Arizona Immigration Law - A Bad Idea

On April 23, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill which gave police the right to ask for proof of citizenship from anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. Arizona Episcopal Bishop Kirk Smith declared: "With the Governor's signing of SB 1070, it seems that for now the advocates of fear and hatred have won over those of charity and love." Supporters of the law say it mimics federal law and will help cut down on crime committed by illegal immigrants. Detractors suggest it will lead to racial profiling and might cause a rift between the Hispanic community and police in Arizona. I agree with this position. Additionally, the new Arizona law disrespects an essential group of laborers. Without the important labor contributions of undocumented workers, the economies of several states might collaspe.

Undocumented laborers perform jobs that contribute to the American standard of living. They are about 5 percent of the USAs labor force. According to the American Immigration Law Foundation-- undocumented laborers are between 22 and 36 percent of America's insulation workers, miscellaneous agricultural workers, meat-processing workers, babysitters, chicken pluckers, lawn and garden workers, construction workers, dishwashers, and maids.( source: www.ailf.org)

Undocumented workers are breaking the law, that is a fact. Yet, the need for workers who earn lower wages has made them an important part of the economic picture in the USA. Former Mexican president Vincente Fox’s got into trouble when he famously opined that, “There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States.”

This is not the first time the State of Arizona has passed laws aimed at Mexicans. Laws passed three years ago have caused business people to live in fear due to the threat of workplace immigration raids. The Arizona laws ban persons from "knowingly" hiring illegal immigrants. The new law will extend the same intrusive state apparatus to individuals. It will ban Arizonians from knowingly—or even unknowingly—transporting illegal aliens for any reason, an explicit attempt to crack down on homeowners who pick up Mexican day workers for household projects.

The bill alienates undocumented immigrants who would otherwise cooperate with law enforcement, menbers of the Arizona state police chief's association pointed out. This is a bad idea! Maybe more importantly, we should consider all of the impacts that would occur if all of the undocumented immigrants left the USA. This would, without doubt, be damaging to many sectors of the U.S. economy.