From the NORTH COUNTY TIMES:
Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, was criticized this week by civil and immigrant rights groups for saying that law enforcement professionals could spot illegal immigrants by the way they dress.
On Wednesday, Bilbray was a guest on the MSNBC TV show “Hardball” with Chris Matthews. He was asked his opinion of an Arizona bill that would require local police to question people about their immigration status if there was reason to suspect they were in the country illegally.
Original DVD cover
(The shoe is the Nike Air Max 95 – Mexican Blanket. I’m not making that up.)
The bill, Senate Bill 1070, was signed into law Friday by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer despite criticisms from various organizations and individuals, including President Barack Obama.
Immigrant rights advocates say the law will lead to widespread racial profiling of Latinos in Arizona.
When Matthews asked Bilbray why the law would not lead to racial profiling, the congressman replied that police were trained to look for “patterns of activity” and other indications beyond a person’s skin or hair color.
Pushing further, Matthews asked for an example of what police would look for that was not related to a person’s ethnicity. Bilbray said “trained professionals” can spot illegal immigrants by the way they’re dressed and the way they behave.
“They will look at the kind of dress you wear, there’s different types of attire,” Bilbray said. “There’s different type of attire, there’s different types of —- right down to the shoes, right down to the clothes.”
…snip…
“It’s the whole situation,” Bilbray said. “The environment, the manner, the clothing someone is wearing would be just one aspect.”
…snip…
The North County congressman is chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, a group of predominantly Republican House members who support tighter immigration controls. The group was founded by former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.
Advocates for immigrants said Bilbray’s comments were an example of the problems local law enforcement officers would face in attempting to decide when to ask for a person’s proof of immigration status. They said the law would expose police departments to racial profiling lawsuits.
“I think it’s outrageous that he would make comments like that,” said Pedro Rios, San Diego director for the Quaker human rights organization American Friends Service Committee.
…snip…
San Diego immigration attorney Matt Holt said the law would violate people’s constitutional rights.
“We know that we have a Fourth Amendment guarantee that protects us from unreasonable search and seizure, and the type of jeans or the type of shoes you wear doesn’t give officers probable cause,” Holt said.
The law makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws, and makes it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them.
President Obama was among the critics of the bill. He said it was “misguided” and that it would lead to civil rights violations.
…snip…
Republican Sen. Russell Pearce of Mesa, Ariz., the bill’s sponsor, said the law would remove “political handcuffs” from police and help drive illegal immigrants from Arizona.
Political handcuffs? I thought those are what the girls are wearing at the lesbian bondage club that the Rethuglicans frequent.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
Yo te quiero Taco Bell!
Cute shoes! And very nice swipe at the end. 🙂
be careful! don’t be complimenting mexican shoes. if they can arrest someone for aiding an undocumented alien, then they can throw you in jail for admiring their shoes, too. 😯
Heh, heh, heh. Last time I went fishing on the Colorado River in Yuma County, Arizona, I saw about a half-dozen (allegedly) Mexican men strip down to their red bikini underwear (which I know, wtf?). They stuffed their clothes in hefty bags then rolled 18-wheeler size inner tubes out of the tall grass on the Mexico side of the river bank.
They jump in and start floating across, and I’m all, fucking no way…and I’m sort of chuckling while I fish. I look over my shoulder, and about a mile off, up a hill I see border patrol cruising. Los hombres made it across. I’m all, “Bienvenidos!” (I’ve seen what they look like when they don’t make it across…law enforcement calls them floaters.)
They wave and put their clothes back on, hide the tubes, and start heading North (opposite me and Border Patrol who never saw them).
they really need to get themselves some cuban footwear. when cuban shoes hit land, the people wearing them get their requests for permanent residency expedited.
