Getting Back to the Basics

I've been trying to decide if I should write this blog or not for a while. It may give away my political stance and it definitely will offend someone. I decided that I had to because I think that this issue is being made into a bigger deal then it is and I am so sick of hearing about it on TV.

Arizona's Immigration Law.

I am pretty open-minded. I have a stance on this based on fact (reading the bill), reason and personal opinion. It is a fact that our boarders with Mexico are unprotected and unsafe. Arizona and Texas might as well be part of Mexico and vice versa. I have a brother and two brother-in-laws who serve our country and fight for our freedom as Americans. Although none of my brothers have given up their lives, David was injured in Iraq and is no longer able to use his hand to it's full capacity. I believe that freedom doesn't come free and I respect and admire those who fight to preserve what is left of our country. I am also the great-granddaughter of a Mexican immigrant. I am not sure how or when my great-grandma Tilly was given her green card but I am sure that she wasn't here legally to begin with. With that, here is my opinion.

There are a few issues that I am going to touch on because they are the ones that are being brought up over and over again in the news. First I am going to talk about racial profiling. Let's get real here, before, during or after this law passed, if a police officer wanted to profile they did. We all profile. I do it, you do it and your innocent 90 year old grandma does it. Be honest. I don't think that this law is going to really change the racial police officers, and yes, I do believe their are some out there. I do believe that it is going to give police a better chance of keeping our streets safe by, after conducting a traffic stop or an arrest for another reason, asking someone to prove their identity. And really, does it change what already should be happening?

Here is my point. If you are here legally what is there to be concerned about? You're being asked to carry your immigration paper work or your legal US ID card. I am 100 percent an American citizen. I was born in Duluth, MN and I've lived in the USA my entire life. I am asked to carry my ID when I drive a car, I'm asked for it at the liquor store, I'm asked for it at the bar, and I'm asked for it when I board a plane. I don't find it a burden (except when I lost it and was supposed to fly the next day to Oklahoma) to carry my ID with me at all times. Why is it a big deal for LEGAL immigrants to carry theirs? They get pulled over, they are asked for their papers, they give it to the cop and the go on their way with a speeding ticket. Same thing would happen to me.

Now, if you are ILLEGAL, I can see the problem with this. All of a sudden you feel like you are constantly being watched, which, you probably are. You're not supposed to be here. This gets sticky for me because I understand a lot of illegal aliens are here to try to support their families back in Mexico and my heart breaks for these people, however, freedom doesn't come free. If we allow every person who wants to work for their family to come to America we'd be losing everything our founding father's believed in.

And here's the catch, (there are actually two) if you are here illegally and you're doing nothing wrong, you won't get caught. When President Obama said that, "Now police can stop you while you go to the ice cream store and ask for IDs" he was wrong, unless you were doing something to get pulled over. Once again, Mr. Obama didn't do his research. (Don't get me started on this idiot) The other catch is, if you tell the police that you don't speak English and he/she doesn't speak Spanish, they have to let you go. Wow, sounds like brutality to me.

I'm sorry but I truly feel that by Arizona passing this law they are just reinforcing the laws we already had. I am pretty sure that for as long as most can remember there have been immigration laws. You are not supposed to be here without a green card and although I know they are expensive and hard to come by, it's what keeps or at least kept our country amazing. I'm finding it hard to look at this law as anything more then a "reorganization" if you will of things that should have been happening anyway. It's just Arizona getting back to the basics.