Sen. Kyl

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Dear Mr. Mortensen:

 

 

 

Thank you for letting me know of your support for Arizona's new immigration law.

 

 

 

You may know that, after Governor Brewer signed it into law, it was amended by the legislature, and the revisions were approved by the Governor on April 30. Those revisions are important, as noted below.

 

 

 

As a member of the United States Senate, I did not have a role in the legislation's passage in the state legislature, but given the national attention it has garnered, I have reviewed it carefully. What I've found is that much of the criticism that has been leveled against the legislation ignores the plain language of the law and the amendments that were subsequently approved by the legislature.

 

 

 

The fact is, the law does not allow officers to arbitrarily ask people for immigration or identification papers. The law now only applies in situations where an officer has legitimate grounds to lawfully stop, detain, or arrest a person for reasons other than immigration status. In other words, a person would have to be suspected of having committed some other crime, like a traffic violation. Then, after a lawful detention, stop, or arrest is made, the officer may only inquire about immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the person is illegally in the United States. (Presenting a driver's license or other state-issued identification would be sufficient to establish the presumption of legal presence, and, of course, a driver's license is routinely requested of all individuals stopped for possible traffic violations.) "Reasonable suspicion" is a legal term of art well understood by law enforcement officials.

 

 

 

Moreover, whereas the Arizona law initially stipulated that a law enforcement officer "may not solely consider race, color, or national origin" in determining whether reasonable suspicion exists about a person's immigration status, amendments were subsequently adopted to prevent any consideration of those factors (except as may be permitted by the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions). Governor Brewer signed an executive order that also requires all officers to receive training about what constitutes reasonable suspicion.

 

 

 

Obviously, it would be better for the federal government to secure the border and enforce federal immigration laws so that states, like Arizona, do not have to bear the burdens and costs of doing so. In fact, when Congress has appropriated the necessary resources and the Border Patrol has implemented the right policies, we've managed to significantly reduce illegal immigration.

 

 

 

For example, Operation Streamline, which was launched in the Border Patrol's Yuma Sector beginning in 2005, targets illegal immigrants with immediate prosecution, including up to 60 days of jail time. In areas where that policy is aggressively followed, even short jail sentences have proven to be effective deterrents to illegal immigration. Just eight months after Operation Streamline was implemented - and more agents and fencing were added - the Yuma Sector saw a 70 percent reduction in the number of apprehensions. By contrast, the Tucson Sector - where there are far fewer prosecutions under the Streamline program - is a virtual war zone. Over half of all illegal immigration comes through the Tucson Sector of the border. Nearly half of all marijuana seized along the Southwest border last year was seized in the Tucson Sector.

 

 

 

Perhaps the single greatest reason we haven't been more successful is that the Clinton and Bush administrations routinely underfunded border security. What we've been able to do only came after long, tough battles with their administrations. Even now, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified that the border "is as secure now as it's ever been."

 

 

 

But, growing violence along the border and passage of the Arizona law have created a new opportunity for positive change. With that in mind, Senator McCain and I have called for full funding of enforcement programs, like Operation Streamline, in both Border Patrol sectors in Arizona, and we renewed our call to the President to deploy 3,000 National Guard troops to the Arizona/Mexico border. You might be interested in Byron York's recent column about our initiative, "Enforcing Immigration Law Would be a Bargain," which appeared in the Washington Examiner on May 4.

 

 

 

The 10-point plan that Senator McCain and I proposed also calls for 3,000 more Border Patrol agents in Arizona, as well as:

 

 

 

o Completion of the authorized 700 miles of fencing along the border, including double- and triple-layer fencing at appropriate locations;

 

o Full funding ($950 million per year) to reimburse states for the costs of incarcerating criminal aliens, and a total of $100 million annually for Operation Stonegarden, which reimburses state law enforcement for other costs associated with illegal immigration;

 

o Substantially increased funding for mobile surveillance systems, Predator B Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and the money necessary for the Border Patrol to operate the equipment 24 hours a day, seven days a week;

 

o Increased funding for radio communications equipment and interoperability between the Border Patrol and state, local, and tribal law enforcement;

 

o Increased pay for Border Patrol agents assigned to high traffic areas to make sure we have well trained, well motivated personnel at the border;

 

o Additional funding to upgrade existing Border Patrol stations and build additional ones; and

 

o Funding to assist state, county, tribal, and municipal courts with the cost of prosecution and pre-trial detention of federally initiated criminal cases that federal attorneys might decline to prosecute.

 

 

 

I have fought for years for increased enforcement resources. As far back as 1996, I won approval of an amendment that began the surge in the number of Border Patrol agents assigned to fight illegal immigration at the border. When the surge began, the number of Border Patrol agents totaled about 4,000 nationwide. By January 2010, the initiatives I supported increased that number to more than 20,000 nationwide. And, as noted before, new enforcement programs, like Operation Streamline, have led to substantial reductions in illegal immigration where they have been implemented.

 

 

 

But obviously, far more still needs to be done. I will continue to fight for the necessary funding to secure the border and enforce the law.

 

 

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

JON KYL

United States Senator

 

 

[elkaholic]

hello - it all looks and sounds good on paper - now lets see some ACTION - Gary

[Snapshot]

Redneck,

 

I am glad to see your active participation by contacting Kyl. I like what he said, but as mentioned by elkaholic, it is time to see these plans put into action.

 

Stop the flow of illegals first and then work on deporting the ones already here. One burrow at a time.

[Non-Typical Solutions]

hello - it all looks and sounds good on paper - now lets see some ACTION - Gary

 

I am on that like a chicken on a june bug.......+10

 

I am kinda curious to see how this next election pans out, McCain has all the sudden declared he is our last defense......let the motor mouths put it into action......

[Broken Wheels]

As McCain has proven before, vote him in and he will either ride the fence (no pun intended, well maybe a litte bit) or he will flat out go in the other direction on this issue. I for one will NOT vote for McCain again, thank you for your service to the country sir but please go spend your wife's money now and not ours!

[Snapshot]

As McCain has proven before, vote him in and he will either ride the fence (no pun intended, well maybe a litte bit) or he will flat out go in the other direction on this issue. I for one will NOT vote for McCain again, thank you for your service to the country sir but please go spend your wife's money now and not ours!

 

Yes indeed! McCain should do the public a huge favor and retire!

[az4life]

As McCain has proven before, vote him in and he will either ride the fence (no pun intended, well maybe a litte bit) or he will flat out go in the other direction on this issue. I for one will NOT vote for McCain again, thank you for your service to the country sir but please go spend your wife's money now and not ours!

 

Yes indeed! McCain should do the public a huge favor and retire!

 

Amen to that! I would not (if I could) ever vote for McCain again. Hope all of AZ holds the McCain Mutiny this November!