God Bless America!
Here's my favorite celebration for today courtesy of cartoonists Cantu y Castellanos:
I am an immigrant to Arizona, having lived in the Phoenix area over 35 years. I don't expect to leave, though one never knows what the future will bring. Many people in Arizona have worked themselves into a miserable frenzy over Mexican border immigration laws and policies. Rather than evaluate each new neighbor as an individual, many in Arizona have formed a blanket belief that anyone coming to AZ from Mexico is inherently evil, a bringer of smuggled people or drugs, an automatic addition to urban gangs, or a sneak thief intent on sucking up American benefits without paying taxes.
I know Mexican nationals living here without valid documentation who have started businesses, paid taxes, bought their home, contribute to their churches and charities. In short, they live just as I--a transplanted Nebraskan--live. Responsible people should be recognized and welcomed. People who come here from anywhere to create trouble, divert resources, or especially commit crimes need to be deported and KEPT THE HELL OUTA OUR NATION, not just Arizona.
Right now my chosen home state is not behaving as I would prefer. We will have a new law, SB1070, by the end of this month that is an embarrassment to me and quite a few other Arizonans. It is sufficiently egregious that even our state courts may stay its implementation. This law attempts to usurp federal border and immigration policies for local enforcement. Although I disagree with this law personally, if it drives immigration reform at the federal level, it will have served a noble purpose.
In the meantime, Baldo is my neighbor. I don't care where he was born!
God bless America!
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