Arizona- Symptoms of Desperation
I was born and raised in Arizona. I have family that still lives there. I feel justified in writing about the latest Immigration Law and the national uproar over it.
For those of you comfortable in your cities, towns, neighborhoods and just driving down the street to go to church or do shopping, put yourself in the shoes of the people that have to live in Arizona. Try to imagine seeing your American culture being erased slowly over the years and you realize you were somehow transported to Tijuana, Mexico. The news is full of innocent victims of robbery, rape, kidnapping, etc. You are afraid to go out at night. The problems are real, the fear is justified. So, should the Arizonians just give up and turn over their portion of America over to illegals just so you don't have to be inconvenienced or bothered with solving this problem? Its not going to go away. It is spreading and it is coming to a neighborhood near you. Let me tell you about Arizonians. They are not going to let their state fall to being taken over by illegals or spineless Federals. No, not on their watch.
Now that Arizona is desperate enough to do something, suddenly everybody has an opinion and did not waste anytime with the condemnations for fellow Americans trying to deal with a serious problem. Where was the American solidarity? I do find it troubling that the new law in Arizona has potential to be very misused. I am brown eyed and brown hair and now think the next time I visit my family, I better be carrying my official hospital certified birth certificate just in case. Lord knows I don't need it to become President.
I think the government and media are missing the point. Its the JOBS! They might have other reasons to be here, but the majority of the illegals are here to work, and have a better place to live for their families. If they could not get jobs, then most of them would not be here. Most of them would have to go back home eventually.
I think the kind of laws used to shut down drug dealers could be copied to some extent with solving the illegal immigrant problem. Drug law forfeitures is a way the government confiscates land, home, cars, money, all types of property from persons convicted of selling or storing drugs. A law written for any company or person that hires as an employee or contract verbal or written with an illegal and is convicted could stand to lose EVERYTHING. No company too big or small would be exempt. Neither would individuals that just wanted a babysitter or having their grass mowed. I am not talking about single events or mistakes. I am talking about habitual violations, that clearly show disregard for the law.
Strict enforcement would have the shock effect more powerful than any threats of profiling would ever have. Of course, the crisis in Arizona brings up the rumors of another Amnesty being attempted. Amnesty is not the answer. The illegals that take the jobs they can get will not be content to stay there if they are made legal. They will be competing for jobs that usually go to our young, unskilled and semi-retired persons. This in turn will leave those service and agricultural industries needing more undocumented workers and the whole cycle builds up all over again. If those industries that typically hire the illegals really need immigrant workers that bad, then we need to fast track the green card program and get these good people in here to work and just as important leave when the season is over.
I wholly sympathize with my fellow Arizonians, but do get very concerned about the consequences of this new law. Something must be done, no thanks to the Federal government inaction for decades, and several Presidential administrations. Please remember lessons from the past. This does smack of some of histories saddest moments. It might not end up that way, but what guarantees do you have that it won't?
For those of you comfortable in your cities, towns, neighborhoods and just driving down the street to go to church or do shopping, put yourself in the shoes of the people that have to live in Arizona. Try to imagine seeing your American culture being erased slowly over the years and you realize you were somehow transported to Tijuana, Mexico. The news is full of innocent victims of robbery, rape, kidnapping, etc. You are afraid to go out at night. The problems are real, the fear is justified. So, should the Arizonians just give up and turn over their portion of America over to illegals just so you don't have to be inconvenienced or bothered with solving this problem? Its not going to go away. It is spreading and it is coming to a neighborhood near you. Let me tell you about Arizonians. They are not going to let their state fall to being taken over by illegals or spineless Federals. No, not on their watch.
Now that Arizona is desperate enough to do something, suddenly everybody has an opinion and did not waste anytime with the condemnations for fellow Americans trying to deal with a serious problem. Where was the American solidarity? I do find it troubling that the new law in Arizona has potential to be very misused. I am brown eyed and brown hair and now think the next time I visit my family, I better be carrying my official hospital certified birth certificate just in case. Lord knows I don't need it to become President.
I think the government and media are missing the point. Its the JOBS! They might have other reasons to be here, but the majority of the illegals are here to work, and have a better place to live for their families. If they could not get jobs, then most of them would not be here. Most of them would have to go back home eventually.
I think the kind of laws used to shut down drug dealers could be copied to some extent with solving the illegal immigrant problem. Drug law forfeitures is a way the government confiscates land, home, cars, money, all types of property from persons convicted of selling or storing drugs. A law written for any company or person that hires as an employee or contract verbal or written with an illegal and is convicted could stand to lose EVERYTHING. No company too big or small would be exempt. Neither would individuals that just wanted a babysitter or having their grass mowed. I am not talking about single events or mistakes. I am talking about habitual violations, that clearly show disregard for the law.
Strict enforcement would have the shock effect more powerful than any threats of profiling would ever have. Of course, the crisis in Arizona brings up the rumors of another Amnesty being attempted. Amnesty is not the answer. The illegals that take the jobs they can get will not be content to stay there if they are made legal. They will be competing for jobs that usually go to our young, unskilled and semi-retired persons. This in turn will leave those service and agricultural industries needing more undocumented workers and the whole cycle builds up all over again. If those industries that typically hire the illegals really need immigrant workers that bad, then we need to fast track the green card program and get these good people in here to work and just as important leave when the season is over.
I wholly sympathize with my fellow Arizonians, but do get very concerned about the consequences of this new law. Something must be done, no thanks to the Federal government inaction for decades, and several Presidential administrations. Please remember lessons from the past. This does smack of some of histories saddest moments. It might not end up that way, but what guarantees do you have that it won't?
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Don