Arizona Deserves Better

A border fence from the Mexican side - by Omar OmarImmigration burst into the national conversation with the recent passage of Arizona's stringent immigration law.  In reality, the topic's relevance was a long time coming as the harrowing violence of Mexico's drug war had increasingly spooked border state communities.  This growing unease triggered an immediate backlash when Rob Krenz, an Arizona rancher on the border, was murdered, presumably by an illegal immigrant.  For American citizens living near the border the status quo had become untenable and the federal response was timid.  Thus, Arizona moved swiftly and forcefully on the issue, and generally to the acclaim of its constituents.  The problem with this legislation, beyond any concerns of racial bias, is that it does absolutely nothing to deal with the problem of border safety.  Instead it is punitive approach to the cheaper and more symbolic problem of illegal immigration.

Nothing captures the mood of disgust in the Grand Canyon State better than the Tucson Weekly's furious screed against the danger posed by the porous border.  Leo Banks lays out the case for a massive federal intervention, including deploying the National Guard to ensure border security.  In the wake of Krenz's murder, Banks paints a picture of a terrorized border community:

If you want to talk transformation, life in Southeast Arizona has been transformed over the past month. But not in the way Napolitano claims.

Now, when men go out to work at their corrals, sometimes miles from the house, wives follow along, afraid to be home alone.

Up in Rodeo, N.M., Tess Shultis no longer allows her two boys to play outside the house.

"Not unless me or their dad is with them," says Shultis, a clerk at the market in Rodeo. "It's too dangerous."

The most dangerous thing you can do on the border now? Reach for your cell phone. Forget you even own one. Keep your hands visible. No sudden moves.

If you encounter the wrong guy, and he thinks you're calling Border Patrol, he might start shooting. That's likely what happened to Krentz.

It's supposition, but his killer probably has a criminal record, and rather than get arrested for it, he opened fire. For good measure, he shot Rob's cow dog, too, breaking its back. The animal had to be put down later.

Not to trivialize the tragedy of a man's violent death, but this portrait of border life smacks of irrational fear in the wake of an isolated incident.  If there was a pandemic of border murders then the supposition that women can not be home alone might make sense, but you can't have a line with only one point.  Clearly the preexisting state of lax border enforcement and the fear of the Mexican drug war spreading across the border allowed people to immediately assume that this murder was the first sign of a wave of immigrant violence.  Instead, it must be understood as an exception until proven otherwise.  To allow one murder to spark violations of privacy, parallels the fear that led to torture and surveillance after 9/11.  People will continue to be murdered in Arizona, and everywhere else, but so far the border hasn't proven so dangerous that it warrants the draconian Arizona response.  

Further, the gains from a massive federal intervention in border security are far from clear.  Banks does not mention that Mexico's own drug violence is a direct consequence of cracking down on drug cartels.  Involving the National Guard in border security might dramatically increase violence.  Involving the military would dramatically up the ante in border crossing.  If residents think that illegal crossers react violently to citizen behavior they deem as suspicious now, imagine what the response will be when the border becomes a de facto military protectorate.  In the long run, better enforcement and security will work to calm tensions, but a sudden transition will likely involve increased violence, not less.  Does one murder justify the uncertainty and cost of federal intervention?

Finally, it must be pointed out that Arizona's new legislation does nothing to secure the border.  At best, one could argue this will make Arizona so unattractive for immigrants that it will proactively discourage people from crossing the border.  Arizona has essentially created an arbitrage opportunity for immigrants: I would expect that some savvy immigrants will forgo Arizona and cross into California or Texas instead.  The callow political calculus of Arizona's policy decision is easy to decipher: Arizona faces one of the worst budget crunches in the country and border security - whether improving and finishing the fence or employing border patrols - costs money, so they chose policy enacted by fiat.  The police now have to enforce immigration laws without additional resources.  Maybe the fury generated by the law will force the feds to improve border security, but the heated political divide of the subject combined with a Democratic Congress makes the outcome difficult to foresee.

Arizona is Barry Goldwater's home, the heart of the libertarian West.  That tough individualism is something to celebrate.  Citizens of Arizona, don't let irrational fear distract you from your government ignoring the real problem in favor of invading the privacy of your neighbors.  The border should be secured, criminals punished and immigration addressed, because these are real problem for Americans and immigrants.  Meanwhile, Rob Krenz's violent death is being used as an excuse to further involve the police in the lives of hard working residents of Arizona, whether they are legal citizens or not.  That's a poor legacy for man's tragic death.

Comments

[IchiBan troll]

Isn't Arizona the Grand Canyon State? The sunshine state would be Florida.

[Joseph Cox]

Ha. I couldn't remember what state it was. I'm going to edit it above.

[IchiBan troll]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z0xtvSMvDQ&feature=related