Each passing day I grow more troubled by what the state of Arizona has done in adopting a new law that gives local police the power to stop, question and demand documents from anyone they suspect of being illegally in the country. It's not American. (Seattle journalist Timothy Egan has a biting piece on this topic in the New York Times. And Andrew Sullivan has an interesting perspective here.)
Yes, there are legitimate questions and concerns about illegal immigration, but the heavy-handed approach Arizona is taking is not the way to address those issues. We've already seen that border fences, increased patrols, even high-tech electronic surveillance can't stop
the flow of people sneaking across our southern border. This is a reality that should refocus our energies on what's happening south of our border; let's get at the root causes of this migration, not just treat the symptoms.
The new law positions local police officers as agents of the federal government, a role American police have never assumed on such a wide scale. This has the potential to create serious public safety problems—legal and illegal residents alike will shy away from seeking police help when they fear the officers' presence could lead to "immigration troubles." That's exactly why Seattle has prohibited our officers from making immigration-status inquiries during routine police work. Having all segments of our community willing and comfortable with seeking out the police is far more important than catching an occasional undocumented immigrant. (This restriction does not apply when Seattle police are investigating felony crimes or booking someone into jail.)
Instead of Arizona's approach, we need serious immigration reform that recognizes the value of immigrants. Liberals and conservatives alike should rally around a rational approach to immigration—our economy needs hard-working immigrants, our cities need strong families and our American experience needs a shot in the arm from patriotic new citizens. Immigration is not something to fear—just look where it has gotten us so far. Nearly all of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants. Let's stop the fear-mongering and embrace our tradition of welcoming the stranger.