By: Adalia WoodburyJun. 18th, 2012more from Adalia Woodbury

Arizona’s racist cop, Joe Arpaio arrested a six-year-old girl under the suspicion that she just might be an undocumented immigrant.  By coincidence, this happened on the same day the President announced a 2 year reprieve   for people who were brought to the U.S. by their parents, illegally.  It isn’t as like the Amnesty orders signed by former Republican Presidents Bush and Reagan, which, by comparison, are closer to far reaching than this directive.   It is a stop gap measure that came about because the GOP’s only interest is deferring action on any area of policy, so that they can whine and, of course, blame the President.

Under this directive, individuals who demonstrate that they meet the following criteria will be eligible for an exercise of discretion, specifically deferred action, on a case by case basis:

1. Came to the United States under the age of sixteen;
2. Have continuously resided in the United States for a least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and are present in the United States on the date of this memorandum;
3. Are currently in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;
4. Have not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;
5. Are not above the age of thirty.”

That didn’t stop the right wing hysteria and bigotry that happens every time the President breathes – let alone does something within his constitutional powers to address problems the GOP would prefer to defer to a time that suits their political agenda.  In fact, the reaction was so predictable that it was boring.

The New York Post trotted out the thred bare “Obama is abusing his power” argument.

“It demonstrated contempt for the legislative process; Obama had declined to implement such a policy several times in the past, insisting that only Congress had the power to do so.”
And you may have heard about the Daily Caller “reporter”  who interrupted the President’s announcement several times because that is exactly how professional journalists conduct themselves .

That was the hysteria, now let’s move on to the bigotry.   The GOP has done everything possible to obstruct developing policy in every sphere, including immigration policy.  In an attempt to appear like they do something, the GOP feeds its base a dose of snake oil, though packaged in the American Flag and a revisionist version of the Bible with a generous seasoning of liberty this and capitalism that.

The GOP’s attitude toward immigration policy is hostile and it betrays their bigotry. When the President’s announcement came, the GOP’s reaction was predictable.

The President’s announcement incurred the wrath of right-wing pundits and legislators alike who have used Americans’ xenophobia as a tool to pass discriminatory laws such as Arizona’s “papers please” laws and various state laws targeting undocumented Mexican immigrants. The Republican push to purge America of Hispanics has a long history that predates Obama’s Presidency, and reveals a long-held view among many that maintaining racial purity is paramount to America’s survival.

In the name of keeping American pure, the GOP presidential candidate made it abundantly clear.  He will veto the Dream act.  His version of immigration reform would amount to making life so rotten that undocumented immigrants would “self deport.”

Joe Arpaio is the sort of person for whom even Willard’s “self deportation” policy is too weak, just a tad too liberal and he’s got the record of civil rights violations to prove it. Joe Arpaio is also narcissistic enough to believe that he is above federal laws, including civil rights. By arresting a six year old, Arpaio was giving the President and the Federal government the middle finger salute.

And then we’ll find out the real story. They’re telling me how to run my organization. I’d like to get this resolved, but I’m not going to give up my authority to the federal government. It’s as simple as that.

This time instead of merely saying it, he’s giving the Feds a middle finger salute by arresting a six year old.

Republicans and their Tea Party followers don’t care for words like fairness, justice and compassion.  If a three month old baby was carried across the border by their mother, under the Republican way of thinking, that three month old should have had the decency to defy their parents and stay put in the homeland.

I’ve got a newsflash for Joe Arpaio and the GOP.  When someone is brought here as a young child, learns the language, is educated in American schools and participates in the American way of life, they are American in the ways that count most.  The rest, in reality, is just paper work.

When someone who was brought here from another country as a child and grows up to fight in our wars  they have earned the right to stay in this country.  Everything about living in this country from childhood to adulthood makes it impossible to refer to the country they left as young children “home.”  In reality, Arpaio and the GOP want to send these young people to a country that’s as foreign to them as it is to him.  If only it were possible to keep the children and deport them.

Image from thegrio