After spending 15 months running for Congress in Congressional District 3 in Arizona (Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek Carefree, New River) The FUSION Foundation Co-Founder - Annie Loyd stepped down and made a commitment to dedicate her time to building a coalition from the public, private, corporate and government sectors addressing the challenge of immigration reform. Voices for Civil Dialogue is one of the many projects to emerge from this work. Voices for Civil Dialogue is a transpartisan, inclusive coalition of community leaders dedicated to genuine, respectful cooperation, involving groups and individuals from all sectors of society.

A conservative border state is at risk of becoming a police state

Apr 22nd 2010 | LOS ANGELES | From The Economist print edition

RUSSELL PEARCE is the quintessential Arizona Republican. He wears stars-and-stripes shirts and has clips of John Wayne and Ronald Reagan on his website. He loves guns, his family, his Mormon faith, his country and the law, which he enforced for many years as deputy sheriff of Maricopa County. He jokes that being Republican, and thus not having a heart, saved his life when he got shot in the chest once. But his main passion is illegal immigrants, whom he calls “invaders”. He loathed them even before his son Sean, also a sheriff’s deputy, got shot by one. But now it is personal.

Mr Pearce, a state senator, has sponsored an Arizona law that, if enacted, would be the toughest in the country. It is so brazen it has caused outrage. This week it passed the last hurdles in the state legislature. As The Economist went to press, it was awaiting the signature of Arizona’s Republican governor, Jan Brewer.

Illegal immigration is a federal crime. Mr Pearce’s law, however, would also make it a state crime and would require the police, as opposed to federal agents, to make arrests and check the immigration status of individuals who look suspicious to them. Citizens who think their cops are not vigilant enough would be encouraged to sue their cities or counties, and no city or county may remain a “sanctuary” where this law is not enforced.

Read more . . .

Cross-posted from Race-Talk.

Governor Brewer's signing of Arizona law SB1070 late last month has shifted the debate concerning immigration reform in our country and changed the very environment into which migrants (legal and extra legal) now live.

The law, which at its most basic seeks to "deter the unlawful entry and presence of illegal aliens and economic activity by illegal aliens in the United States," moves the debate from the issue of immigration policy writ large to one that is focused squarely on the migrant and although not stated, the undocumented Mexican migrant.

Supporters argue that the law seeks only to implement and put into practice federal standards that are not now enforced. And while the supporters of SB1070 wrap themselves in the belief that they are only doing the work that the federal government cannot or will not engage, immigration reform does not begin with criminalizing the actions of a specific group of movers. In fact, there is no solution in this law to the challenges that immigration may (or may not) pose to our nation. Rather, SB1070 is little more than a bill that takes a vulnerable population and increases its vulnerability. Read more . . .

I am speaking from genuine concern for our country -- a concern no more or less meaningful or legal or freedom-loving than your own. I have a pretty tough edge myself, and I don't mince words when it comes to politics. But no one needs to be "re-loading" now, and our political opponents are not "enemy territory." In a free society, we do not have to agree; in fact, that's the point of freedom. "Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win" is a frightening statement, Sarah. It is not funny; it is threatening. There are some crazy people in this country on both sides of the political aisle, and saying such things could incite them to violence that is very real.  ~ Marianne Williamson

Dear Sarah Palin,

I don't share your politics but I do share your country. I am writing to you now as a fellow American and also as a woman who, like you, puts my spiritual journey above all else.

When your book first came out, I knew I had to read it because I felt judgment in my heart that was not in keeping with my religious convictions. I was tempted to think about you in prejudiced stereotypes, and I know that this doesn't jive with "Love one another" or "Judge not lest ye be judged." So I bought your book.

And I liked it. I admire you as a self-made woman who has achieved a lot in your life, and I can see how some unfair criticisms that have been leveled against you could have hurt terribly. I am sorry for that. As a woman from Texas, I recognized your refusal to "sit down and shut up" as the attitude of a kick-ass woman from a kick-ass state. Although I am pro-choice, I felt your spiritual process regarding coming to acceptance and obedience in relation to giving birth to a Down Syndrome child was both inspiring and profound.

When I read your descriptions of liberals in the book -- not just critical, but simply false -- my jaw did drop a couple of times, like I almost thought you must be joking... you couldn't really think that. But I knew my job in reading the book was to beware my own judgments, so I simply read on and tried to ignore your jibes.

I have defended you since reading the book, particularly when others would make fun of your comments about looking to God's Will to guide you. But something is happening now that is so critical to this country, with such genuinely significant repercussions, that I implore you to hear me -- not just as a fellow American, but as a sister who I know prays to the same God that I do: Words have power. Please modify your words.

Read the entire letter . . .