Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Papiere, Bitte.

Paying attention to laws, prospective or current, is not something I habitually do on this blog or in my personal life. Lately I've been posting a lot about a raft of pro-gunowner laws in Arizona, because they serve my philosophical interests. I like it that gun ownership is coming back toward "normalization."

But in following those laws so closely, I've been remiss in not paying more attention to another excretion of the Arizona legislature, one that passed the Senate and headed for the Governor's desk yesterday.
PHOENIX -- The question of whether police will be required to ask people if they are in this country legally is now in the hands of Gov. Jan Brewer.

On a 17-11 margin Monday, the state Senate gave final approval to a package of changes in state law that proponents say will help crack down on illegal immigration. Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, the architect of the plan, said state action is necessary because of the political failure in Washington to secure the border.

...

SB 1070 would overrule any policy or procedure of a city council or police department that keeps officers from enforcing federal immigration laws. It also says that, when practicable, police must inquire about the immigration status of those they encounter as part of their regular activities.

And to ensure compliance, the legislation permits anyone who believes police aren't doing all they should to file suit, with judges required to impose fines of up to $5,000 a day if the citizen suit succeeds.

It also permits police to arrest those who are not citizens if they are not carrying their visas or resident alien documents issued by the U.S. government.
Remember when "Papers, please" was always a joke about Nazis?

Y'know what? I don't have a "valid" driver's license. I don't carry "identification papers" or "proof of legal residency," and I don't plan to start. In fact, if some cop demanded that I prove I was born here, I'd have a hard time doing it. Guess that makes me eligible for summary arrest and possible deportation if I'm ever stopped in Arizona. Maybe I should bone up on my Spanish.

Of course that's not going to happen - at this stage. I'm too obviously white, and speak colloquial English with an American accent. But since bills like this are so fraught with unintended consequences, and will cause such complete chaos among "legal" residents and people who just have the misfortune of having been born swarthy, there will be a next stage. National ID has not gone away. If you'll recall, the drive for RealID the last time was about immigration as much as sorting out the "good citizens" from the "terrorists." You can't only demand that "aliens" carry ID papers at all times, because that won't work - for any such scheme to make any rational sense at all, EVERYBODY has to carry them.

And that'll be the day when everybody forgets that "Papers, please" used to be about Nazis.

So if you're loving this bill, and the others like it, because they get down on all those "illegal aliens" that upset you so, just you wait. Your time is coming, and it will come swiftly. It won't just be the "furriners" who'll need to keep their papers in order.

5 comments:

GunRights4US said...

I'm not an attorney (thank God) but I do work with lots of attorneys of various stripes. And in my 25 years in business I have learned that when you try to apply any sort of commonsense to the aplication of any law - you're heading for trouble! Good common sense has no place in the pantheon of American "justice" on any level.

Anonymous said...

yeah, all that whining for the government to "do something" about illegal aliens. There is a smug class in this country who think these laws will never apply to them. They only apply to "others" and well, that's just fine. They are creating their own little slave state. I hope they enjoy it when it comes to full realization.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like an opportunity to do a booming black market business in fake documents. Look at the bright side here.

CorbinKale said...

"When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere." --R.A.H.

Anonymous said...

"When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere." --R.A.H.

Please show link via google maps to location of "Elsewhere".

Or reasonable facsimile where I will not be shot for owning and carrying my guns.


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