Those of us living in and near Tucson do not understand how securing our border is being seen by some as "anti-Hispanic" or "anti-Latino" or "racist". When we are riding our horses in the desert and come across a group of drug smugglers, we really don't care what race or nationality they are - we just want to get out of the area before we become a victim of drug-related violence. When we encounter trails of trash, we really don't care what race or nationality the litterers are when we pick up the trash spoiling the beautiful Arizona desert. When we hear of another group of people left to die in a locked semi trailer, we really don't care about the race or nationality of the human smugglers who abandoned helpless men, women and children.
Tucson is rich in Latino and Mexican heritage and tradition - from architecture to rodeo, art to food, this thread binds all of us together. Our co-workers, our fellow shoppers at the grocery store, the children on the school bus come from all backgrounds and places - not simply Latino or Hispanic but Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Native American, European and African from all corners of the globe. There is more diversity in Tucson and Arizona than any other place I've been to in this country.
No, we aren't securing the Mexican-Arizona border against Mexicans or Hispanics or Latinos. We are securing it against smugglers, drug runners, and other purveyors of violence who see the permeability of this border as an opportunity, our citizens near the border as the enemy and the lives of men, women and children oppressed by corruption as without value.
