海角大神

Mexicans might now be reticent about taking that midnight train to Georgia. The state legislature Thursday passed an Arizona-style immigration bill authorizing police to check the passport status of anyone deemed 鈥渟uspicious鈥� and forces businesses to do the same with potential employees.

The bill, which Gov. Nathan Deal (R) is expected to sign, is the latest in a wave of immigration reform legislation that is sweeping the US and souring Mexican opinion of America. Prior to the enactment of the Arizona鈥檚 controversial SB 1070 one year ago, 62 percent of Mexicans had a positive opinion of the US, compared with 44 percent after the law passed, according to the Pew Research Center.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 like the climate over there, it鈥檚 horrible,鈥� says Felipe Hernandez, a taxi driver in Mexico City, who recently decided against immigrating to the US because of fears over the new laws.

IN PICTURES: The scene at the US/Mexico border

In addition to Georgia, three more states 鈥� Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina 鈥� are poised to adopt 鈥渟how me your papers鈥� laws in coming months. As such laws quietly proliferate in the US, Mexicans are anxiously watching, concerned that the US is becoming increasingly xenophobic. Cuauht茅moc C谩rdenas, the former mayor of Mexico City and a past presidential candidate, told the Monitor that the Arizona law is 鈥渞acist鈥� and that he will be 鈥渆ncouraging the defeat of any and all 鈥榮how me your paper laws.鈥� 鈥�

No less than two dozen states have introduced pieces of legislation with 鈥渟how me your papers鈥� aspects, although there is some significant doubt whether they will ever be enforced. Not one state has implemented such laws, and nine states have voted down similar proposals. Court challenges to Arizona鈥檚 law have prevented its full implementation, including the provision requiring police to check the immigration status of people they lawfully stop, and Georgia鈥檚 law is also expected to be the target of legal challenges.

"Criminalizing immigration will not stop the flow of Immigration," says Avelino Mendez, a lawmaker representing a Mexico City district. "These laws don鈥檛 solve anything.鈥�

"These laws may change the way we see 鈥�el gabacho,' " says Guillermo Rivera, a constituent from Mr. Mendez鈥檚 district, using the Spanish slang for Americans. "But it won鈥檛 stop us from going there.鈥�

Mexicans see US in new light

Polling data does indeed reveal a sharply eroded opinion toward the US. Among 21 nations recently surveyed in the Pew Research Center鈥檚 Global Attitudes Project, Mexicans had the largest decline in favorable opinion toward the US, with researchers eyeing the Arizona law as the cause. Such opinions are reflected across Mexican politics. Right-leaning President Felipe Calder贸n has said the Arizona law amounts to a tacit acceptance of racial profiling, echoing the sentiments of left-leaning Mr. C谩rdenas.

Jamie Juarez certainly agrees with that. A documented immigrant from Mexico now residing in Tuscon, Ariz., his stepdaughter was last August driving on Tuscon鈥檚 I-10 with several friends when a highway patrol officer stopped their car, ostensibly for a broken window, and requested their IDs. One of the girls lacked her 鈥減apers.鈥� Officials from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) then detained Mr. Juarez鈥檚 stepdaughter and two girlfriends.

If Juarez had not rushed to the scene and presented the papers of his stepdaughter, she may have been deported like her friends, who were both sent back to Mexico.

鈥淭he officer told me that he didn鈥檛 know if they were 鈥榯errorists or criminals,鈥� 鈥� says Juarez, his voice visibly shaken and angry. 鈥淭his greatly offended me and made me think that this man was racist and shouldn't be working as a police officer. I assume he won't be reprimanded, because Arizona is plagued with problems like these.鈥�

Cecilia Wang, a lawyer for the Arizona branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who took down Juarez鈥檚 story, calls this a clear case of racial profiling. 鈥淲hat the officer did in this situation, asking for all passengers for identification, falls out of the purview for a traffic stop and was improper. This is why we're concerned about the fate of SB 1070, as this story can become a legal practice.鈥�

Deportations for routine traffic violations are very common, says Guadulupe Chipole, director of a Mexican federal agency that provides services to immigrant families. 鈥淢any of them complain that only because they were dark skinned, they were stopped by the police,鈥� she says.

Laws strain state finances

Amid such outrage among Mexicans, some US-based groups are also launching attacks on the laws. in Washington has taken a financial angle, asserting that Arizona鈥檚 economy would lose $50 billion through the cost of law enforcement and the loss of cheap labor and tax revenue.

鈥淭he stated goal of 鈥榮how me your paper laws鈥� is to drive the whole undocumented population out,鈥� says Marshall Fitz, the center鈥檚 director of immigration policy. 鈥淚f you were to succeed with this鈥� it would shrink their economy substantially and be a windfall for taxpayers and public revenues.鈥�

鈥淭his ideological swing toward xenophobia is truly beyond rationality,鈥� he adds.

Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum in Washington agrees 鈥渢he passage of SB1070 actually harms the economy."

Meanwhile, the Georgia bill that passed this week in the state Senate and House may never actually be enforced, says Azadeh Shahshahani of the ACLU鈥檚 branch in Georgia. She is 鈥渃onfident that if HB 87 succeeds in turning Georgia into 鈥榮how me your papers鈥� territory, it will not withstand legal challenge.鈥�

But that doesn鈥檛 mean the law won鈥檛 first affect Mexican opinion of the US. "By legislating discrimination," the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Educational Fund wrote in a statement Thursday, "this bill would undermine Georgia's history and image."

Such "measures focused on criminalizing migrants open possibilities for undue law enforcement practices and racial profiling," the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta said in a earlier this month, highlighting a detrimental affect on "friendship, trade, culture and tourism links."

IN PICTURES: The scene at the US/Mexico border