Once Upon a Time In Arizona

With all the controversy surrounding the new immigration law in Arizona, which allows local law enforcement to question anyone who looks “suspicious” the status of their citizenship, I, being the critical thinker I am, naturally thought of the worst case scenario. My brother recently graduated from Arizona State University and I did have the chance to visit him there once. Well, what if that one time had been during the implementation of this extreme new law?

What if I had forgotten my “proof of citizenship” on a quick trip to the super market and the person driving and I were pulled over and questioned on our citizenship? In all honesty the first words out of my mouth would be “Are you kidding me!?” I would quickly reach for the wallet I forgot and search for the identification that I obviously left behind. I would begin to feel overwhelming anxiety and anger and wonder why me and why now.

 At this point I am almost positive the officer would ask me to step out of the vehicle and depending on how his day has gone, this could go two ways. He could ask me nicely to give him all my information and I am going out on a limb here and based on my English, let me go with a warning

Or 

 It gives more power to law enforcement officers who WE are led to believe will all have the same sensible judgment, neutral political view or ability to ask the right questions.

Based on his own perspective, a much harsher and panic stricken reality, he could very easily tag me as an illegal immigrant and begin the process of taking me back to a country I am not from. Emotionally I would feel betrayed and physically I would be frozen in fear. These are the people that are supposed to protect me and now, because of the way I look, they are treating me like an outsider that doesn’t belong. I was born and have grown up in this country, I went to public schools, I went to public Universities, and  I exercised my right to vote for the candidate of my choice in the Presidential election, and now this is how I’m treated. 

This all sounds like an exaggerated version of what would really happen, but its not. Some legal citizens could easily fall through the cracks and end up resenting the country they loved.

So what should the solution be to the ongoing problem of illegal immigration? Definitely not taking matters into your own hands like Arizona. The new law has done nothing more than aggravate an already sensitive subject. In fact, the new law will only bring negative attention and worsen the problem


Immigration is quickly becoming the new platform of controversy. Arizona’s extreme and desperate tactic to give the immigration issue awareness with their new Law has further nationalized the immigration issue and done more harm than good. It’s obvious what the next move will be, the illegal immigrants in the state will move to nearby states like Texas and California, and especially to those cities where sanctuary ordinances have been passed such as Austin and Houston, Texas. They will basically take the existing problem and place it elsewhere.

If Arizona was serious about taking steps in an attempt to control illegal immigration, it should have made it into a process instead of wasting its time and energy on a hit and miss strategy of allowing law enforcement to question those who “look” suspicious. It very well could have responded proactively by punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants. This would have left the accusations of “racial profiling” no leg to stand on. It would have given the responsibility of checking immigration status on the shoulders of the employers.

Let’s ask the obvious question, could a similar law come to Texas? It doesn’t look like it will happen in the near future. Gov. Rick Perry said, Arizona's tough new illegal immigration enforcement law would not be right for Texas. This just upholds our state’s long-held tradition of rejecting harsh anti-immigrant policies. All I have to say is this girl will definitely not forget her license!