Many people are up in arms about Arizona’s passage of SB 1070.
What side of the fence do you come down on? Easy to tell. Do you refer to those folks as “illegal” or “undocumented”. It’s like calling it a “pre-owned” car instead of a “used” car. Call it whatever you want, the bottom line fact remains the same: they are illegal, they are in the country illegally. They are breaking the law.
The law sends “a clear message that Arizona is unfriendly to undocumented aliens,” said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and author of the book “Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization.”
[…]
Espinosa said Mexico regrets that Arizona did not take into account the “valuable contributions that migrants make to the economy, society and culture of Arizona and the United States of America.”
Hrm. Since when were we supposed to be friendly to law breakers and other assorted criminals? Extending that logic, we should invite the burglar into our home and give him some tea and help him carrying our belongings out to his getaway car. And we’re supposed to take into account the value contributions made by criminals? I’m sorry, I just don’t buy that logic.
That all said, SB 1070 bothers me. Pretty much anyone can be stopped at any time to have their citizenship questioned and verified.
“Papers, please.”
*shiver*
Will this lead to racial profiling? To be honest, the only way it won’t be able to do that is if everyone is questioned and everyone is checked; that’s not going to happen. Now I see nothing wrong with using race as an identifier because well, the color of someone’s skin or other ethnic characteristic can be a valid identifier (saying I’m the Asian guy is a valid way to pick me out of a crowd here in the US; in Korea, saying I’m the tall guy will probably work better). But really, are they going to be asking the Asian guy for his ID or the Mexican guy?
And ultimately, will anything be achieved? Or will this just bolster the counterfeit ID market?
SB 1070 is yet another thing that has good intentions, but is ultimately more pavement for the road to hell.
Updated: Some people have read this and spoken with me about what I wrote. So I want to (attempt to) clarify my feelings on this.
I have a problem with breaking the law. Call me crazy. I do like seeing the law enforced. I do think we have some stupid laws on the books, but in general I don’t feel immigration laws are (conceptually) stupid.
That said, I do think it’s good to allow people to move about. My mother is an immigrant. She went through proper channels tho.
Now if someone wants to come here, make a better life, work, work hard, pay taxes, contribute, and be a part of the society? I don’t have a problem with that. I do have a problem with people coming, taking, then leaving and contributing nothing back… especially when that taking ends up taking from me (e.g my medical costs are high because people who cannot pay go to the ER, get service, then bail… and I wind up paying for it).
But note, my problem isn’t exclusively an immigrant problem! A lot of the parasites in this country are citizens of this country. I have a problem with parasitic behavior (and criminal behavior).
As for how SB 1070 is implemented, I don’t like that. “Papers please” does not make for a free country.
I can understand wanting to deal with illegal immigration, but this isn’t the right way to do it.
Stuff From Hsoi 
When I was working for the city of San Marcos we had only one black guy on our crew.
One day someone that didn’t know him was looking for him, and asked the *REALLY* PC contract electrician who he was.
This guy tied himself into knots trying to describe him without calling him black (Afro-American or any other racial name). When we asked him about it, he said it would be racist to describe someone by their ancestry- or something like that.
In my opinion, I don’t see how describing someone by what they are is racist. I mean, I’m half-Korean… it’s what I am. You really can’t accurately describe me unless you say that “sorta Asian looking dude”. I am what I am.
To me, it’s all a matter of the intent behind the message. I had a couple of full-blood Korean friends in high school and we’d call each other “rice eater”, they’d call me “half-breed”. Did we get offended? Not at all, because we knew the intent behind the message. But if someone called me a “rice eater” with malicious intent, that’s different.
But… that’s just me and my opinion.
Aren’t the same people against this law the ones who want to restrict firearms ownership, transfer and carry?
Do you think they would approve of my owning an “undocumented” firearm?
Making “undocumented” transfers across state or national lines?
Kinda points out their hypocrisy, eh?
Well, hypocrisy is what makes their world go around.
I’ll come at this from the other side. I don’t have a problem with immigration and immigrants (legal or otherwise). It would not even be a problem if not for the taxpayer funded entitlements provided to non-citizens.
If an immigrant comes over and pays his own way then I have no problem with him.
If a citizen wants to leech services off of taxpayers without contributing then I have a problem with him.
The problem isn’t the immigrant. The problem is that we have set up a lot of expensive services in the country that aren’t paid for by the people who use them.
Peter
I agree, and the original posting certainly didn’t make mention of this.
I mean, I have no problem with people that want to work and contribute and be productive. Heck, I have a lot of problem with the “legal citizens” that make up the vast majority of parasites in this country.