High: Strict immigration laws floundering

Immigration is another one of those decisive issues that can get nasty in a hurry, and it’s one I really don’t have much input on generally. I’m not willing to join the Minutemen at the border, so some would consider me un-American. I’ve been called worse. Anyone ever been referred to as morbific? Nevermind. But even though I’m not willing to hold rifles with the archaic and petulant, nor do I think that we should simply give in and open up the floodgates. Still, it seems that cooler heads have finally prevailed and that the Pat Buchanan-level immigration laws have started to stall around the country. Like politics or the psychology of sociopaths, the immigration issue is far too complex to have a definitive, irrevocable opinion one way or another, so generally I let more interested people holler and scream while I enjoy the insanity. It’s just a life choice, really. What we seem to be seeing is reality settling in for those that erroneously believe that legislation will keep people out of this country.

The reality is that there is a heavy Latino population and culture in the southern portion of the U.S., particularly the southwest, and laws like the ones cooked up in Arizona were a slap in the face to the entire legal Mexican-American population of the state. Even white business owners were suddenly asked to alienate a high percentage of customers and business partners. Clearly that wasn’t going to work, and that’s not even taking into consideration the fact that illegal workers are an integral part of the economy in southern states, one that plenty of anti-immigration supporters have benefitted from. You can holler and scream about the cultural invasion of border states, but it’s good to see legislators starting to get a whiff of reality that could send the anti-immigration crusaders packing with their laughable “I’m a Citizen, kick me” tee-shirts and buttons. After all, there are plenty of houses for sale in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Of course, finding cheap labor up there won’t be as easy, but you can’t have everything in life.