A carefully crafted immigration law in Arizona | Washington Examiner

In today's Washington Examiner, Byron York addressed the uproar over Arizona's common sense to do the job the federal government refuses to attempt: deal with illegal immigration. York's article manages to refute the Statist Left's primary charges without once referring to anyone as a Nazi. If only Democrats and their Fellow Travelers could argue a point in such fashion.

York reveals what the Left has conveniently ignored: the actual text of the law as signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer:

Has anyone actually read the law? Contrary to the talk, it is a reasonable, limited, carefully-crafted measure designed to help law enforcement deal with a serious problem in Arizona. Its authors anticipated criticism and went to great lengths to make sure it is constitutional and will hold up in court. It is the criticism of the law that is over the top, not the law itself.

The law requires police to check with federal authorities on a person's immigration status, if officers have stopped that person for some legitimate reason and come to suspect that he or she might be in the U.S. illegally. The heart of the law is this provision: "For any lawful contact made by a law enforcement official or a law enforcement agency…where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person…"

This piece is an excellent analysis of the "controversial" attempt at enforcing existing law.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Byron-York/A-carefully-crafted-immigration-law-in-Arizona-92136104.html#ixzz0mRMnDOmW

A carefully crafted immigration law in Arizona Washington Examiner