Is Costa Mesa Law Racist?

Law Allowing Officers to Check the Status of Those They Arrest Has Spurred Even More Debate

The decision to allow Costa Mesa police to check the citizenship status of anyone they arrest has some calling out that police are being racist when carrying out this law.

Although the law received much debate and criticism when the Costa Mesa City Council passed the ordinance, the law has recently spurred a debate even among those who say they are against illegal immigration. This is because a man, Tzier Tzul was recently arrested, his status checked and he was found to be living in the U.S. illegally since 2005.

As a result, Tzul awaits a deportation hearing soon. Many have now rallied to come to the rescue of this man who they say has worked hard in this country to send money back home to Guatemala for his family.

The reason police stopped Tzul was because he was riding on the wrong side of the street. The officer first asked to see ID, but when Tzul did not have any, it later led to the unraveling of his status in the country.

Now, those who say they are against illegal immigration are wondering if police are purposely stopping certain races because of the new law. Some are arguing that police would not have stopped a white person riding a bike on the wrong side of the road.

The problem now is that more and more people are beginning to question the legitimacy of this law and the more police and the law are questioned, the more it brings down the legitimacy of the law.

In general, most people who are against illegal immigration say this because they are against people breaking the law. Basically, if someone is not in this country legally, then they should not be here.

Tzul, although not a criminal in the popular sense of the word, became a law breaker when he entered the country illegally. There are many people like him who work just as hard and send money home to their family members, but did the citizenship process the right way. When people say the police are wrong, are they not also waiving away the stories of people who had to wait and follow the citizenship process as per the law of this country?

Are Costa Mesa police officers supposed to make concessions for people just because they feel sorry for them while other people do have to follow the law?