Posted: May 20, 2010 7:51 PM
Updated: May 20, 2010 7:51 PM
TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION - A local Native American tribe has a unique perspective on Arizona's new immigration law.
The new law won't apply to the sovereign nation of Tohono O'odham, but that hasn't stopped leaders there from speaking out about it.
The Tohono O'odham Nation has 75 miles of border and the fence there is only designed to stop vehicles, not people on foot. Chairman Ned Norris Jr. said an estimated 800 illegal immigrants coming through a day.
Tribal police said it definitely keeps them busy and now that's its summer time it's only getting worse. Sgt. Vincent Garcia said, "We're seeing a lot more vehicles in here, a lot more activity when it comes to human smuggling. It's starting to pick up again."
The chairperson said the new immigration law is not the answer they were looking for. He said, "This bill does nothing to help the situation that we're facing."
In fact, he said it will do more harm then good. He said, "It puts communities at risk because people are going to refuse to call on authorities to come to certain situations."
He said that even though the law doesn't apply to them while they're in the nation, he said the concern is when they leave, even if they are citizens.
The chairman said, "Its going to specifically put members of the O'odham Nation at risk because of their inability to document their citizenship because they were born in some remote village some 60-70 years ago, or under a tree and don't have record of their birth."
Then perhaps his biggest economic concern is what this will do for tourism. He said it's going to be a huge hit to the nation's casinos.
The Governor and other supporters of the law said it is not about racial profiling, and officers statewide will be trained on how to appropriately enforce it.
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