For years, many people have immigrated to the United States legally and illegally. Some people come for better opportunities for themselves and their families, some for a change of scenery, and some even come to flee from legal troubles.

Just recently, the state of Arizona signed an immigration bill. The law requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and allows police to question people if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the United States illegally. It also targets those who hire illegal immigrant laborers or who knowingly transport them.

As you may have seen, this law has caused much controversy not only in the state of Arizona, but all around the country. During the NBA playoffs, the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers played for the Eastern Conference Championship. When the Suns held home games there were fans outside the arena protesting against the passing of the bill and some fans protesting for the passing of the bill.

Personally, I think that some parts of the law are against what the United States stands for. I have no problem with the identification part of the law; that is pretty much routine. I think that the part to apprehend people who hire illegal immigrant laborers or transport them is okay, too, but where the problem comes to surface is the part of the law that says police have the right to question people if there is reason to suspect they are in the country illegally.

I think that this is extremely unjust. I think that this will result in many racial profiling instances. Some polls show that a vast majority of Americans support the immigration law in Arizona and the racial profiling that it carries, but I guarantee that this is only because they are not the profile in this particular instance. Police will stop people just because of their race with no case for probable cause.

I have been the victim of racial profiling many times. It is embarrassing to my race to be profiled for something that I’m not even close to. Now some people may say that “Well, if people of your race didn’t participate in these activities, there would be no reason to profile,” but the truth is that there are just as many people who are not participating in the activity as there are people who are participating. I think a person can’t be suspect without the reasonable evidence.

This law is somewhat the United States’ fault. We paint this picture for the world that portrays our country as the land of milk and honey with all it has to offer, and this attracts people to seek a better way of life here. We make it seem like our freedom is everything, and what person wouldn’t want to be free?

You want the best for your family, and many of these immigrants want the same thing. Some of these people are just here to provide better opportunity for the ones they love, just like every U. S. citizen I know. Honestly, if I was in some of these immigrants’ shoes living the lives they have to live because of laws, poverty or whatever reason, I would take my chances with the United States also.

This law may also uproot people’s lives. Some of the people who are here illegally have families here with people who are here legally. By law, the children are safe simply because they were born in the United States, but think about the impact that these people may have in these children’s lives. I think that there is a lot of reasoning that was left out in the passing of this law, and many lives will be changed because of it.

This law has some unfairness involved. I read about an incident where a girl from Canada was in the United States illegally and was enrolled as a student at Arizona State University (ASU). She was stopped in a routine traffic violation and was unable to provide the documents required by the new laws, but she was able to remain in school and stay in the country.

The questions come here: What will we do when this happens to someone who is not in school? Will they be arrested or forced to leave the country? What is the difference between them and the girl at ASU?

This law just doesn’t even out, and it divides us as a nation. This gives Arizona somewhat of its own separate constitution. Our pledge of allegiance states that we are “One Nation,” but this law tells us different.