Does Arizona have it right or wrong when it comes to immigration?

With the Health care issue shelved for the moment, the public discourse is allowed to move onto other viable issues, namely immigration. And Arizona once again proves that it is ground zero for immigration policy and enforcement. The latest salvo fired is the imminent passage of State Bill 1070. Check the full bill here.

For many, Arizona has become a laboratory, for good or bad, for immigration enforcement. Because of that it gets additional scrutiny from all corners of the U.S. and both sides of the political spectrum.These articles from the LA Times and Deseret News are just two recent examples.

So what does this bill do and why is it so controversial? It essentially grants law enforcement more power in determining whether or not someone is in the U.S. legally or not. So is this good or bad? Depends on who you ask.

• From a left of center perspective it is a gross violation of basic human rights and an open invitation for racial profiling.
• From a right of center perspective it gives law enforcement that ability to actually enforce immigration laws that are already on the book.

I certainly understand the concerns from both sides. If anything I hope that this bill, and its resulting buzz, will push the spotlight to how broken our federal immigration policy is. We need some kind of dialog. Both sides have valid points and unless there is some meaningful dialog the fringes will continue to paint the rest of us into two horrible corners.

There are so many questions that need to be addressed and answered. Questions like:

• Until we get a decent national policy in place, what rights does an illegal immigrant have?
• What public services should a likely non-tax paying illegal immigrant have access to?
• Are local resources best spent enforcing immigration laws?
• How much do economic concerns play into the immigration debate?
• What should be the minimal requirements for letting someone enter the U.S.? How many people should be allowed to permanently immigrate to the U.S.? What about temporarily?

Most of the questions that need to be asked and are complex because we have a system that is crippled and manipulated for political reasons. If we were to start over we could simplify the process and make something that works. The current band aids, whether they be amnesty programs like the Bracero or ad-hoc enforcement like the minutemen, simply aren't good long term answers.