Immigration Reform

I must say that I am utterly disgusted with the media and politics surrounding the latest law passed by the governor of Arizona, which requires all residents of its state to be able to show that they are legally allowed to reside in the United States. Federal law currently prohibits immigrants from ANY country to cross its borders illegally, and it is deemed a federal offense that gives the punishment of deportation for all of those in this country who are not allowed to be here.

On April 23rd 2010, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law, what some say is the “toughest legislation against illegal immigration”. By that they mean that you may not legally cross our borders without going through a registration process that requires you to cross into the United States of America with valid paperwork stating that you are allowed to live and work in our country. If you do not abide by this law, you face deportation back to the country from which you came.

First off, I think that it is INSANE that a state governor has to waste their time signing a state law, that is already, and always has been, a federal law. This would be like me saying “if you want to live under my roof, you have to do the dishes twice a week” and then another person in my household calling a meeting saying, “if you want to live in this household, you have to do the dishes twice a week.” Is that not the same exact law? Why are we wasting time reiterating something that has already been set in stone? I’ll tell you why, because NOBODY IS DOING THE DISHES! Jan brewer says, “We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act, but decades of inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation.”

The dangerous and unacceptable situation that she is talking about is people being kidnapped during the middle of the night, farmers trying to ward off drug related issues with shotguns on a weekly basis, and by far the worst, the brutal murders of countless U.S. citizens in cities lying on the edge of Arizona’s borders. These crimes, if you haven’t already gathered, are all being committed by people who are not legally allowed to be in this country.

People are in outrage over this law, because they are afraid that they will be racially profiled, and will have to show a form of identification claiming that they are legally allowed to be here every time they get pulled over by the cops. I’ve personally been pulled over by the cops on countless occasions, and every time I’ve been pulled over, the first thing they ask me for is my identification (I’m white). I provide them with my identification and go on my merry way, providing that I haven’t committed some sort of crime, which prompted them to pull me over in the first place (which is usually, not always, but usually the case).

I’m sorry but if you are in our territory, and you aren’t legally supposed to be here, GET OUT! I’m not saying that this country wasn’t built off of immigration, I’m not saying that immigration is a bad thing (when it brings educated people to our country to help stimulate our economy) I’m not saying that immigrants aren’t hard workers, I’m not saying that everyone who comes to this country is a criminal, and I am definitely not saying that I have a problem with your race, gender or sexual orientation, because to be honest, I don’t give a rats ass.

What I do care about is the fact that I am a full-blown, born and bread American citizen that has his own struggles dealing with his own unemployment, inability to receive medical insurance without paying out his ass, and now I have to deal with knowing that not only am I living on the edge in my own country, but there are people out there with full time, good paying jobs, using our medical system (WHICH COMES OUT OF MY POCKET) and they are FELONS. They are felons because they violated federal law by crossing our borders illegally. This would be qualified as a federal offense. Not only that, but my own fellow Americans are living in fear of their lives at the borders of our country because of a drug cartel problem. This is insanity to me.

On May 8th 2010, an article was posted by George Kiriyama stating that a small group of students were sent home from a Californian school on ‘Cinco de Mayo’ for wearing t-shirts and bandannas depicting American flags, otherwise they would face suspension. This had me absolutely outraged. One of the students, Daniel Galli said that he was told by the principal that Cinco de Mayo was “sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today.” According to Kiriyama, to many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday. One student, Annicia Nunez, was quoted as saying, "We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July.”

Excuse me, but not only should the American school system see it as a blessing that any student shows even a stitch of American patriotism, given the political climate, but they should NEVER tell a student that they aren’t allowed to wear the colors of their own country, no matter what day it is. I’m an American, and I’ll wear our flag whenever the fuck I please! And if you try to reprimand me for it, maybe you should be shipped out as well. I’m surprised that the principal of this school still has a job to go to.

Sorry for getting all political on everyone, but I think it’s imperative that we follow the laws that were put in place to make this country as great as it is. And furthermore, if you agree that you should follow the laws of your country to make it a better place to live, stand up and say something!