Democrat County Supervisor Peggy West of the Milwaukee County Board vocally showcased her opposition to the Arizona immigration law and support of a boycott on the state. Her reason for supporting such a measure is simple; if Arizona were a state like Texas, “a state that directly shares a border” with Mexico, she would then think twice about it. According to her, that’s not the case. Arizona is state “removed from the border.”
“If this was Texas, which is a state that directly on the border with Mexico, and they were calling for a measure like this, saying they have an issue with—you know– undocumented people, flooding their borders, I would say– I would have to look twice at this. But this is a state a ways removed from the border, and it doesn’t make sense to me that when you Google this subject, when you put in “Arizona SB 1070, that you see a picture of the governor of Arizona meeting with President Obama in May of 2010. If you have direct linkage to the president, there are already national guard troops in the border in Arizona”, West said in opposition to the law.
Another board member quickly intervened as those in attendance began whispering among themselves, amazed at the statement.
“Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to assure my colleague that Arizona does, in fact, share a border with the country of Mexico. The city of Nogales has been a great source of illegal immigration. Arizona along with other states I think has a right to be concerned with the strain that illegal immigrants place on the services, on the school district, on the health care system. I don’t blame Arizona with searching for a solution, and I think a majority of Americans agree with that position.”
Nogales, the county he references to, has been getting plenty of media attention lately. Not just because of illegal immigrants, but also due to threats from Mexican drug cartels. Just a couple of days ago, the Nogales police department received a threat from the cartels warning off-duty police officers if any measures were taken against them, they would be the target of sniper fire.
Now that Ms. West was informed that Arizona shares a border with Mexico, will she stay true to her word look twice at the law, holding it to the same standards she understands Texas goes through?
