Difference between Arizona and Los Angeles
The immigration issue is one that has been hotly debated in the United States, and two cities that are now locked in a battle of wills with regard to the issue are Arizona and Los Angeles. With the recent Arizona state council passing of a bill that allows police to question people suspected of being in the country illegally, Los Angeles has expressed its disapproval by way of its own city council. Let's take a closer look at the issue and its possible implications.
Action Against Arizona
Arizona’s recent passing of the anti-immigration law has caused an uproar in many parts of the country, but nowhere more so than in Los Angeles. The City Of Angels has made its opinion known by way of its own legal stance to limit travel to Arizona and to restrict future contracts with Arizona-based companies. The Los Angeles city council voted on the decision with 13 votes in favor and only one dissenting vote.
Personal Freedom
The bill passed by the Arizona state government was perceived by many to be an oppressive measure that may severely affect personal freedom in the United States. In fact, some of the more vocal critics of the bill have drawn parallels to it and the actions of the Nazis in World War II Germany. Still others have compared it to the practice sending citizens and non-citizens with Japanese background of interning Japanese Americans in the United States during the same war.
The loudest voices in this issue are from the Latino population of Los Angeles, many of whom fear that such an action is discriminatory to them and may lead to racial profiling. As a city councilman said, a person may be deported simply on the word of a policeman who feels that a ID picture doesn't match the bearer’s face!
Not Quite A Landslide Vote
In spite of the fact that there was only one dissenting vote in the deliberation to limit travel and commerce with Arizona, not everyone in Los Angeles is of the opinion that such a decision is necessarily advantageous. Arizona is a huge city after all, and Los Angeles has traditionally had a flourishing trade with it. However, the considerable Latino population in Los Angeles has made its voice heard, with an overwhelming 70 percent in favor of sanctions against Arizona.
Summary
Arizona
- Recently passed a new immigration law that makes it a state crime for people to be in the country illegally
- Requires law enforcement personnel to question suspected illegal immigrants about their immigration status
- Policy has been compared unfavorably to that of Nazi Germany and Japanese Americans being sent to internment camps during World War II
- Opens up the possibility of racial profiling
Los Angeles
- Banned by way of its City Council “most travel to Arizona”
- Has limited future contracts with Arizona-based companies
- City council overwhelmingly voted against Arizona’s immigration law
- Not all residents are in agreement with the policy toward Arizona
- Two-thirds of the state population feels that the Arizona law will lead to discrimination of legal Latino immigrants
