Apparently, there's a big stink about some new immigration law in the beautiful state of Arizona. Now....I'm a white dude who lives in Tennessee; I don't get what all the fuss is about. The law, according to reports, "...would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally." (nytimes.com) Now please feel free to call me whatever white-boy slander you choose, but isn't this what we were supposed to be doing all along? Why are Hispanics so up in arms about this? Look, if you're here legally, then you have nothing to worry about. However, if you are in MY country illegally, then the state of Arizona will promptly ship your ass back across the river. (Simple always works best....)
Now, if the Hispanic community is afraid of being "racially profiled" under the auspices of this law, they damn well should be. Here's a little hint: they've been doing it all along, only now they have the RIGHT to do it! This is in no way an infringement of the accused civil rights; for 2 reasons. First, if you are here illegally, then you have no rights under the Contitution, and anyone who says that you do probably hasn't read the Constitution. Second, if you are here legally, and get stopped for whatever reason, and they ask for your documentation, welcome to the club! The very first thing that a police officer asks me for when I get stopped for a violation is MY documentation! I have never filed suit against a township or county because the officer asked for my documentation; i.e. license and registration. Nor will I. The officer is doing his or her job. Those that do conduct "racial profiling" should be summarily shipped to Mexico to live with their victims. I may be naive, but I don't feel that the majority of police officers behave in this manner.
Another point on this topic; I have heard some really stupid things come out of religious leaders mouths in my short time on the blue marble, but the following statement may very well take the cake, icing and all; "Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles said the authorities’ ability to demand documents was like “Nazism.” Really, Padre? Nazism? Didn't the Nazi party murder millions upon millions of people during World War II? And I'm pretty sure that as they were shoving the Jews into the ovens they didn't ask for their documentation. Oh! That's right, they BRANDED the Jews with their documentation. Guess that just goes to show that one doesn't have to be at all educated and still serve the church.
If you are Hispanic and have gone through the proper channels to be in my country, crappy as they are, then welcome. If you have freely chosen to subvert the process that's in place, then welcome to Arizona. You're visit will be short, as will your return voyage back to the mother land.
