Not even close!

Being that I now live in Arizona, one of my Facebook friends (an old friend from high school) asked for my thoughts on the immigration bill, and the national response to it. My two cents...for what they're worth.

I don’t know how much good the bill will do to ebb the flow of illegal immigration and the negative effects to our local economy or crime rate. So, how I feel about the bill itself is decidedly undecided. How’s that for non-committal? ;)

Now, what I strongly disagree with are the cries of racism, comparisons to Nazi-Germany and flat out lies about this bill. You cannot be stopped on the street merely for “breathing while Hispanic” or simply because you “look like an illegal immigrant” (Yes, the NY Times editorial page did actually say that and it’s been repeated ad nauseum throughout the media). If that were the case, I’d be hiding in a bunker, as I myself am half Hispanic. I’d also caution my full-blood-Hispanic, Spanish-speaking mother never to visit; yet she was here just a few days ago. The truth is the law only allows the police to question someone of their legal status if they have been stopped, detained or arrested on other grounds. Also, officers are barred from solely using race as grounds for questioning.

I am most appalled by the comparisons to Nazi-Germany. On the news tonight I watched coverage of a protest going on in downtown Phoenix where a reporter was interviewing a young woman (one of the protesters) who claimed to be an undocumented immigrant from Mexico studying here in AZ. Even in light of this bill, this young woman felt comfortable enough to share her legal status, show her face on television and give her full name. No one can tell me a Jewish person would have done the same in Nazi-Germany. For if she had, off to a concentration camp she would go. To compare this AZ law to Nazism is simply not true, but more disturbingly it minimizes the horror of the Holocaust.

Americans can agree or disagree with whether or not this bill is a good way to strengthen our economy, decrease our crime-rates and protect our taxpayers. Honestly, I can see valid points on either side. But please, PLEASE don’t lie about it by trivializing the Holocaust. This is not Nazi Germany. Not even close!