Just don’t tell Bilray about the red bikini underwear. 🙂
oh, lawdy! he’ll be checking everyone’s drawers!
i think we should all chip in and buy bilbray lunch at a japanese restaurant. of course, it has to be one in which you have to leave your shoes at the door. we can sit and drink tea and watch him go nuts!
i guess i have to change the name of my cat from Carlos to something like Edmund.
this is nothing more than legal lynching. i really hope this goes to the supreme court (which we know which way thomas, scalia, alito and roberts will vote)
we all know that clarence thomas was the only person ever to be lynched in this country (high tech yet!). 🙄 i can’t wait until the lawsuits come pouring in. the rethugs can kiss whatever hispanic votes they had goodbye.
And to think my ex-girlfriend wanted to move from Canada to Arizona and take me with her. I’m glad that didn’t happen!
you must be exhausted from all the bullets you’ve dodged, neon vincent! 😉
my nephew was born in tucson. my sister lived there for a few years, but i never went there.
how come you didn’t do science saturday ond tonight?
I didn’t post OND Science Saturday last night because my wife and I went to the Smithee Awards, which I’ve mentioned here before. Here’s the link to this year’s nominees.
http://smitheeawards.com/ceremony_form.cfm
Looks like lots of films you could use for covers. For example, “Steel” starring Shaquille O’Neill might be a good one to use for the current RNC Chair.
I also won’t be posting Science Satuday this week. The wife and I are moving.
what fun! i just read a few of the synopses. hilarious!
where are you moving to?
Glad you enjoyed the site.
I’m just moving closer to work. Instead of being 40 minutes by freeway when conditions are perfect, I’ll be 15 minutes away by surface streets. I could ride a bike to work when the weather’s nice. Of course, I’ll need a bike first. 🙂
i hear ya. my son has an almost 2 hours drive to work every day (each way). he’s going to look for a place up there. there are tons of gorgeous places that will make his commute 10-20 minutes. he might be able to find what he wants within walking or biking distance.
Several years ago, the godly gopers who run Farmer Branch TX got this same brilliant idea to keep Mexicans from renting apts. in the city. They passed a jerk ass law demanding the landlord “check the papers” of applicants. $3,000,000 in legal fees to the city later the law gets overturned as unconstitutional. Now they are going to do it again, start this crap all over, for their righteousness is great and mighty. Mexicans have been in Texas centuries before 1845 statehood. With the following war and southwest annexation, you got Mexicans with all that territory. With the Gadsen Purchase for the RR southern route, you get the defined southern border and also all the Mexicans you “purchased” in the deal. Speaking from a former province of Couhila, I can asure the gopers that the only place our Mexicans are going is to the top of the demographic makeup in all the southwest. A rancorous bag of shit like Tancredo is their perfect spokesman for the “Mexican Question”. I remember how they all went balistic when B43 suggested a green card system (that Canadians regularly use) to make guest workers legal. NO NO NO they shriek. And now it comes down to shoes. Are they really this stupid? Me and my good buddy Garcia agree on the two basic things that give up an illegal at a glance and neither is foot related.
in the case of bilbray, i really do think he’s that stupid. as for a lot of the other ones, they’re not stupid. they see the writing on the wall, and they know that they’ll soon no longer be the majority. therefore, they’ll rely on fear and bigotry to rile up their bigoted base as well as intimidate those who really have the power, if they would only use it at the ballot box.
I have a suggestion! How about everyone carry those yellow “Don’t tread on me” flags the Tea party whackos like so much? Get some misspelled signs, & the Arizona cops won’t know which ones are freedom lovin’ tea party patriots, or illegals. They don’t need to know much of the language but for a few catchphrases:
“I want my country back”
“I’m with the party of Hell No!”
Let’s just hope this is declared unconstitutional/discriminatory.
Civil rights just went backwards in time, in Arizona.
Footnote: Those catchphrases:
“I want my country back”
“I’m with the party of Hell No!”
Work for half term ex guv palin, why not folks visiting from Mexico?
we should send them a whole buncha flag bling (made in china) to wear. that’ll confuse those patriotic cops, you betcha. let me flesh that out a bit more. i actually feel sorry for a lot of the cops. they just want to do their jobs. there will be a small percentage who take the opportunity to let their inner bigot fly, but the others will be forced to comply with this ridiculous law or lose their jobs.
Made in China a must!
no fun without irony! 😉