I have friends who have rallied with the minutemen and I have family who are Hispanic that are very opposed to illegal immigration as I am. Despite their concerns, I must and always will side with our nations ideals and the ideals of the Founding Fathers who gave birth to it. Let me explain the principles that first guide my opposition.
I believe that Constitutionally, no person within the United States has the right to be searched, harassed, or otherwise encumbered by the government or any law enforcement without first being directly suspected of committing a crime. In order to be suspected of committing that crime there should be a warrant issued or overwhelming probable cause present to demand my immediate search or retention. Without this, no person within the United States should be subject to government intrusion of any kind.
Article IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The key to this entire article is “and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation…” People sometimes separate these conditions for search, but they cannot be separated and they require something before any warrant can be issued or immediate search take place; probable cause supported by oath/affirmation.
So first, before attacking my opposition to this Arizona law ask yourself;
“Does Uncle Sam have the constitutional right to search me without having oath or affirmation that I have committed a crime?”
And second; “ Does the government have the right to search me anywhere they wish or are they restricted to particulars as to the place, persons and things to be searched, in order to obtain or for that matter, NOT obtain evidence, until they are satisfied that I have or haven’t committed the crime?"
So before any law is enacted or supported concerning government intrusion, ask those questions, and apply them to YOUR person and YOUR property. Now, the best way to describe why I am, and any conservative should be, against this law is to tell it through my story of the one encounter I had with the minutemen in Fallbrook, Ca.
While making a purchase at the gas station in Fallbrook, the teller began complaining of the minutemen shouting at the Hispanic men who were standing on the driveway corner. She said she wanted them all to go away because it was irritating. I paid for my water and then stepped out and just observed. I saw minutemen protesters holding signs and shouting at the Hispanic males who were about five to ten in number and were not saying anything. The presumption is that they were waiting for work or someone to hire them for odd jobs or labor. Watching this I had one series of questions pop into my mind that made the whole encounter happen the way it did.
First: How did the minutemen know these Hispanics were not legal?
Second: How can these minutemen go about finding out for sure these men are in fact illegal so that they can be arrested.
Third: in the ignorance of answers to both questions, and knowing a tad about the culture of the Hispanic poor, what exactly is wrong with men waiting on the side of a street corner in order to obtain an odd job to make a little bit of money?
So, with these questions I drove in between the two groups who were separated by the driveway entrance and rolled down my window to ask the minutemen question number one. The answer was an eye opener…
Me: “I got a question, how do you know these men you are shouting at and about are, in fact, illegal?”
Answer: “It doesn’t matter.”
Me: “What do you mean it doesn’t matter, so is it a race thing?”
Answer: “It doesn’t matter.”
Now with my understanding that this white female didn’t care to know for sure if the men they were mad at were illegal, all the flags went up. Is this more about race? What is it you are really mad about? What then gives you the need to protest men you aren’t even sure are illegal? So I asked my second question.
Me: “Well how can you find out if these men are not illegal? (At this point the head man of the groups and his camera man ran up to me demanding me to repeat my questions which I did). How do you know these men are illegal? Because if they are not your protests are pointless! Even if they are illegal, what are they doing that is bad enough that potential American citizens (or legal guests) should be harassed and searched or even arrested (if no papers are on their person) ? If they are citizens, or at least if you cannot legally or constitutionally prove they are not, your protests become void and hollow.
Answer: “If they are citizens why are they not at the unemployment lines like all the other Americans or at temporary job agencies instead of our here looking to work for cash or under the table…”
Me: (What I said) “Listen, you have no proof they are NOT citizens, you have no way to prove it without violating their constitutional civil rights. Your friend here doesn’t even care if they are illegal so I assume for her it is a race issue. You would trample the constitution just because you are pissed and unwilling to do the work they are willing to do. You have no clue about liberty.”
WHAT I SHOULD HAVE SAID: The constitution does not allow for you to have these men searched simply because they stand on a corner looking for work. Civil rights cannot be violated simply because in their culture they would break their back in the fields rather than beg on the street corners like the American homeless do. You have no proof that they are illegal and yet you are out in force…and it boils down to one reason…because they are Hispanic men standing on a street corner. That is the extent of your probable cause. Not only this, but your excuse as to why this behavior IS probable cause even more disturbing. Minutemen are typically American conservatives of the Republican party. You should OPPOSE government welfare and unemployment handouts. You should be applauding the willingness to make it on your own and break your back for a living instead of stealing taxpayer dollars while you look through the want ads and wait on temp agencies to find you your job! Are you that much of a hypocrite, that your probable cause boils down to you wanting these Hispanic men to cower to a way of life which you, every other day of the week, swear up and down you do not even support??!!
The law in Arizona supports a slippery slope to American tyranny and fascism. It allows law enforcement to essentially card and I. D. Americans simply because they are Hispanic and are not conforming to the welfare system of America which even now the Republican so-called conservatives are trying to empower rather than condemn. Are we really willing to hand over more freedom to police officers simply to react to an illegal immigrant problem that this law will not even make a dent in? Is racial profiling and warrantless violations of the 4th Amendment worth it? Really?
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