COLUMN: Arizona on the right track

If the laws currently on the books were being enforced as they should be, there would be no need for Arizona to enact legislation to protect the state and its citizens from an influx of illegal immigrants. If our national government did a better job securing our borders, Arizona would not have 460,000 illegal aliens utilizing funds and resources paid for by and intended for the use of law-abiding citizens.

In the absence of federal leadership on the issue, the Arizona legislature was forced to take matters into its own hands. Now, any person who is found to be in the country illegally can be arrested, jailed or fined. This is not unreasonable. I certainly would not unlawfully enter another country and expect them to take a “no harm, no foul” attitude if they discovered I had done so. America is not a closed country. We have an established process for allowing people to lawfully reside within our borders and become citizens. Why should we turn a blind eye to those who flagrantly violate those laws?

Though Arizona may be the first state to declare that enough is enough when it comes to rampant violations of federal immigration law, they are not likely to be the last.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, six states have larger numbers of illegal immigrants than Arizona. California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois and Georgia all have larger unauthorized immigrant populations. You can bet that these states will watch what happens in Arizona closely. Several other states – Utah, Ohio and Maryland – have also expressed an interest in passing similar immigration laws.

In Georgia, we have the country’s sixth largest unauthorized immigrant population with 480,000 people here illegally. Several political candidates have already expressed support for legislation similar to that enacted in Arizona.

Gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal is one of the more vocal proponents of immigration reform.

Deal, a former congressman, is no stranger to the immigration debate. During the health care reform deliberations, Deal wrote an amendment restricting access to health insurance for illegal immigrants. He also authored legislation that would have ended automatic citizenship for babies born to parents who are in the country illegally. While in Congress, he also opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants and voted against allowing unauthorized immigrants to obtain tax payer funded incentives such as in-state tuition, educational benefits, welfare and health care services.

Deal maintains states are well within their rights to enact laws which complement federal legislation and “deal with a huge, dangerous problem.”

Of course they are. Furthermore, they should be able to do so without being subjected to accusations of bigotry or racial profiling just because they choose to enforce or supplement laws that are already in place. Arizona police are not going to be stopping people on the streets and demanding papers. They are going to essentially do what other law enforcement agencies have done through the 287 (g) program – identify illegals who come in contact with police and send them back to their country of origin. Why should this be a problem? After all, individuals whose first act on American soil is to violate federal law really should not elicit a great deal of sympathy. Part of living in this country is abiding by its laws. People who have so little respect for the laws of our land that they not only willfully violate them, but then have the unmitigated gall to cry racism or discrimination when the laws are enforced should really consider whether or not the United States of America is where they truly belong.

With this immigration legislation, Arizona is simply doing what every state should have the right to do – enforce the laws and act in the best interest of its citizens.

Kristi Reed is a reporter for the Barrow Journal. She can be reached at kreed@barrowjournal.com.