On Wednesday, July 28, 2010 a federal judge temporarily threw
out portions of the proposed Arizona immigration law.
In her ruling, Judge Susan Bolton suggested the temporary
injunction would give both support and opposition sides
time to take a
closer look at the law and perhaps reconsider parts of it.
The greatest opposition by many members of the Hispanic
community was to the part they labeled as “racial profiling.” Some
parties on both sides of the controversy agree immigration
problems should be handled by federal enforcement officers.
The fear of profiling was heard but I believe the results
may be less compliant than what is presently proposed.
Federal officers are trained to do their jobs in a forceful
style.
They do not show a great amount of compassion or understanding
while executing their duties; they take charge of any
situation and act in a swift, stern manner. They don’t spend a
lot of time discussing what they are going to do, they simply
do it. Should you fall under the jurisdiction of federal officers
executing their duties, you will have little or no questions
as to who is in charge.
If you’re wondering how I can make the above statements
with such firm conviction, I will relate my story. On the same
day Judge Bolton ruled on Arizona’s SB 1070, I fell into
a situation involving the jurisdiction of federal officers
on the Canadian/U.S. border. The encounter took place on the
American side of the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River.
My wife and I with friends had just crossed the bridge
from the Ontario side and were entering the United
States at Port
Huron. As we sat in the waiting area next in line
for customs, I noticed additional officers come near
the
booths on each
side of our approach lane. They released the vehicle
ahead of us and we slowly pulled ahead. My friend
was driving
and he had his window down. We were all prepared
to present our
proof of citizenship.
All four of us in the car had made this trip many
times and we were expecting to hear the usual questions:
Where are
you from? Where have you been? Are you bringing
anything purchased
in Canada and do you have any weapons? Well, we
got a big surprise. After taking our IDs the customs
officer
in the
booth, speaking
in a very demanding voice asked, “Which one of you had
medical testing?” We responded none of us. My wife was
on her phone in the back seat and the officer screamed at her, “Turn
it off now.”
He then said, “I’m only going to ask once more,
who had a medical test?” I responded, “Do you mean
in Canada? He said, “No, anywhere.”
At this point, I nervously recalled and told
him: “I
had a nuclear bone scan yesterday morning.”
After my response, the officer very sternly
told my friend to follow the officer in front
of our
car. Another
officer
had taken a position in front of our car
and he led us through a maze line area between
vehicles which
were
obviously set
up to prevent us from making a break and
trying to run. That would not have been a good idea
as
I noted
customs
vehicles
idling alongside the barrier wall ahead.
This encounter was all very surprising and
puzzling. I received the bone scan the
prior day at Scheurer
Hospital beginning
at 7 am. I was given a very small shot
into my vein on the back of my hand and told to
return
at 10 a.m.
for
the
scan.
The technician assured me the 25.3 mCi
of radiation isotope would be out of my system
that same
day.
Little did he know.
As we followed the customs officer who
was walking in front of our car, he
took us through
an arch
looking device then
directed us to stop. I was told to
get out and was led
to a small booth size building. Another
customs officer, carrying
a scanning device that sounded like
a Geiger counter, scanned my body from head to toe
and told me to
remain in the booth.
At this point, another customs officer,
who apparently never heard of HEPA
laws, asked
me a list of
questions and noted
my answers.
The officer who had escorted me to
the booth and scanned me went over
to my
friend’s vehicle and scanned all around
it, including the wheel wells. He then told my friend to back
up through the arch device and pull ahead and park. Once their
paperwork was completed they told me I was free to go. It was
getting dark and as we continued our ride home we were glad
to note I did not glow in the dark.
My wife called our daughter that
she was on the phone with and explained
what had
occurred.
She
had been
quite worried
because she heard the officer shout.
We all agreed we did not mind any
part
of
the procedure
and
felt much
safer
as a result.
If any readers wonder why I chose
to relate this event, think about
the
fact a tiny
mCi of radioactive
ingredient
that
had been in my system for over
36 hours was detected while I
was sitting in an enclosed vehicle
with
the windows up and air conditioning
and engine
running.
The detection was made before
we approached the customs booth
and
security was
increased and
put in place
immediately. I was told if
I had denied having a test things
would
have gone
much differently.
As I see it, those challenging
the Arizona SB1070 law may
prefer to
face a little
racial profiling
by local
officers
than answer
questions asked by federal
or border patrol officers.