Ruben Navarrette, Jr., On The New Arizona Law

Listening last night to Talk Radio, I was struck at how many conservatives, or at least the conservatives I was listening to, assumed there would be substantial support in the Latino population for the new Arizona law empowering state police officers to pursue illegal immigrants. I think they are in for a surprise.

It is true that native-born Hispanics do not share the same interests as recent immigrants, in particular, recent illegal immigrants, partly because of competition for jobs. Nevertheless, I don't think conservatives understand that, rather than heightening distinctions between native-born and illegal immigrants, the new law helps erase these distinctions. Rather than making it easier to harass illegals, the new law will make it easier to harass people like me (my latest arriving forebear passed through El Paso in 1854).

Let Ruben Navarrette, Jr., explain:

Arizona Senate Bill 1070 is ghastly legislation signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer because she lacked the courage to stop the madness. It specifies: "For any lawful contact made by a law enforcement official ... where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person."

Note the clever word choice. In order to get the ball rolling, an officer need only establish "lawful contact." Misguided defenders of the legislation are desperately attempting to portray the law as consistent with how things have been done for years. They say that "lawful contact" means that the officer must have already pulled over a motorist or questioned him about a crime or infraction. The inference is that only people who break the law need worry about being asked for documents to prove they have the legal right to be in the United States.

This is not so. Proponents spent months touting the bill because, they said, change is necessary. And now that it's a law, they want to convince us that nothing has changed. Then why pass a law in the first place? Also, "lawful contact" is simply the opposite of "unlawful contact." A police officer passing someone on the street and saying "Good morning" is lawful contact. And from that point, it's game on.

So the Fourth Amendment and the due process rights of a Latino population that accounts for about 30 percent of the state now hinge on how beat cops and state troopers interpret the phrase "reasonable suspicion." This law is a reality check for all Latinos. It's a helpful reminder that - as hard as we work, as much as we accomplish and progress - we are, by virtue of skin color or accent or Spanish surname, still on probation as far as some people are concerned. And we will be for life.

We might be Rhodes scholars, federal judges, governors, FBI agents or Medal of Honor recipients and yet we're just one short phrase away from being put in our place and forced to prove that we belong here. The phrase: "reasonable suspicion."

This law is also a different sort of reality check for everyone else. It clears up a mystery. Many Americans have long been baffled by the fact that Latinos who have the right to be in the United States - whether they are native-born citizens or here legally - will often interfere with efforts to harass, round up and remove illegal immigrants.

Some of them want to know: "What's this to you?" Others accuse the obstructionists of having "divided loyalties." Still others assume it's because these Latinos must have "relatives who are illegal."

Now you know the real reason. Look at Arizona. To some people, we're all the same.

Fine. In that case, this isn't some someone else's fight. This is ours. Game on.