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May 26, 2010

Nazis in Arizona?

By Eileen F. Toplansky
Allusions to Hitler and the Nazis are incessantly and recklessly employed concerning the Arizona immigration law SB1070. The name-callers merely prove, yet again, how a disregard for history leads to hysteria but not to any real solutions to a genuine security problem.

The Nuremberg laws and other anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis included the following. These "laws" were used against German citizens of Jewish origin.

  • Prohibition of mixed marriages and extramarital relations between Jews and Aryans, 1935
  • Jews were required to pay special income tax in lieu of special donations to the Nazi Party, 1940
  • Jews were not permitted to institute civil suits, 1942
  • All Jews were required to carry identification cards with a red capital "J," 1935
  • Synagogues were systematically destroyed through the entire Reich, 1938
  • Jews were segregated in public places and living areas, 1938
  • All Jews were expelled from German schools, 1935

The Arizona law attempts to enact federal law to stop illegal immigrants from entering unlawfully. The salient features of the law include:

  • It is unlawful for a person to intentionally engage in the smuggling of human beings for profit or commercial purpose.
  • "Unauthorized alien" means an alien who does not have the legal right or authorization under federal law to work in the United States.
  • An employer shall not knowingly employ an unauthorized alien. If, in the case when an employer uses a contract, subcontract or other independent contractor agreement to obtain the labor of an alien in this state, the employer knowingly contracts with an unauthorized alien or with a person who employs or contracts with an unauthorized alien to perform the labor, the employer violates this subsection.
  • An alien's immigration status or work authorization status shall be verified with the federal government pursuant to United States Code section 1373(c).

If Mr. Eric Holder, Attorney General, would finally read SB1070 and, more importantly, the amendments to the law, he would know that most of it refers to the hiring of illegal immigrants by employers who are being held to task for the hiring.

Furthermore, SB1070 seeks to uphold federal law! Thus,

  • The terms of [SB1070] regarding immigration shall be construed to have the meanings given to them under federal immigration law.
  • This act shall be implemented in a manner consistent with federal aws regulating immigration, protecting the civil rights of all persons and respecting the privileges and immunities of United States citizens.

Most important to all who are concerned with a fair and consistent use of the law is the following:

  • A law enforcement official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state may not consider race, color or national origin in implementing the requirements of this subsection....A person is presumed to not be an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States or Arizona if the person provides to the law enforcement officer or agency any of the following:
    • A valid Arizona driver license
    • A valid Arizona nonoperating identification license
    • A valid tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification
    • If the entity requires proof of legal presence in the United States before issuance, any valid United States federal, state or local government issued identification.

This is hardly reminiscent of the heinous Nazi regulations and Hitler's desire to literally eliminate undesirables. On April 30, 2010, Governor Jan Brewer, unlike President Obama, did consider the legitimate comments of people and stated that she was "proud that the Arizona Legislature [had] listened carefully to everyone's concerns, and in a gesture of statesmanship, acted swiftly and appropriately to lay to rest questions over the possibility of racial profiling. Arizona is acting responsibly to address a border security crisis that is not of our making. The federal government's failure requires us to act to protect our citizens, and we are doing just that."

When people carelessly bandy about the terms "Nazis" and "genocide," they debase the memory of those who suffered and died at the hands of dastardly monsters. When the President of the United States can do nothing more than arrogantly denigrate Americans who are trying to come up with a workable solution to a serious situation in their state, then history is truly being subverted.

If someone cannot tell the difference between SB1070 and what happened under Hitler's reign, then perhaps that individual cannot tell what is truly happening under Obama's regime -- the falsification of the facts and the pitting of Americans against each other. Obama does not desire to rectify a security problem. This is part of his overall divide-and-conquer approach.  Thus, people's attention is diverted from the devious and dangerous things that this White House is pushing through that smack of actual tyranny -- e.g., soaring taxes, unsustainable deficits, ignoring the depth of terrorist activity, and a president who ingratiates himself with dictators. 

Instead of offering viable solutions to a serious situation in Arizona, Obama uses a standard bait-and-switch technique -- the mark of a person not intent on delivering anything substantive or helpful.

Active in the 1970s writing campaign to free Russian Jewish refuseniks, Eileen continues to speak out against tyranny. She can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com.
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