The Arizona Republic is filling up with sob stories about illegal immigrants who are pulling up roots and moving out of the state because at the end of next month Arizona police will, under limited circumstances, have the authority to ask about a person's immigration status. Because, you know, being an immigrant and not having your papers in order is now a state crime. It already was a federal crime, but state police didn't have the authority to ask, and federal agents are thin on the ground here.
I'm not totally unsympathetic. It sucks really hard to have to leave your home and friends and pull your children out of school and start a new life somewhere else. I understand that it is painful. I understand that this will have an effect on businesses that cater to the immigrant population. But I also understand that, for the most part, those who are now fleeing knew that they were breaking the law. They made a choice to either come here by unlawful means, or to stay when their legally issued documents expired.
It's especially sad for the mixed families, where some of the members are either American citizens or here legally. And the children. It's not the American children's fault that their parents are here illegally, but they are going to have to pay the price for their parents actions. This is the case when any parent commits a crime, except in this case the children have a chance of staying with their parents. If you commit a crime and go to jail, your child doesn't usually get to go with you, you know? Taking your child home with you to Mexico is not the worst thing that could happen.
This law is also going to have an effect on the state's economy. If a large number of immigrants leave, then there will be a smaller pool of workers available to our service and agricultural industries. Our farms, construction companies, landscaping businesses, all of them will have difficulties. Some may have to close. Others will have to raise rates. We may have to pay more for locally grown vegetables. We may have to actually *gasp* maintain our own yards! What a horrible thing! (Can you smell the sarcasm?)
In a way, I think this is actually a positive effect. For too much of our history America has thrived on the sweat of our migrant (and slave) workers. Perhaps it is time for Americans to realize that there is a lot of hard manual labor required for us to maintain the cozy standard of living to which we all seem to think we are entitled. Maybe our children will take summer jobs working for landscape companies, or farms. Maybe they will learn that life is not always handed to you on a platter with au jus on the side. Maybe they will grow up to be stronger than those of us who wouldn't know one end of a shovel from another.
I am sad for the people who's lives are being disrupted, but I feel that this is the right course of action for Arizona.
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