When I came to the United States as a one year old from Iran with my father who was getting his PhD in Sociology and Psychology we went through the same legal route as everybody else. That is to first learn the English language, abide by the law and constitution, have respect for America, etc. However, what is taking place among some groups of immigrants is not traditional. I would say is non-traditional in the sense that some come here thinking that they don't have to learn English, don't have to respect the law, disrespect others and commit crimes. Of course there are illegal immigrants that abide by the law etc., however they are becoming a minority due to the high influx of illegal immigrants who do not come from the best parts of their own societies.
Just recently for the second time in my life I experienced a "hit and run" to my car right in front of my eyes by an illegal alien that had no insurance or papers. The person who hit my car, in fear that they may be deported decided to hit my car again when they pulled out to get away! Of course I filed a report with the Police (ironically the Police Officer happened to be a Palestinian-American Muslim!), so if this person ever comes back to this area, they will be in trouble with the law. However, this does not change the fact that more than just hit and runs are happening. In places like Arizona, there is more serious crimes going on such as muggings, murder, and other mayhem. We as minorities and/or immigrants ourselves need to point out these transgressions by those who come to this country thinking they can abuse it, it's people, and it's laws. When people such as myself who have lived in this country for 35 years see injustice happening to American Citizens such as myself, then I am concerned. The red state/blue state issue does not apply, this is something that is important to all Americans in general regardless of what race, religion, or gender you come from.
The United States has the right to check and make sure that people are US Citizens in order to stop the rise in crime and devious activities. However, this enforcement of the law has to be done by proper legal methods and not unconstitutional ways such as racial profiling. Instead of picking out just people from a single race/religion/gender, all Americans need to have proof of their citizenship until this illegal mayhem is brought back to normal levels. People in places like Arizona are moving away in droves to avoid the rise in crime and uncivility. We need to check the quality of our immigrants to see if they will benefit this country or are they going to be some sort of destructive force.
There may be those who disagree with me, however in the past few years I have had experiences that have made me change my whole outlook on the immigration debate. Why would anybody in their right mind invite an enemy or somebody that is hostile to their country to come in? What country allows that? If you come to a country, then you need to have respect for it's people and laws, however that does not mean that you have to break your own religious laws in order to do so. Personally I do not see a conflict between my faith and my nationality. I find it both easy and hard being an American Muslim. What makes it easy is the Constitution and the American people. However, what makes it hard is the lack of education in regards to both my faith and the constitution by individuals.
I think that Arizona is doing what they think is necessary, however it is the way they are going about doing it that is the problem. I think that instead of racially profiling for Aliens who are here illegally, the Police and Law Enforcement should check the citizenship status of every person of every race, religion, and gender when they are pulled over, similar to the way that people are checked to see if there are warrants out for their arrest. When a person gets advised or arrested because they have a warrant out for their arrest, even though they were stopped for a minor traffic incident that is fair just like being asked about citizenship as long as it is done to everybody as a policy. With today's technology where Police convesations are recorded from their patrol car, it would be hard to abuse the law by either the Police or the person pulled over. If a Police officer asked every person they pulled over for proof of citizenship or if that became mandatory to have on your drivers license that would be great. We could avoid having people who have no drivers license, uninsured, not their car, etc. This is a serious issue and it needs to be dealt with the right way to avoid any halt to the enforcement of this issue.
President Obama on Immigration Reform:
As I learned in my Kindergarten at First Baptist Church Kindergarten in Denton, Texas..."to be an american citizen is a privilege" and not a "right". However, once you are an American Citizen you have many rights which are guaranteed in the Constitution!
To be continued...
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