Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

May 7, 2010

Veteran law enforcement officers are among the most impassioned critics of Arizona?s new immigration law.

The new law authorizes police to demand proof of legal residency during any ?lawful contact? with a member of the public. Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris believes it will ?divert our officers from investigating property crimes and violent crimes?.? That criticism is echoed by Clarence Dupnik, Sheriff of Arizona?s Pima County.

Defenders of the new law insist that illegal immigration has turned Arizona into an Hobbesian nightmare of violent crime. Phoenix, we are told, is the kidnapping capital of the country. As it happens, immigration ? both legal and illegal ? is declining in Arizona. Violent crime of all kinds is down. This includes kidnapping , which is confined to those involved in narcotics smuggling; in other words, it?s blowback from the ?War on Drugs.?

Several states are preparing to enact Arizona-style identification laws. They would be wise to wait and see if the concerns of Chief Harris and Sheriff Dupnik are vindicated.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free