A hot topic in today’s news is the issue of illegal immigration into the United States. A recent bill signed into law in the state of Arizona would require police to ask people for identification to prove their immigration status if they suspect the person is an illegal immigrant. Currently the police only do this if the person in question is suspected in another crime. Arizona being the most often used state of entry by illegal immigrants and it is estimated that Arizona has the largest population of illegal immigrants of any state. Many opponents argue however that it encourages racial profiling because it will only affect those who look foreign. It is also questionable if Arizona has the right to pass such a law because it is said in the constitution that only the federal government has the power to regulate immigration. Arizona however sees it as a protection of its citizens by limiting the abilities of those that they consider dangerous to the public, such as those who smuggle drugs over the border. There is also a bill being devised in congress to cover immigration reform but it is still in its early stages and it is the lack of action by congress that has driven Arizona to this rash action.
Our nation is a nation of immigrants and if you trace any family lineage back far enough, you will find someone who came from another country. Even Native Americans immigrated from eastern Russia to Alaska back in the depths of history. As a nation of immigrants, most Americans are for the enforcement of legal immigration but no one wants this done in a way that is racially discriminatory against those who did immigrate legally. Our founding fathers originally sought freedom from oppressive government. Are we to force the same upon those who are legal citizens of these United States of America?
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