Arizona

I've been ruminating on Arizona's situation. The state's newly passed immigration law would only support federal laws that are already on the books. This "new" law is, in fact, nothing new.

Then why is it producing such a firestorm of opposition?

Arizona is in survival mode -- this legislation will encourage police to shove the drug-invasion back across the border. It will reduce the crushing burden on emergency rooms, schools & entitlement programs. It will protect Arizona's jobs for Arizonans -- including hispanic Arizonans. Right now, "the state spends nearly $2 billion a year educating the children of families headed by illegals" (Mark Krikorian).

And who pays for all these benefits for people who are here ILLEGALLY? Tax-paying Arizonans do!

When the economy is weak, barely out of ICU, and Tea Party enthusiasts nationwide are screaming about fiscal responsibility, deficits, and taxes, is it any wonder that Arizonans don't want their taxes to pay for a whole lifestyle, for people who are here illegally?

Massachusetts, arguably our most liberal state, almost passed its own new law for illegal immigrants. Read about it here. Massachusetts! Why Massachusetts? Because the state ALREADY has Obamacare-style healthcare, and it's costing its citizens a small fortune to pay for everything from braces to mental health care for both children AND ADULTS in the system. And, you guessed it, for illegals -- about 170,000 of them.

If you were a tax-paying, law-abiding middle class citizen of Massachusetts, would you want your tax money to go for that? Maybe you should try to buy a house in Massachusetts before you answer that.

Please don't misunderstand me: I'm very welcoming of ALL immigrants who want to enter America; we've always been an open country, extending opportunities to people from around the world who want to start a new life here. LEGALLY. Illegal aliens steal (yes, STEAL) jobs from immigrants who are here legally. The illegal immigrant is like the bully in grade school who shoves his way to the front of the lunch line.

Arizona is just firmly removing him back where he belongs: to the back of the line, where he can wait just like everyone else.

We have legal means of immigration. We have them for a reason. If our job market is crying out for more labor (have YOU noticed all the "Now Hiring" signs around? Yeah, me neither.), then perhaps legal immigration needs to be loosened. But one thing's for sure: Nobody should be encouraged to break the law, and then be rewarded for doing so. That's lawlessness.

American culture and American entitlement programs are not a bread-line for the world. In the past, legal immigrants have been a boon for America, and America has been a blessing for them. Let's try to keep it that way.