There are very few, high profile issues on the national agenda that bring out more emotions, for and against, than the issue of immigration reform.   The basic fact is that Congress has side-stepped the issue for decades, choosing to ignore the ever-growing problem, rather than risk alienating home town voters.  In the meantime, undocumented, illegal immigrants continue to stream across the borders, oftentimes becoming a heavy burden on States such as California, Arizona and Texas that are already strapped for cash.   In a sense, the main problem for dealing with the issue of  “illegals” is found in the Constitution itself,  in particular the 14th amendment that says no state may deprive “any person within its jurisdiction” the equal protection of the laws.  It is this “equal protection” clause that essentially grants illegal immigrants most of the same basic rights (and privileges) as American citizens.  It is also the “equal protection” clause that has made it difficult for the States to identify and, ultimately, deport those individuals who do not have a right to be here.  Since the Federal government has paid only lip-service (at best) to properly securing the borders with deterrents such as walls and fences,  and since the Federal government has tied the hands of the woefully under-staffed agency responsible for patrolling the borders, and since the Federal government has made almost no attempt to deal with the issue of providing a quick path to citizenship to the 12 – 14 million illegal immigrants that are already here, the States will be left “holding the bag” to provide schooling, medical services, and a vast array of other social services to anyone who might need them.  It is no wonder that the State of Arizona has finally forced the Federal government’s hand.

On Friday, the State of Arizona by-passed the authority given to the Federal government by the Constitution, and enacted their own law to finally deal with some of the thorniest issues concerning illegal immigrants.  Among other things, the new law makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally by specifically requiring immigrants to have proof of their immigrant status.   In addition, the law forbids the hiring of illegal immigrants as day laborers by prohibiting people from stopping a vehicle on a road to offer employment.  In essence, The State of Arizona has told the Federal government to either challenge the new law on Constitutional grounds, or risk other states enacting their own home-bred legislation to deal with the same issues.

The long-festering problem of illegal immigration and the re-definition of the “path to citizenship” has been ignored long enough by Congress and the Administration.  In a period of time when the  Federal government has not been shy about asserting its power to get thing done (e.g. gun control,  health care & financial reforms), these issues should be put on the “front burner”, and without further delay.   The security of the country, and the ability of the States to balance their over-stretched budgets are at stake.

Rich