Alabama laws result of federal government

From Arizona to Alabama and our very own state of Indiana, the new controversial laws in these states have illustrated the serious divide in the electorate about the issue of immigration.

The most recent and controversial of these laws is in Alabama. The state’s new law went so far as to require school administrators to check the immigration status of students in Alabama’s public schools.

But thanks to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, parts of this ridiculous bill have been blocked until the Court has time to review challenges by the United States federal government.

There has already been an outcry by the feds against these types of measures, with them suing states on Constitutional grounds. This issue is a matter of perspective. The serious question we should be asking ourselves is this: Why are the states passing these laws in the first place?

Instead of blaming the states for trying to crack down on illegal immigration, which is a serious problem, our anger should be directed at the federal government.

Above the fray of the debate about something as serious as Alabama’s recent, unbelievable immigration law, we should be blaming our members of Congress for a failure to enact sound public policy. 

The current status of our national immigration policy is abysmal at best. The encumbering bureaucratic hoopla of getting a visa to come here, the failure to secure the borders and the inaction in addressing the millions already here are the fault of the U.S. federal government.

This is what has prompted the states to act and, rather than take out our frustrations and anger about the problem on the states, we should direct it toward Washington. In 2007, Congress failed to pass what would have been sweeping immigration reform. Since then, it has failed to bring up the issue for a candid debate.

Rather than take ownership of the problem after their obvious failure to act, the feds have sued the states that have taken on the problem. Whether we disagree with the actions of a particular state, our effort should be to demand action from our members of Congress on this issue.

The hope in the near future is that they can put aside their political squabbling and reaffirm that our nation will continue to be the refuge for those seeking opportunity and freedom as it has been for the last 235 years.