The fight has begun!

As I previously stated, Arizona's new law targeted at curtailing illegal immigration has now become a battle over states' rights verses the federal government. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I really do believe we Americans have a lot at stake regarding states' rights.

Should the feds steamroll a state's ability to govern itself without undue federal interference, then I truly believe it might create an actual secession movement. And the last time that happened, a lot of Americans died.

And really, no matter what your opinion is regarding illegal immigration and the potential for discrimination and abuse, it is an important precedent that has long-reaching consequences completely unconnected to the issue at hand.

The fact of the matter is that illegal immigration is a problem in Arizona, and the federal government was not enforcing the laws they have on the books. What Arizona did was simply create a state law to allow them to enforce federal laws that aren't being enforced by the feds themselves.


To me, this is a clear case of the federal government's failing to protect a state, and then trying to prevent the state from protecting itself. A dangerous precedent, indeed.

Modern politics has become so mired in retaining popularity for one's future political career that nobody has the willingness to make the right choices, regardless of how unpopular they are. What I would give to see a government full of men who truly wanted the best for their nation, and not just for themselves and their wealthy elite allies. But alas, that is a dream that neither elephant nor donkey could fulfill.

The Immigration Debate - Or Is It?

I find myself uniquely qualified to chime in on the immigration debate that has recently been sparked by Arizona's new law.

You see, when I was in Japan I experienced this exact situation. Japanese law allows police to request proof of a person's visa status, and on multiple occasions I was stopped and asked to show my identity card.

You know what? That makes sense to me. I wasn't offended, because I had nothing to hide. It is a country's right to enforce the integrity of the system that gives citizenship to the people living there, as well as a duty; it is necessary to protect the lawful citizens of a nation from those who don't respect the law.

The fact that they are making it illegal on a state level to be in the country illegally (which would be federal law) just goes to show that the federal government isn't effectively addressing the problem. A state ought to have the right to pass a law like this and look after its own, especially when the feds aren't doing anything to resolve the problem.

America has been incredibly lenient on illegal immigration for a long time, and I think it is a good thing that we're going to start taking things a little more seriously. If you are lawfully in the country, you have nothing to worry about.

In my opinion, though this is starting out as an immigration debate, I think that ultimately it will turn into a state's rights battleground. The federal government will try to impose its will on Arizona, and Arizona (and probably Texas) will fight against this. When the dust settles, I can only hope that the states will have reaffirmed their right to govern themselves with minimal federal interference.