Current Event 10/28 - Cassia Landry

My current event was about the new bill that Florida's State Representative William Snyder has proposed to congress. This bill is similar to Arizona's anti-immigration law, SB 1070 that was passed over the summer. The new law allowed police men to stop people if they have reasonable suspicion that they are an illegal immigrant. The federal government is trying to sue Arizona, because immigration is not a state issue and Arizona did not have the right to make such a law.
Controversy strikes between both the government and the people. Many argue that this law is racist and wrong. This law gives police to ask anyone on the spot if they have their papers (passport, visa, license, or some form of identification) and if they fail to show them the identification, they are arrested. The government does not approve of this law because it is their job to make immigration laws, not the states. Now other states are trying to replicate the law, and even trying to take it to the next level.
The main idea of this article was to expose Snyder’s new bill and the similarities to Arizona’s law. The bill is similar to Arizona’s law, but it goes even further in racial profiling. On the third page of Snyder’s bill it states that if an officer has, “reasonable suspicion” on a person then that person will be “presumed to be legally in the United States,” as long as he or she provides a Canadian passport or a passport from any other visa waiver country. These wavering countries include four Asian nations, but the other thirty-two are Western Europe (France to Germany).
Snyder’s bill has had only a few people notice the wavering countries that would be excluded from the police’s “reasonable suspicion.” It seems as though this bill in the process of being passed is more extreme than Arizona’s. Arizona’s law never said anything about targeting one specific group, and even though Snyder's bill does not, Snyder’s bill still acts in favor of the “wavering nations.” These wavering nations are also white majority. Since large number of Florida’s immigrants are Canadians.
It has raised suspicion that the bill will be even more racist than Arizona’s and it will be more relaxed when it comes to white immigrants. When Snyder was asked about this hidden element he said, “What we’re doing there is trying to be sensitive to Canadians. We have an enormous amount of…Canadians wintering here in Florida. That language is the comfort language.” This discriminates all the other races, and gives the white people an unfair advantage.
Clarifying Questions:
"What kind of papers will the policemen be asking for?"
The policemen will be asking for any form of identification such as a passport, visa, or license.
"How can they tell if a Canadian is here illegally?"
Snyder's bill will exclude Canadians as well as other European countries, they will be known as "wavering countries" and police will have to have more than reasonable suspicion to ask for their papers.
"How is the law in Arizona racist?"
The affects of the law are racist, and the reasonable suspicion that the police have on these potential illegal immigrants is morally based on stereotypes. To clarify with this bill, most white races are not going to be stopped and asked for their papers due to reasonable suspicion.

Probing Question:
How could this bill being passed affect Florida's tourist rates?


Title of Article: “A free pass in Florida if you’re white”
Source:http://socialistworker.org/print/blog/coulnt-make-it-up/2010/10/27/free-pass-if-you-are-white