Illegal Immigration in The United States

There is an awful lot of hoopla going on right now about immigration into the United States. Most of the buzz was created when Arizona passed their new Immigration law on Friday april 23rd of 2010. Despite harsh words from the White House and President Obama, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill that created the nations harshest immigration mandates to date.

Essentially the new immigration law in Arizona requires that all immigrants are required to carry immigration documents and provide said documents  to the authorities upon request. The law also empowers law enforcement personal to detain persons suspected of being in the U.S. illegally until such documentation can be provided.

The practice of turning a blind eye to the issues of illegal immigration in this country is doing more damage than good for our troubled economy.

I have heard it said that the flow of illegals into the United States provides a steady supply of labor for many industries that U.S. citizens will not do. I believe this to be a sad and dangerous assumption on the part of the U.S. Government. Sad because it clearly shows how little our elected officials think of the citizens they are representing, and dangerous because it provides the basis for these officials to continue to turn a blind eye to the very real problems created by illegal immigrants taking jobs that should rightfully be given to U.S. citizens.

I also believe that our economy does not in any way benefit from the thousands of illegal immigrants who come to the U.S. seeking U.S. dollars to send back to their families outside of our borders. This money that is being gained illegally is not being used to purchase U.S. products and services, it is not circulating through U.S. businesses, and it is in no way being used to boost our economy.

Arizona's new immigration law is being challenged as unconstitutional because it impinges on the federal government's authority to police the nation's borders. One could easily argue that since the Federal Government has failed to defend the borders of the U.S. that the states whose borders these are should be allowed to defend them as they see fit.

There has also been arguments made that by granting local law enforcement agencies the power to detain suspected illegal immigrants it opens the doors for excessive harassment and mistreatment of all persons of Latino descent.

While there is certainly the possibility for this kind of abuse I prefer to believe that the men and women of the Arizona Law Enforcement Agencies who stood before their families, friends and neighbors and spook these words;

"I solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Arizona, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and defend them against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of a peace officer to the best of my ability, so help me God.

While We Breathe, Let Justice Be Done"

will not fail to do as they have sworn "to uphold the law faithfully and impartially."

To date the federal immigration laws have been hopelessly inadequate in stemming the flow of illegal immigrants into The United States. There unwillingness or inability to enforce their own immigration laws is what has led to Arizona taking such drastic measures. The Governor of Arizona should not be condemned for taking the responsibility to provide protection for the people of that state.

United States Citizens are required to adhere to the laws of the federal government and are subjected to prosecution for failure to abide.

Why should any other nations citizens be held less accountable?