It was ICE, and it happened before the law even was signed, so it has nothing to do with the law at issue.
Just one comment. I got my SS card when I got a job. Nowadays, if you want to declare a child as a dependent on the income tax form, you need a SS number. So effectively every citizen gets a SS card at birth. The most obvious exceptions would likely be US born children of illegal aliens. And some people want to deprive them of citizenship (never mind the constitution–a pretty document with no force, unless you want it to).
This is the bit I don’t get. What can suspicion that someone is an illegal immigrant possibly be based on, if not race? What clues could help you differentiate between two white males, one of whom is an illegal immigrant and one of whom is not? I’ve genuinely been wondering.
Well, one of the jobs of the Federal government IS to protect its borders. From all the illegals in this country, I strongly suspect a charge of dereliction of duty could be made to fit.
My bad. Reasonable suspicion is what I meant, not probable cause. Sorry about that. :smack:
Good point. Although most people I’ve heard propose anything along those lines acknowledge that it would be necessary to amend the Constittuion to make such a change, so I don’t think it’s fair to say those folks are seeking to ignore the constitution – merfely amned it, wheich the docuemtn itself provides for and which has been done 17 times in our history.
Now, if anyone believes we could somehow make that change WITHOUT amending the Constitution, then your comment is apt.
In the GD thread, I offered some speculation on this question. Permissble indicia would be consensual questions asked (for which no reasonable suspicion is needed) about citizenship and residency with inconsistent or incriminating responses. Appearance or language use would most likely be found inappropriate indicia on which to rely, and the law does suggest that they couldn’t be used.
But of course, the main fear seems to be that in practice, those kinds of factors would be considered…
How do police decide who they should be asking these consensual questions?
Any answer I gave would be speculative, not factual, and thus not suited for GQ.
It’s speculation about a factual matter. That’s effectively all we do on this forum right? I can’t think of a single way to judge who to stop and question about their citizenship status unless it involves race, ethnicity or language. If anyone is able to suggest one I’m all ears.
In all of this, everyone (here and in the media) mentions federal law as it concerns this AZ bill, but NO ONE cites anything specific. I feel so lost. Do any of you know if it really exists? Where is it? What exactly is federal law concerning questioning someone about their immigration status? What do they need or not need in order to ask?
I’ve looked quite a bit on the web and haven’t found anything. I want to be able to talk about what the federal government should be doing in specifics, NOT according to hear-say.