Gov. Jan Brewer finally signed into law a new bill that will allow police to ask people suspected of being in the country illegally for proof of identification to verify whether they are American citizens.
Now, of course, there has been the inevitable liberal backlash at the notion of cracking down on people who have broken the law by coming here illegally. Apparently, to them it's OK to have 460,000 illegal immigrants — according to local law enforcement, 17 percent of whom have criminal records — living in the state of Arizona. Anyone who supports the bill is "racist," "old" and "white," which according to them is the real crime.
All states should adopt this bill. Now I know smarmy, overly "politically correct" NYU students reading this will say I'm just another "right-winger" with a grudge against people who are "different" than me. But this accusation is pretty hard to pin against someone who grew up in Queens, N.Y., one of the most diverse places in the United States. I am also pretty liberal or libertarian — not that those words have any meaning anymore — when it comes to other "social" issues. So why am I so against illegal immigration? In short, the answer is because it's draining the system dry, and it's part of the reason the system is so strapped in the first place.
If Congress passes amnesty — which is most certainly Obama's next prerogative on his far-left-of-center agenda — you have ipso facto given illegal immigrants legal status and health insurance coverage — not that they don't get access to emergency treatment already.
Also, in California alone, it's estimated they cost the judicial system $1.4 billion and the education system another $7 billion each year.
Some people, like race-baiter Al Sharpton, say the Arizona bill will lead to racial profiling. But if a cop pulled you over and asked you to show proof of identification, you would only freak out if you didn't have the documents to show that you were here legally. Arizona law enforcement agencies have assured the public that they will use the same standards of probable cause that they do with other suspected criminals when asking suspected illegal immigrants for identification and will not do it solely based on race. If, according to some people, the very act of asking these suspects for proof of citizenship is racist, then you have already made an assumption as to who is perceived to be here illegally, which means that you have already admitted that you — as liberal as you are — are aware of the type of people coming across the border.
This is not racism; this is fact through implication. If Mexican President Calderón did his job and straightened out the crime, corruption and employment issues in his own country, Mexicans wouldn't be fleeing en masse for scarce opportunities here.
There are approximately 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States today, and the law makes it very easy for them to find ways to stay, like having a child. The status quo is not an option.
I'm not saying that we should deport all illegal immigrants, but what I am saying is that cracking down on those with criminal records is a step in the right direction. If that makes me the big, bad conservative on campus, so be it. But if you want a sustainable country, the solution is very simple: Get serious about cracking down on what is costing this country money, including the bailouts, entitlement programs, public sector jobs and illegal immigration.
