Arizona Deserves Better

A border fence from the Mexican side - by Omar OmarImmigration burst into the national conversation with the recent passage of Arizona's stringent immigration law.  In reality, the topic's relevance was a long time coming as the harrowing violence of Mexico's drug war had increasingly spooked border state communities.  This growing unease triggered an immediate backlash when Rob Krenz, an Arizona rancher on the border, was murdered, presumably by an illegal immigrant.  For American citizens living near the border the status quo had become untenable and the federal response was timid.  Thus, Arizona moved swiftly and forcefully on the issue, and generally to the acclaim of its constituents.  The problem with this legislation, beyond any concerns of racial bias, is that it does absolutely nothing to deal with the problem of border safety.  Instead it is punitive approach to the cheaper and more symbolic problem of illegal immigration.

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