Arizona's Immigration Law

"Excuse me, Flo? What's the topic du jour?"
"It's the topic of the day."
"Mmmm. That sounds good. I think I'll have that."

First things first - I spent the last 30 minutes reading the text of the Arizona Immigration Law so that I would not be addressing this ignorant of what is actually written in the law. Here's the official brief summary:

This act declares that it is a crime to reside in Arizona as an illegal immigrant, and that law enforcement has the right to demand proof of legal residence of those suspected of having illegal immigrant status. It was signed on April 23, 2010.

Let's jump right in.

I know there has been a big debate and heated arguments over the contents, purposes, and extent of this law. Also, it has been debated about Arizona's ability to enforce a law that assumes a role reserved for the federal government (immigration enforcement). Based on the text of the law, Arizona plainly states it is the intent of the state to assist in the enforcement of federal law, not to assume full control of this responsibility. Isn't that the responsibility of all states? It is nice to see, that while Washington drags their feet on immigration reform and control, at least one state takes our laws seriously.

Racial profiling has been alleged from a number of sources, reputable and otherwise, including the Hispanic population. The argument that a police officer would be on the lookout for Hispanics and watch them with a microscope for any reason to request identification is a compelling one. 'The Man is watching you' is the fallback argument that many resort to when they want to invoke fear instead of intelligent analysis. It's McCarthyism at it's finest. Think about it - Police officers patrol the streets on a daily basis, charged with enforcing the laws of the state in order to keep peace within their assigned community. They carry guns on their hips and in their cars, along with a number of other items to assist the enforcement of law. If they had the desire to profile based on race and incite fear they would have the capacity to do that already. They don't need a new law to facilitate profiling. In all likelihood Arizona police will have enough to do already than to go out of their way to show hate and repress a major percentage of their state's population. This will be another enacted law that will see minimal enforcement, but it serves the purpose of bringing the debate to the forefront of people's thoughts and interests.

The 'It's bad for the economy' card has been played as well. I understand the role of immigrants in forming a strong base in our economy. They fill millions of jobs that most would shun under normal circumstances and provide vital services to millions of others. That's fantastic! I'm all for it. But these aren't normal circumstances. Opponents of this law say that the Arizona economy will collapse because of the jobs vacated by immigrants, both legal and illegal. They may not have noticed that our government is currently reporting a national unemployment rate of approximately ten percent as we recover from a devastating recession. And that's most likely a low approximation because it doesn't factor in the number of people who are looking for a job right out of college and first time job seekers. That's at least 35 million people desperately in need of work. I'm sure a number of them would be willing to fill the positions vacated by evicted illegal immigrants.

The issue that Arizona is obviously trying to address is illegal immigration from Mexico. What is interesting to note is that the Mexican government (and most other governments, for that matter) has a strictly enforced immigration law that would have any illegal immigrants shipped out of Mexico within a week of their arrival and yet they complain if they receive the same treatment from America. Some of the problem, it's been said, is that the immigration process into America is difficult and tedious. I concede the point that our immigration system is difficult to navigate, is outmoded, and needs to be brought up-to-date to ease the burden it places on those seeking the American dream. But a difficult immigration process is not an excuse to illegally bypass the system completely. It is difficult to get a lot of things done through the government but that doesn't stop people from getting them done legally everyday. Ask any entrepreneur in America how long and difficult is was for them to get all of the necessary permits to start a business. And yet it happens daily. It's not any easier for the citizens of America to pay taxes on a yearly basis, but we do it (well, most of us). And we put up with these pains to PAY the government out of our hard-earned money.

Our country was founded on the backs of immigrants (some by choice and others by unfortunate force) and has been seen as a melting pot for hundreds of years because of it. Our doors were open to the world to send us "your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free " and we welcomed them with open arms. But since the inception of our revolutionary government that door has been a guarded door so that America is not overrun by another country. We establish immigration rules and laws for a reason. We welcome any who want to come to America seeking the freedom's we offer, but do it the right way. We aren't racist (I'm not, and most of America isn't either). But we establish rules for a reason. I heard it said of the recent health care reform bill that it was a good thing to at least have something in place even if it is still flawed. This is a weak argument for accepting trash from our legislators, but if they can play that argument and expect me to accept it for poor health care reform, then they can accept the same argument from me in this case. It's not a perfect law by any means. Mankind cannot create such a thing. But for now at least we have something in place.

I think I have made my position clear on this matter. If you have an opposing view I welcome it, but do take the time to actually read the text of the law before voicing it. Otherwise I will disregard the comment as uneducated dribble.