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Subject: Arizona immigration law
In it's meaning the Arizona law is aimed at illegal
immigration as a whole.
The underlying truth is it is aimed at one particular
segment of illegals, and not all of them.
Many people, including myself, acknowledge that
there is definitely a problem with illegal immigration in this country.
Arizona's new law has raised the spectre's of
profiling, and, according to some, the "show us your papers" associated
with Fascist and totalitarian regimes.
Advocates of the law reply that it is neither and that "if you aren't doing
anything wrong,
you have nothing to worry about".
However, let me ask one question; if you get pulled
over in Arizona, or anywhere for that matter, and are asked to prove
your citizenship, could you do so on a moment's
notice? How would you do that? A driver's license is not proof.
Nor is a Social Security card, passport, proof
of insurance, a utility bill, a birth certificate (according to some),
or the color of your skin. You would be
held until they, and your citizenship, could be verified.
If you "had nothing to hide" how long would you
be willing to be detained for that to happen? Minutes? Hours?
DAYS?
This situation reminds me of the film "Born in
East L.A." with Cheech Marin. In it, Cheech is caught up in an immigration
sweep.
Although a legal citizen born here, our hero,
who is of Latino descent, having no driver's license or any other form
of identification,
is summarily deported to Mexico where he must
now find a way to get back into his own country. Much hilarity ensues.
However, in real life, the situation is not so
funny. I have read the text of the Arizona law.
No where does it describe how a peace officer
may determine a person's immigration status other than "where reasonable
suspicion exists that the person is an alien"
in order to detain them. So then, how does an officer of the law
determine such a thing?
Accent? Color of skin? Sixth sense?
Not all illegal aliens are Hispanic, speak with an accent, or are non-white.
This brings us back to profiling, and or "show
us your papers". This is where the opposition to this law lies.
Laurent Jean
North Hollywood, CA
That part about "If you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about" has always been a crazy argument.
One easy way to win that argument is to say,
"If you're not committing any crimes, can
I put a camera in your home and a microphone to listen
to your family conversations?
If you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about".
Suddenly, the Fascists turn into privacy rights supporters.
Good point about Cheech Marin, too.
And how do you prove citizenship, anyway?
A birth certificate?
Lotta good that does our president - they'll just claim it's a phony.