...on being profiled

"There has to be reasonable suspicion and probable cause. It's very clear. It's federal law that if you're an immigrant here you carry your documentation with you. And if you don't have it and you are arrested, then you will have to prove that you are here legally. And if you're not, then you will be deported." -Jen Brewer, Governor of Arizona

In the last week, there has been an uproar over a tough illegal immigration law passed in Arizona. Protest and rallies are in the works and will no doubt be enormous and well covered by the media.

There has been no uproar and scant media attention for the broken U.S. border with Mexico, the mass illegal immigration or the associated violence. Presidents past and present have the clear-cut legal obligation to secure the border and have failed to do so. Politicians running for federal office always give immigration reform lip service on the campaign trail, but none of them do anything about it once they get into office. So, ignored for decades by both parties, Arizona took it upon themselves to address their problem.

The wave of criticism and accusations of racial profiling seem to be centered on a portion of the Arizona legislation that allows law enforcement officers to ask for documentation. Critics envision police officers approaching people on street corners and, based solely on their skin color, demanding that they show identification to prove their legality. Supporters of the legislation say it's clear that racial profiling is illegal and it won't happen as a result of this legislation--that the governor has issued an executive order to ensure that it does not.

Naturally, I have a few observations on the matter:

First, it seems that the vast majority of the critics live in the peanut gallery rather than along the border.

Second, a federal law was just passed requiring U.S. citizens to show proof of health insurance to the IRS (now that Obamacare is law). I also have to fill-out information for the U.S. Census this year--if I don't answer all of the questions I will be subject to a stiff fine and possible prosecution. So, a foreign national in the United States illegally can't be asked for identification while being arrested, but as a U.S. citizen, having committed no crime whatsoever, I have to prove that I'm insured and answer questions relative to my identity? Or face prosecution? Is that how our country works now?

The next thing you know, they'll be requiring me to prove that I have a right to drive a car! That's right, the burden will be on me! Any time I break a traffic law in my car, law enforcement officers will be able to pull me over and demand that I produce a drivers license. Outrageous!

Third, if the current administration (or any politician for that matter) seriously believes that Arizona's new immigration law is "misguided", they are more than welcome to SECURE THE BORDERS and ENFORCE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS so that states don't have to take matters into their own hands. And if they don't like federal immigration laws, they're welcome to change those laws and enforce the new ones.

But I have absolutely no time for people in far-removed ivory towers who deride as racist those on the front lines of the immigration problem. No time for people who's constitutional mandate it is to secure our borders and protect our citizenry, who not only don't do their job, but take it upon themselves to criticize those who step up and do the job for them. No time for hypocrites who champion the law when it suites their fancy (civil rights laws) and ignore the law when it does not (federal immigration law). No time for progressive thinkers who would heap countless laws and regulations on U.S. citizens, but who become outraged at the very suggestion that existing laws be applied to illegal immigrants. And no time for people who pontificate on ethics and civil rights for the sole purpose of political gain.