Borderline

At this point you may have the Madonna tune dancing in your head. But as the notes are jumping around, immigrants are jumping the fence for a better life in the U.S. And as long as that's true, we have to deal with it somehow instead leaving it up to Arizona.

According to a new AZ law, if you look Mexican, you would provoke enough suspicion for the police to ask for evidence of your citizenship. Only need "lawful contact" is a precursor. How vague it that? I'll support asking for proof of citizenship however, I don't back racial profiling. Can't one get arrested completely before being questioned about their legal status? I'm pretty sure not many people carry around their birth certificate. Proving status is not as simple as carrying around a little card; it's papers. Furthermore, if one were arrested for some legitimate reason, the offender would already be under custody which would make it less ill than taking up one's valuable time (there's never enough, right?), thus making one upset, or embarrassing one, and thus, contracting trust in the system. It really seems to cross over the line of invading some kind of civil right which is more of a Federal subject in more ways than one.

There are 50 individual states, a vast majority that do not touch the borderlines of Mexico (or Canada) but we are still a sovereign country so when it comes to dealing with conflicts of interests with other countries, it is not up to the states to make the rules. Even if some cases are left to the locals, guidance is required and big government has dropped the ball for the states to pick up. It has been obvious every since the Civil War that all states are not on the same page. Unity is vital.

And unity if not just vital among the states, but also for our agencies. The IRS provides ITIN and Social Security cards but do not link up this information with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The ITIN is used for foreigners to file taxes. And these days, it can be used to acquire a credit card and even purchase a home. If illegal immigration is such a big deal, then why isn't more done to create a system to either facilitate information sharing, while of course remaining confidential or at the very least, create a national identification card instead of a de facto driver's license?

No one is required to carry around their birth certificate nor their driver's license, so how is it expected to provide a police officer with proof of citizenship? This would work better if every one was expected to carry a national ID card at all times. So the pigs can just arrest me if I'm eating a taco without my wallet? Please knock some sense into me.

And last one point, how much are illegal immigrants even, as some Republicans say, draining our economy? They are working. They are paying taxes. True, their sons and daughters are getting education and in some cases emergency medical assistance (both need major reform too) but again, they are paying taxes. They are not allowed claim any benefits without a social security number. And if illegal aliens have some way of walking around with a false security number, then that is the fault of the IRS. Do more to crack down on the companies who employ, very cheaply might I add, illegal immigrants. The IRS has a specific file of numbers that do not sync with their records. They shouldn't sit there and only generate a notification letter, maybe they should do something about it. We all know what the IRS is capable of when money is involved. On second thought, maybe the agency doesn't want to do anything because of the millions of dollars injected into our welfare system by foreigners. Not to mention they are in our country buying our products and services.

Almost every problem arises when something is known and little is done. Or if something is not worked out with everyone contributing and sharing. This would be one of those instances. As evident in this blog, there are a few ways to begin alleviating this so called problem. Don't blame it on the illegal immigrants. Don't blame it on the borderline. Blame it on the lack of movement of our Federal system.