Kudos for a well written piece in today’s AZ Republic by Dennis Wagner, questioning alleged border violence.
A media fury fueled by the recent death of a border rancher and the shooting of a deputy sheriff, in separate incidents, along Arizona’s southern border increases the stakes for politicians seeking reelection. In part, the passage of a tough new Arizona immigration law is a reflex by-product of political expediency, failing to account for the complexities of Arizona culture and ensuring unwarranted personal hardship and economic loss to the people of this state.
The story corroborates rising trouble with kidnappings in Phoenix — mostly related to drug cartel power struggles — (thank you Ron Fears for earlier mention). But also dampens a general perception of mayhem generated by immigrants entering Arizona illegally along our southern border.
Over-simplified, ham-handed solutions to an historically interwoven cultural-political problem, once again points to knee-jerk leadership in Arizona. Amplified rhetoric secures elections, but does little to protect borders in any useful way for citizens of the desert Southwest.
Tags: border control, fear mongering, immigration