OPINION:
When human rights campaigns violate an American’s individual liberty, individual liberty must prevail (“Pro-immigration violence escalates,” Comment & Analysis, Tuesday). It is guaranteed by our Constitution.
Washington politicians and various so-called humanitarian groups, along with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, are crying foul that Arizona has passed a law, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer, to arrest and deport illegal immigrants. Let Arizona residents decide what is best for their own state. People living in Washington and other areas have no firsthand experience of the turmoil Arizona residents are experiencing from the infiltration of illegals, weapons and drugs across the Arizona-Mexico border.
In the past week alone, 62 persons have been killed in the Mexican border city of Cuidad Juarez. So far this year, more than 850 people have been killed there, and 2,660 were killed there last year. Drug trafficking into the United States and gang wars are the cause of violence on the U.S.-Mexican border. Just recently, an Arizona rancher was killed on his land by an illegal immigrant he was trying to assist. Now we are seeing a double standard. As Mr. Calderon condemns the Arizona legislation as “racial discrimination,” illegal immigration under Mexican law is a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison (“Calderon condemns ’racial discrimination,’ ” Page 1, Monday). Where is the public outcry from human rights workers over this law?
Our Founding Fathers knew the importance of states’ rights and that what is good for one state might not be good for another. In this situation, where the federal government has neglected to enforce the Constitution by protecting the residents of Arizona with secure borders, Arizona must act to protect its own people.
LORRAINE RYAN
Berwyn Heights, Md.
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