizona is no more than a violation of human rights.
In order for the law to work, it requires law enforcement officers to act on cultural stereotypes and prejudices instead of probable cause like a traffic stop. This means, that anyone who doesn’t fit the “U.S.-citizen” image could potentially be stopped walking to the local grocery store — with no suspicion other than his or her features. How is this different than the orders that were given to Nazi soldiers to find Jewish victims based on their physical features during World War II?
The same cultural profiling is taking place, and it’s not right. Even though this seems like a small measure to protect our borders, the intentions are harmful to any non-U.S. citizen living in Arizona. In Mexico, El Universal also believes that this law is no more than an act of discrimination: “All evidence implicates that white fear in Arizona is based on the fact that they will be the minority group in a few decades. They are naïve to think that they will succeed in reversing this trend with a discriminatory law.”
Because this law is based on physical features and cultural stereotypes, my question is: What constitutes the image of a U.S. citizen compared with a non-U.S. citizen? My grandmother, for instance, has been living in the U.S. since 1959, after she and my grandfather came from Cuba. Even though she has been a U.S. citizen since 1959, her appearance, her language and her accent would show otherwise. How is it right to assume she is illegal based on her accent or appearance?
Because of the dangers in their native country, my grandparents were granted refugee rights to become U.S. citizens. My grandmother has been living in the United States, working and paying taxes like any other citizen. How is it fair that because of her culture, she is automatically stereotyped as illegal? This is where the law is wrong — in assuming that stereotypes and prejudiced intentions will be a positive solution to resolving our country’s immigration issues.
Ecuador is facing the same dilemma, where thousands of immigrants from other Latin American countries have crossed borders and now work illegally. They have stated that the ratio is 2:1, non-Ecuadorian citizens to Ecuadorian citizens. This has brought Portugal’s newspaper, Expresso, to this conclusion: “The idea of a ‘world citizen’ that travels without a visa is utopian, absurd, and self-destructive, since those that generally migrate are refugees or la crème de la crème of criminals, a real garbage heap of humanity.”
It’s important to realize that the U.S. is not the only country that faces immigration issues. Several European countries and even Central and South American countries are all dealing with the same issue. The problem of immigration is complicated on many levels because there are situations in other countries that force people to find refuge, and many countries cannot bear to be the refuge country any longer.
In Arizona this issue is becoming more than a legal one and instead one that deserves human rights action. With this law, there is a discriminatory aspect that needs to be evaluated as a violation of human rights. Here in the U.S., even though it is natural to want to defend our citizens, we might be at the risk of tainting our image as a country.
I think now is a good time to recognize that our country represents diversity. We are who we are today because of all the cultures represented on this continent and we should remember that fact.
Cassandra Gamboa is an OSU intern from Mondokio International News, a company that translates news from around the world in order to provide multiple perspectives on international issues. Find your own “world eye” at mondokio.com.
