Forgotten Sleep

I’ve always found it mildly offensive when someone has asked me that question. So what if I’m not – does it matter? Of course, most of the time, it’s been because they detect the lingering big of Southern drawl that refuses to disappear when I speak. It’s really no big deal, but seeing the news reports about the new Arizona immigration legislation made me pause to think about what it would be like if that question carried a far more sinister meaning.

Two days ago, Arizona’s governor passed immigration legislation that requires the state police to determine someone’s immigration status in an effort, she said, to crack down on illegal immigration. Immigrants are required to carry their alien residency papers on their person at all times. Previously, the state police were only able to check immigration status if someone was suspected in a previous crime. Frankly, I have to say, are you kidding me?

Now, before anyone slams me, I am not in favor of illegal immigration. If you want to come here to live, do it legally. Yes, we are a nation of immigrants – give me your tired, your hungry, your huddled masses yearning to be free. But, don’t forget, there was a registry on Ellis Island. People signed their names on the dotted line when they crossed our borders.

Given all of that, though, do we really need to create a situation that eerily resembles the Eastern Block in 1987? Do we want to go so far that one our own states starts to reek of the fear and repression that oozed from communism’s open wounds?

When Loving Husband studied abroad in Hungary in 1987, he had to carry his papers with him at all times. He was routinely approached by members of the local police who demanded he produce proof that he was in the country legally. He lived with the constant unease of being under perpetual surveillance.

For decades, we, as Americans, have railed against anything that even whiffed of Big Brother. It goes against the bedrock of our government – personal liberties and individual freedoms. How can we now condone an effort from within our republic to willfully create a situation so antithetical to who we claim to be?

And, all of this doesn’t even touch on the racial aspects of this law. To claim that this legislation will not spawn racial profiling is laughable. People are inherently racist. They do not like those different from themselves. They fear what they do not know and often do not understand. The idea of giving state police additional training to stave off any racial profiling is an excellent idea in theory, and no doubt it will work for some officers. But there will always be some who abuse the law, and they will hide behind the law to defend and justify actions that treat others inhumanely.

Many Arizona officials have said that the state is merely trying to succeed where the federal government has failed. Nice try. Not only does the idea of 50 different state immigration laws make my head hurt, but it’s also against the Constitution. Only the feds have the authority to create a law that affects immigration laws and penalties. I’m hoping the courts send this new law packing so fast that legal immigrants don’t even have the time to dig their papers out of their sock drawers.

I’m not claiming to have the answer to immigration reform. I don’t know how to stop the constant flow of people pouring over our borders illegally. But, I know that this isn’t it. If counterfeiters can mass produce fake $50s and if teenagers can buy reasonable replicas of valid IDs, how long do you think it would take for someone to start shucking fake immigration papers?

So, thanks for trying Arizona, but I’m going to call this one a fail. No do-over for you. Nice try. Next.