'Racism' warning on migrant law

TURN on the evening news in Arizona and some report reflecting the state's battle with illegal immigration is likely to flash across the screen.

A house crammed with illegal border-crossers, workplace raids that net the arrest of dozens of illegal immigrants, often in heavily Hispanic communities. Politicians speaking venomously about border violence and the cost immigration of to the state treasury.

Along the streets, Arizonans see day labourers waiting for work. In some Phoenix neighbourhoods, Spanish is so predominant residents complain it feels like they're in a foreign country.

Then, in March, rancher Robert Krentz was gunned down on his property near the border. Authorities believe - but have never produced substantive proof - that an illegal immigrant, possibly a scout for drug smugglers, was to blame.

Mr Krentz came to symbolise what's at stake with illegal immigration. "You can't ignore the damage and the costs to the taxpayers and the disrespect that comes with it and those who think they have a right to break our laws," says Russell Pearce, the fiery state senator who wrote Arizona's new immigration law, which comes into effect tomorrow.

The new law requires police to check a person's immigration status if officers reasonably suspect the person is in the country illegally. It also requires people to carry and produce their immigration papers, while making it a crime for illegal immigrants to solicit work in a public place. Opponents have said it will lead to racial profiling of suspects.

Mr Pearce depicts illegal immigration as an "invasion". He can tick off the names of police officers killed or wounded by criminals in the country illegally.

Between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of all immigrant arrests each year on the US-Mexico border are made in Arizona, according to the US Border Patrol. The annual costs are about $600 million for educating illegal immigrants, more than $120m for jailing illegal immigrants convicted of state crimes and up to $50m hospitals have to write off for treating illegal border-crossers.

Don Sorchych, editor and publisher of local newspaper the Sonoran News, said that over the past 20 years, the town of Cave Creek has seen illegal immigrants set up "villages" made of scrap timber and canvas.

"People confuse racial profiling and being a racist," Mr Sorchych said. "I'm not saying you should, but if you could profile, you'd be right 95 per cent of the time."

Opponents of the law claim illegal immigrants are being scapegoated, pointing out they pay sales taxes and put money into a Social Security system they will never be able to take out when they retire. They say the state's rapid growth over the last decade couldn't have happened without immigrant labour.

As Joy Williams of Tucson sees it, immigrants are doing jobs Americans don't want. Ms Williams, a legal clerk, is angry about the open racism in recent months. "What is so shocking is people can be so openly verbal about it now and not even flinch," she said.

'Growing hostility' to Hispanics

Since Arizona passed its new immigration law, immigrant rights groups say Hispanics are seeing more open hostility.

Lydia Guzman, president of the Phoenix-based Hispanic civil rights group Somos America, said community members are reporting racial slurs like never before. She says she experienced it herself in May while waiting in line at a grocery store, when one woman looked at Ms Guzman's shopping and whispered to another: "I wonder how much this is going to cost us?"

Another group, Puente, said its calls complaining of racial incidents had jumped from about two a week to five to six a week.

Lilia Ramos, a 46-year-old illegal immigrant from Acapulco, called Puenute to lodge a complaint against the Arizona Humane Society.

Ms Ramos said when she called the Humane Society to report a dog at her property, the woman on the other end of the line became angry when she asked if she could speak to someone in Spanish. "She said, 'There's no one. Are you an American citizen?"' Ms Ramos said in Spanish. "I said no, and then she asked if I had a green (permanent residency) card, and 'if you don't co-operate, we'll arrest you.' It really scared me."