Arizona Strikes Again...

The latest legal developments out of Arizona are marginally constitutional, in my opinion. I agree with the first half of the legislation, declaring illegal immigrants well, illegal. However, I think it is dangerous to legally empower law enforcement to demand identification for persons they “suspect” of being here illegally. I love (re: hate) how the Arizona state legislature acts as if racial profile does not already exist and has not existed probably since the beginning of law enforcement. We all know how this is about to play out. How exactly does one “suspect” some is illegally in the US? Is it by the way they look? The way they speak? The way they carry themselves? Something tells me that, simply put, the more ethnic you look, the greater jeopardy you will find yourself in of being suspect, while the more “Americanized” (re: White) you look, the safer you’ll be. Sad, but true. Adjust your wardrobe, hair, and speech accordingly.

My guess is that very shortly, Latinos in Arizona are going to face daily accosting by the police, thereby increasing the anger and frustration amongst this community. How would like to be questioned at whim about whether you “belong” here? I tell you what, as someone who attended a university where minority students were repeatedly racially profiled on-campus by police (i.e. forced to show their school ID to prove they “belonged”) I can tell you how horrible of an experience that is. It is degrading and frustrating. It leads to distrust and anger. No one, save for the people doing it, likes when authorities abuse their power. No one enjoys being perceived as an outcast. Granted, some members of this community are illegally here, are aiding in the draining of our tax dollars, and are “taking” jobs, but I emphasize this is SOME, not ALL. If we want to crunch down on immigration, let’s up border security let’s thoroughly check all documents when hiring people for jobs…oh wait, that’s right, people try to skimp on paying what they should for services and resort to hiring daily hands for manual labor, meaning they don’t check said documents. I’m digressing.

My point is that things in this area are about to escalate rapidly and probably explosively. Think about it. One of the main sentiments driving this new legislation is the increased crime rate that has correlated with the increase in illegal immigrants. And I’m sure that some are contributing to this. However, I guarantee that regardless of the percent of the Latino community involved in these crime stats, as soon as racial profiling increases, these individuals are going to respond in violence. I really wouldn’t be surprised if there were riots reminiscent of the LA Riots sparked by the Rodney King beating. Might be a bit of a stretch, but as I said, I really wouldn’t be surprised.

Personally, I don’t see this legislation holding up. There are already protests springing up throughout the country, as well as statements being made against this move by government officials. It’s kind of nice to see my fellow Americans uniting against this very un-American (yet, typically American) act. I mean, we’re a country that prides itself on its history of immigration and working hard to make something of oneself, yet we also know our nation has a history of people working hard to get theirs and then doing everything in their power not share the wealth (i.e. allow other people to work hard and reap the benefits). Nothing at this point surprises me…not even this legislation.

Let it be known, I am adamantly against illegal immigration, especially in these rough economic times. [disclaimer: I am about to sound rather Republican for a minute] Quite frankly, we do not have enough to go around for our own, let alone people that illegally sneak over here. On the one hand, it’s kind of noble that some would risk their lives to try to provide a better life for their families, however, it’s still wrong. There’s a reason it’s illegal, and just because you succeed at coming over her and establishing yourself, even serving for our country, doesn’t mean it was right in the first place. This might sound cold, but quite frankly, I don’t care. And stop trying to pop babies out in hopes that it’ll help you secure permanent or extended residence in the States. Furthermore, as an African American who knows the history of “her people” and knows that historically, as crappy and underpaid as they were, we were at least able to secure bottom of the totem pole positions and try to work our way up like other cultures…just with a few more institutionalized obstacles. In the past two decades or so, I have seen those jobs handed over to new immigrants, many of whom are Latino American, and to be honest, it is disheartening and slightly infuriating. I commend the legacy of hard work in this community – they are willing to do whatever work is necessary to provide for their families, and that’s commendable. But there are people that are legally here, that would also be willing to work these same menial jobs, that are not being given the opportunity because employers know they can hire illegals for cheaper to do the same work under the table. Where are we supposed to go? What are we supposed to do? Illegals are taking jobs that legal residents deserve and are using up a decent share of our tax money, and yes, this is an issue that annoys me, BUT Arizona, this is not the way to address these issues. I was taken aback by this latest news, but then a friend pointed out that it’s the home of John Mccain – ‘nough said.