A retired Congressman thinks politicians who want to condemn the controversial immigration law in Arizona should take a second look at their oaths of office.
Duncan Lee Hunter, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, hasn't read the Arizona law but from what's he's heard, it sounds to him like the cities and counties declaring resolutions against the state need to reexamine their oaths of office.
“Do they also oppose the federal law that says it’s illegal to come into this country without coming in the right way?” Hunter asked when interviewed at a San Diego golf tournament to raise money for wounded veterans.
The Arizona measure, SB1070, allows local police officers, who find reasonable cause, to question people they believe are in the country illegally. Critics say the law is based on racial profiling. Supporters say the law is a relief and long overdue.
San Diego's city council is one of several that have passed resolutions disagreeing with the Arizona state legislature. On Tuesday, the San Diego Unified School District plans to address a resolution not only condemning the law but also issuing a travel warning to parents of Hispanic students who may be thinking of traveling to Arizona.
“I thought that those other politicians raised their right hands and swore an oath to uphold the law of the United States. So they’re saying that that’s one they don’t like so they’re going to ignore it? That’s kinda strange, I think,” he said.
If the Arizona law were about a state deciding to enforce federal law under any other subject, people would yawn according to Hunter.
U.S. & World
“I’m just a retired guy… but this is part of the frustration that the American people have with not having a secure border,” said Duncan Hunter.
“If you have a secure border and you ask people to knock on the front door instead of coming through the back door then you eliminate a lot of those problems,” he said.
Hunter's son, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, made headlines last month when he told a Ramona crowd that he would have to support the deportation of children born to illegal immigrants.
“We’re not being mean,” the current U.S. Rep. Hunter told the crowd. “We’re just saying it takes more than just walking across the border to become an American citizen.”
