Thaindian News

Apr 27 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The governor of Arizona recently signed a bill into law which helps enforce the ‘illegal’ part of the term ‘illegal alien’. Of course there has been controversy over it, just as there has been over many things that were once considered to be ‘common sense” in the United States. According to the new law, police will have the right to stop anyone who looks like an illegal alien, and ask for ID to prove they are indeed American. If they are found to be an ‘illegal alien’, then they are to be arrested and deported back to Mexico.

The Foreign Ministry of Mexico has now issued a travel warning to it’s citizens who may be considering travel in the United States. Mexicans in Arizona should carry documentation and “act carefully” after the state passed a law requiring local police to determine the immigration status of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. “There is an adverse political environment for migrant communities and all Mexican visitors,” the ministry said. “It’s important to act carefully and respect the local laws.”

The Mexican president had a few things to say about the bill as well. “The legislation doesn’t adequately guarantee respect for people’s fundamental rights, not only of Mexicans but of Mexican-Americans who will also be the object of persecution and injustice,” Mexican President Felipe Calderon said yesterday in a speech in Mexico City. There are currently 460,000 illegal aliens living in Arizona alone, the seventh highest total in a country which cannot even sustain it’s own citizens.

So Mexico does not like Arizona’s new law. Although many in the US feel the new Arizona Law is unfair and discriminatory, others feel it is just common sense. After all, it is known in most cities that everyone is expected to carry an ID, no matter what they look like, and if a cop stops you and asked for one, and you do not have one, you are often taken in and kept until proof if ID is established. I have personally seen this happen to a sandy haired blue eyed 24 year old male in Sandersville, Georgia many years ago. It was not discrimination, he looked suspicious, that’s just the way it is. It is also well known all over the US that a cop can stop anyone (or everyone who passes down a road where they have set up a license check) and ask for an ID. With these practices common in the lives of most Americans, it is difficult for many to see why this should be an issue, especially when many of the cops who will be enforcing the law are themselves, Mexican Americans.