A Shameful Law

The protests will likely last longer, but there are only 90 days until Arizona’s new immigration law signed by Governor Jan Brewer takes effect. It is unquestionably the most restrictive immigration law in all 50 states. The police are supposed to check every person in public for possible illegal status based on their appearance — not a usual practice in the United States up until now. In effect, the law declares an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants to be fair game. Whoever cannot produce documentation is liable to be unceremoniously deported. The policy is a new low point for a country that has traditionally been considered the preferred destination for the world’s émigrés. It will be the first time in American history that “illegal” immigration will be treated as a crime.

It’s not enough that President Obama says the law is “misguided” and is calling for a determination of its constitutionality. A revised national immigration law is long overdue and Obama himself promised just such action in his 2008 election campaign. A policy that denies that migrants have any intrinsic value for the society in which they now live, as well as the societies from which they came, is shameful.

Obama needs to act.