Immigration pain

Is our nation gearing up for another civil war over immigration?

California threatens to boycott Arizona, while Arizona power companies — feeding 25 percent of Los Angeles — threaten to cut off service.

Our president rallies against the recently passed Arizona immigration law with Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon by his side agreeing it doesn’t help.

The new law makes it a state crime to be in Arizona if you have immigrated illegally. Police are required to have “reasonable suspicion” that a person entered the U.S. without legal permission.

The issue of illegal immigration is splitting the country with emotions equivalent to public feelings about abortion. Everyone has an opinion and no one is right.

Illegal immigration is a serious subject. There are reasons why our country should control immigration to America.

But some of the passion behind the arguments is hard to contend with. It is easy to dismiss the people upset with illegal immigration as racists, because it appears to only target people from Mexico or with Hispanic heritage.

But for a few years, immigration officials were constantly catching South Koreans being brought in from Canada by smugglers near Oroville on state Route 97.

Then there are the occasional European immigrants living in the U.S. long after their student visa expired.

The reason it appears any effort to remedy the situation is targeting Mexican citizens, is because they are the majority of the people found illegally in the U.S. It’s easier for them when they can walk across the border, rather than fly across an ocean from Europe or Asia.

The very few ideas for stemming illegal immigration have been tyrannical in nature. Building a giant wall? Electronic fences? Militias volunteering to “help” American authorities?

Then there is the paperwork. Immigration paperwork is more complicated than IRS forms. It is very invasive and expensive. For a poor person with little education who already believes government is corrupt, it’s easier to take the path of least resistance, which is illegal immigration.

The new Arizona law has the potential to be used unethically by police to question one group of people based solely on skin color. But don’t we, as a society, label a large group of people gang members solely because of their appearance?

The law will allow officers to check the identity of many people with dark skin in Arizona. Police are already allowed to check identity and in some situations require people to identify themselves. The law appears to add one more level of identity to check, if there is a reasonable suspicion. If they are a citizen or have proper immigration status, they are let go. If they are here illegally, the police are required to turn the suspects over to federal immigration authorities.

There will never be a nice, painless way to solve the illegal immigration problem. It is not a clear-cut situation. Once action is taken, someone will become angry and some will protest. It won’t be pretty.

Ideally, the people wanting to come here illegally would find better reasons to do so legally with a method they can understand, achieve and trust.

The warring factions should end the political and patriotic rhetoric and hyperbole, and spend all of their energy finding better solutions.

Until then, they remain part of the problem.

— Editorial board