A Grand Cheer for the Grand Canyon State

Everyone's probably heard about it; Arizona has enacted one of the strictest immigration laws ever. So many people are quick to criticize it, but I see nothing wrong with it. I've been hearing and reading a lot about how it will incite racism and violence and it will destroy families and that America is the country of immigrants and it's the right thing to do to let them in the country. Yeah, no.

A law alone can not and will not cause racism. It is up to the individual officers in the state of Arizona to decide if they will be racist or not. It just happens to be that the state of Arizona shares a border with Mexico. Who else would be illegally entering the country through that state? Seriously, we racially profile terrorists, yet it's a crime to racially profile illegal immigrants in a state that is adjacent to the country that is the home of the largest number of illegal immigrants to this country?

I absolutely support the Arizona government for passing this. For years the federal government has had border patrols(they wouldn't racially profile, would they??) and built useless fences, yet has not solved the problem of illegal immigration. Who knows if they ever will pass legislation that will actually do something? Thank you Arizona, if not for solving illegal immigration, for at least putting it in people's minds that something actually needs to be done about it. I would probably support a federal-level bill dealing with immigration, but only if it made a difference. If it ended up nullifying the Arizona law, but left the whole issue unsolved, I would consider it a failure.

However, I am just against illegal immigration. If the system were to be tweaked so that more people could become citizens without loosening the requirements, that would be great. As many people say, America is the country of immigrants, and we shouldn't stop that. We just need to become the country of legitimate immigrants. My advice for anyone considering entering illegally is this: if you break our laws to come here, why should we take you seriously as a candidate for citizenship? You have obviously shown that you don't support our system.

So for now, go Arizona! I think that this law will help in your state, even if it pushes the illegals to other states. Hopefully you have sent a message loud enough to travel the 2000 miles to Washington, where they will respond with a national law closing opportunities for illegal immigrants, but opening up many more for individuals wishing to become citizens.

Immigration isn't free

Now that huge fiasco of healthcare reform is over, it seems that senators are searching for new imaginary issues in order to gain votes this fall. Yesterday, Sen. Harry Reid of Las Vegas gave a speech saying that Congress is now going to pass an immigration overhaul. Think someone is needing some Latino votes? Immigration is great, it's what this country is made of, but is it necessary to just admit everyone who has already broken our laws by coming here illegally? Reform supporters criticize deportation, but if individuals are breaking the law by coming here illegally, they should be deported. And if they can't respect our immigration laws, why should they respect any of our laws as citizens? Lastly, why should they have the right to protest laws in this country? They shouldn't have any say over what Congress does.

I don't want to sound like a total dick, but seriously, come here legally. I support any person from any country who comes to the United States of America legally. That's why the only reform I would support and the only reform I can see taking place is allowing more individuals to become legal citizens, but without loosening the rules. It just doesn't seem right to allow anybody to come here, become citizens, and take advantage of our system without appropriate measures taken to insure that they would be productive citizens. Simply being present in the country doesn't constitute a right to citizenship.

As for deportation, go ahead. People need to realize that we're serious; they need to come here legally. If they enter without appropriate documentation and then work without paying taxes, they should be punished. And they better not be staying in the jails that I pay for. I'd much rather pay for them to be deported. If they don't want to be deported, they should enter legally. Once they learn English and take a US History class, they're pretty much good to go. Find a job, become productive to society, and you're good to go. The test really isn't that hard if you've learned US History. (As an insider, it's easy for me, but it's the very basic stuff. The Constitution stuff is the hardest, but with some time, anyone could learn it. Take this quiz to see if you would pass.)

As non-citizens, illegal immigrants screw the system. Many people come to America with perfectly good documentation that allows them to live here without citizenship, but the ones that don't mess everything up. They come here and take jobs from American citizens. They go to our hospitals. Their kids go to our schools. They just don't have a respect for our laws, and why should we allow them as citizens? By coming illegally, they damage their own prospects for a life here.

Then there are the illegal immigrants who think they can protest in this country. Uhh, no. They don't vote for officials and as citizens, they aren't protected by the 1st amendment right to assembly. Congress shouldn't have to listen to their demands.