ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW IS SPOT ON

Nobody wants to feel like an outsider in their own country. Yet, days when I drive through the streets of certain parts of South Milwaukee, and certainly through West Milwaukee where the Miller Park Brewer's baseball stadium is actually situated, I feel like I am indeed out of place. Walking through the stores and shops, English is almost a second language. Down on South 27th Street, it is as much Mexico as it is anything.

In the case as it is here, I couldn't tell you what the composition is of illegals vs. bonafide legal American citizens. But my suspicions certainly lean toward the idea that they cannot all be legal. And certainly the sheer volume of the Mexican population is increasing. So, what's bringing them here? What's the attraction? Why in southeastern Wisconsin, far away from any U.S./Mexican border would there be a very noticeable rise of Mexican immigrants?

The spotlights are using black bulbs.

I want to make it abundantly clear that I am not against immigration. I am not anti-Mexican. Señor Sol's, a Mexican restaurant just down the street from my house is a small place, but it has very good food, and the place is run by legal Mexican immigrants. I eat there all the time. I applaud their efforts, and their contribution to my community.

Certainly, as well, I can read history, and I am very much aware of the fact that this country was built on immigrants who came here seeking a better life for themselves and their families. They became hard working, patriotic American citizens. They came here to enjoy freedom, and to heighten their possibilities. The American dream is real, and it is sold the world over, and you better believe there are going to be throngs of people who are going to want to have a piece of that. And that's perfectly fine. It makes absolute, perfect sense. In fact, I'm quite proud of that. For all the dissent squawked by the citizens of other countries, for all the folks who scream Imperialists! and burn our flag in their streets—we all know that those are the ones who cannot flee. Given the chance, their bags would be packed in an instant.

But still, we are still a system of laws. There is a right way to enter America and a wrong way to enter America. And when one chooses the wrong way, they are choosing to break our laws. When you think of how much police force we utilize to police the nation's highways for a few cars doing 10 MPH over the speed limit, you have to wonder why not focus our attention on people entering the country illegally?

Folks, however minor it may seem to be an illegal in this country, it is still the law. If I want to drive on the nation's roadways, I must adhere to the rules of the road. If I do not, there is a consequence. And if I want to participate in the American dream, I must follow the rules along that path as well.

Now in Arizona illegal immigrants may actually be treated like the criminals that they are in lieu of what's amazingly become the norm across the country—that is to simply welcome them with open arms and load them up with benefits paid for by the rest of America's real citizens.

If you think about it, it sort of makes about as much sense as handing a speeder a faster car as a punnishment for driving too fast.

The new immigration enforcement law that became law recently, thanks to the smarts—and frankly the cojones, to steal a term—of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is, without question, a step in the right direction when it comes to how we deal with the illegal immigration problem.

In a nutshell, the new law makes it a state crime to be in the country, or in Arizona specifically, without proper alien registration. As well, it allows police who suspect that an immigrant may be illegal to question them regarding their status. The law also provides for citizens to sue the government agencies that hinder immigration enforcement laws, and makes it illegal for businesses to hire illegals for day labor.

It basically says we have a law, and we are actually going to enforce the law, and the citizens who pay the salaries of government officials charged with enforcing the law, have the right to hold officials accountable when they do not do the job they are being paid to do.

It's a hell of a concept isn't it?

Sen. Russel Pearce, a republican from Mesa, Arizona, who also sponsored the bill said, "Enough is enough. This new law will take the handcuffs off the police, and put them on violent criminals."

Arizona happens to be where that rancher was killed by illegals trafficking in drugs. The incident served as a bit of a catalyst in prompting Arizona politicians to finally see a compelling need to crack down on illegal immigration. It's about upholding the law, and protecting legal citizens. The heavy increase in overall violence spilling over onto the U.S. side of the border over the drug war in Mexico is of grave concern.

Arizona also happens to be one of the busiest border crossings in the United States. It's estimated that the state is home to more than 460,000 illegal immigrants, and according to most estimations, the goods and services they have access to via state and local government venues, and in some cases federal, costs quite a lot to taxpayers. It makes sense that if you can curb illegal immigration activity in Arizona, it will have an overall effect on reducing immigration issues in other parts of the country as well.

Of course, opponents of the new law are focusing their attention on racial profiling. This is just more nonsense. We are simply going to ask a few more questions when we have someone in our custody for breaking the law. We're simply going to go into businesses and have them prove that they are following the law, and that they are hiring only documented citizens, as has been the law in Arizona anyway since 2007. 

It's no different than the health department going into a business to ensure that they are following proper procedure in food handling. If you are operating within the letter of the law, there will be no issue to speak of. No one is going to arrest you for ordering Nacho's, as one cartoon picked fun at, on suspicion of being an illegal alien.

Sheriff Jeff Arpaio of Maricopa County told Matt Lauer in a recent interview about the police, "They're not gonna go on a street corner and grab people because they look like they're from another country. We haven't been doing that for the past three years, and I know law enforcement officers will not do that. That's hype. Those are the critics. Some politicians use that as an excuse because they don't like law enforcement enforcing illegal immigration laws."

What I say to the Mexican population in Arizona, or to the Mexican population who live down the street from me in West Milwaukee or down on 27th Street, or anywhere in the country for that matter is to embrace immigration law, not oppose it. These laws protect your job too. They protect your families from drug crime and violence too. These laws protect your homes and they protect your safety and community. They also protect your businesses. These laws advantage you. These laws level the playing field for all Mexican immigrants.

What I didn't say earlier about part of what contributes to my feeling like an outsider in those areas north of me is the high crime that exists there. The areas are poor, run-down, and gang activity is very prevalent. This is in part, in my opinion, due to the way our immigration laws are not enforced. It keeps the Mexican population down on the lower end of the earnings spectrum. It hinders them from real competition in the drive toward the American dream. As a result, they get left behind. They become held back from their real potential.

How could any legal American-Mexican citizen see strong immigration policy and enforcement  as a bad thing?

Arizona's new immigration law is not only spot on and the right thing to do, it should serve as a roadmap for the rest of America to follow. If we don't get this done, and done now, the problems we face in the coming years ahead with regard to illegal immigration are only going to get so bad that they will be virtually unstoppable.