By The Time I Get Phoenix. . . .

Arizona, the home of national embarrassments like J.D. Hayworth and overpriced resort housing, has added another item to its impressive list of bad ideas - a racist immigration law so blatantly offensive it's created opposition all across the country and put Congress on notice to do something about immigration on the national level that's hopefully far saner than this law.

The Arizona law states that anyone in the state whom the police has reason to believe is in this country illegally can be pulled over and asked to prove they are U.S. citizens. What is this, South Africa in the apartheid era? Everyone knows this law will mostly affect the state's Hispanic residents because of their names and their complexions. Mexican-Americans born in Nogales - Nogales, Arizona - Tucson, or Phoenix are susceptible to this harassment, while Canadians in Arizona - say, basketball star Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns - don't have to worry about getting their papers checked.

The argument goes that since Washington has done nothing to resolve the immigration issue, Arizona feels the need to take action in securing their border with Mexico and controlling Mexican criminal activities that affect the state. Although Governor Jan Brewer - facing a tough bid for nomination by her fellow Republicans for a full term - says she believes the law can be enforced with great care and sensitivity and without violating civil rights, the law's success on these points is based on the ability to the police to enforce it objectivity and without prejudicial action. Okay, police officers are human beings like anyone else and likely won't act objectively. If they have reason to believe that a person of Mexican origin is an illegal alien without empirical evidence and go by their gut, they're going to feel compelled to check the person out. Maybe that's why so many municipal police departments in the state have opposed the law.

Say, why not get robot cops for this job? Just like in one of those Will Smith movies! :-D

Congress has little stomach for tackling this issue, despite the prodding of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, and the Obama administration, despite its promise to do something about immigration, has reluctant to go forward. They'll all have to, because this issue isn't going away on its own. In the meantime, those of us who have any business in Arizona but live elsewhere should boycott the state as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Steve Nash is going to have to get used to showing his green card. ;-)