Arizona law is regression

If you go to Arizona, you’d better take your birth certificate or passport with you. In other words, your papers.

The recently signed Arizona Senate Bill 1070 gives local law enforcement the authority to stop and ask for proof of residency under the concept of “reasonable suspicion” and criminalizes illegal immigrants.

Of course, if you happen to have light skin and an American accent, your chances of being stopped are slim. However, the Mexican-Americans in Arizona must be concerned about being racially profiled, since the law is targeted to identify illegal immigrants who most likely cross the Arizona-Mexico border. Mexicans from Mexico and Mexicans born in Arizona look alike.

Yes, the U.S. has to fix its immigration policies and enforcement, but not with intentionally intolerant laws.

The point is that the civil liberties of all Americans are being attacked. America has come too far in its quest for fairness and equality to allow SB 1070 to stand as law.

In other words, “No papers required.”

Hope Busto-Keyes

Spokane