'Stand with Arizona'

J.D. Long-Garía/CATHOLIC SUN

More than 4,500 gather at Tempe Diablo Stadium May 29 to show their support for SB 1070, Arizona's latest immigration crackdown.

Thousands show support for recent immigration law

TEMPE — If recent polls are anything to go by, the thousands who showed up to Tempe Diablo Stadium in support of Arizona’s new immigration law are in the majority — nationally.

More than 4,500 supporters, some traveling from Texas, Georgia and Washington, turned out for the May 29 “Stand with Arizona” event organized by the Dallas Tea Party group.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who spoke at the end of the four-hour event, was the showstopper.

“When the law takes effect, this sheriff will enforce it,” he said, to cheers. While many of the law’s critics say it will lead to racial profiling, Arpaio expressed his confidence in law enforcement. Officers and deputies would not racially profile, he said.

“When the new law takes effect, I will arrest everyone and book them into jail. I’m not going to hand them over to [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” Arpaio said. He said he’d have room for them in the Tent City detention center.

“I’m stacking those tents up,” Arpaio said. “I will always have room.”

Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 into law last month, but it won’t take effect until the end of July. The law makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.

It also requires local law enforcement to make a “reasonable attempt” to determine legal status during any lawful “stop, detention or arrest.”

“I think the security of our country is the real issue,” said Connie Sheffield, an Arizona resident and daughter of Italian immigrants. She applauded Brewer for signing the law.

“We need to close the borders and then really think about returning illegals back to Mexico,” she said.

The long list of event speakers included Ted Hayes, known for his activism on behalf of the homeless, Anna Gaines of American Citizens United, and Lou Ferrigno, known for his portray of the Incredible Hulk.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Pearce, who was shot by an undocumented immigrant in 2004, also spoke. The sheriff’s deputy is the son of Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who wrote the law.

“It gives us the authority to enforce the laws already on the books,” he said of SB 1070.

The event was, at least in part, a response to some national leaders who’ve called for boycotts of Arizona to protest the law.

Gina Loudon, a political analyst and founder of the St. Louis Tea Party, organized a “buycott” of Arizona to counter the boycott. The buycott would channel support for Arizona business.

“America, this is our Alamo,” she said to the crowd. “We are going to defeat their boycotts with our buycott.”

Some 68 percent of Americans oppose boycotts of Arizona, according to a recent poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports.

“Arizona is just trying to avoid a bankruptcy,” said Phoenix resident Pat Smith of SB 1070. “Hopefully it prevents amnesty from taking place. If you’re going to come to this country, do it right. Do it legally.”

That’s how François Harris describes his immigration process in 1983.

“I did it the right way,” the French immigrant said. “I embraced the culture of this country. You come here because it’s better. Don’t try to change it.”

Harris also said SB 1070 had nothing to do with race.

Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, read a litany of Phoenix police officers killed or injured by undocumented immigrants. He called the new law a “long-overdue solution.”

Douglas Mayor Al Rodriguez, said Americans were losing jobs to undocumented immigrants.

“Folks, don’t think your borders are secure,” he said. “It hasn’t been secure for 25 years.”

While many speakers emphasized border security, the law doesn’t specifically address securing the border. Supporters of SB 1070 hope the law, which has drawn national attention, will lead to federal action along the border.

Hours before the event in support of SB 1070, more than 10,000 demonstrated against the law at the state capitol.

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CAPTIONS: Maricopa Country Sheriff Joe Arpaio addresses the crowd May 20 at Tempe Diablo Stadium while Lou Ferrigno and his wife, Carla Green, look on. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Pearce (bottom), son of Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who co-sponsored SB 1070, talks about being shot by an undocumented immigrant in 2004.