I constantly have to remind myself, “Darren, you’re not always right, no matter how right you might think you are.” This is one of those situations.
I stuck my foot in my mouth last night at a friends house and didn’t even notice it until this morning when my wife told me. It took a good 30 minutes of her explaining what happened for me to finally see her point. Immediately after this conversation with my wife, I started thinking about myself and where I may have made a similar mistake recently. A couple days ago I had a very light email exchange with one of my son’s teachers regarding a discussion his class had about the Arizona law. So it got me to thinking about my stance on the law and whether or not I was missing something. I was. I think it’s important to share it, even though we’re only two days away from the election.
First of all, I still believe the Governor of Arizona did the right thing. The bill that was presented to her was constitutional and it made it’s way to her desk in an ethical way. In other words, it was legal and it was the will of the people. Remember, We The People are in charge, not the Governor.
I believe the goal of the new law is to keep illegal’s from going to Arizona, and the law will probably help in doing that. But I see some problems here. 1) As much as I don’t believe there will be a problem with profiling, and I tend to give the authorities the benefit of the doubt until something actually happens, there is a possibility of profiling happening. 2) There is real concern from a good size group of Americans. 3) It seems to be very inefficient and expensive.
Because of this, I think the people of Arizona should reconsider this law.
That being said, we still have the issue of illegal aliens. The argument I continue to hear from the opposition to the law is the employers should be held accountable rather than the illegals. And that’s exactly what should be done. Here’s what I propose for Oregon:
1) Enact a law making it illegal to employ in any way, any person who is not in this country legally. The penalty for breaking the law will be not only a fine, but also jail time. The state will set up a verification system and anyone not using it and hiring an illegal will be prosecuted and punished. Corporate CEO’s will be held accountable. There will be no leniency. If a person drives to a “temporary worker station” and hires an illegal, that person will be caught, prosecuted, and punished with a fine and jail time.
2) Every single person, no matter what color their skin or what language they speak will be required to prove they are legally in America before receiving any state service, license, identification, or permit. This also applies to all people currently receiving state services.
3) Enact a law prohibiting banks and financial institutions (including check cashing) from doing business with people who cannot prove they are not in this country legally.
What do you think? Am I missing something? This should keep illegals out of Oregon and make the opposition to the Arizona law happy. It works for everyone.
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Oregon has already recently changed the DVM criteria to require proof of citizen to renew or acquire a drivers license in Oregon. The rest is all well and good if they enforce it - which in the root of the illegal problem.
ReplyDeleteI think a "good chunk of Americans" are hung up on the idea of broken families without noting their would be no family to break up if not for drop babies.
How can insisting that the law enforce the law be remotely wrong?
People who employ illegals are to blame due to providing a reason to come here to begin with? - job opportunities are not a get out of jail free card.
There are cheaper drugs in Canada but you don't see me sneaking across the border with no id to score. And if I did - would it be Canada's fault for 'enticing me'?
I'm not saying enforcing the law is wrong, and I'm not saying employers are to blame. I'm proposing a solution to a HUGE problem. The solution proposed by Arizona seemed to be a good one at first but now it looks like it's causing more problems than it was going to solve. In fact, with all the restrictions on law enforcement, it may not have really done that much good.
ReplyDeleteSo do we as Americans really want to solve the problem or do we just want to screw around and argue back and forth some more? We need a solution that works for everyone. The protestors said what would be acceptable to them so I say lets give it to them. We can solve this problem and make everyone happy.
I'm going to add #3 to the plan above.
My first question is... Have you read the bill? If the federal government is unwilling to uphold it's responsibility the State must protect it's citizens. At this point, Phoenix is the kidnapping capital of the world. The police can not stop someone for being different. It must be a legal stop.
ReplyDeleteYes. I read the bill when the Governor signed it. I'm very familiar with it. It has provisions to protect citizens from profiling. But that doesn't mean it won't happen. The opposition actually has a valid point here.
ReplyDeleteBut beyond that, take a logical look at the law.
1) The authorities are VERY restricted by the law and whatever they do is going to be closely scrutinized.
2) The goal of the law is to get illegals to move out of and/or stay out of Arizona but doing it this way will be VERY slow.
3) Enforcement of the law is going to be VERY expensive
4) This is probably the most inefficient way to reach the goal of protecting the citizens from illegal aliens.
5) The backlash is not worth it if a viable alternative is available.
Please understand, I don't think this is a bad law. I do think there is a MUCH better way to do exactly what you're talking about...protecting the citizens which is what the federal government has failed to do.
This law is designed to take care of the problem one illegal at a time. It will take years, if it can even be done at all. My plan will take care of the problem IMMEDIATELY, efficiently, cost effectively, and equitably.
As I understood it - there were provisions in the bill which in fact target these employers.
ReplyDeleteI understand all the cons of the issue - but it just seems we are spraying water on a house that hasn't caught fire yet.
If they detain more legals than non for lack of appropriate id in the next year then repeal it.
It was a huge pain in my world and it cost me $50 to get a copy of my birth cert to get my license renewed for the astronomical amount of $68 then they took the worst mug shot they could just to ice that cake.
But it was worth it if it means no more illegals with fake ss# will get ID to use to get services they are not supposed to qualify for. Unless they have have fake cert of birth/passports too.