Arizona's Strict Immigration Law Passed in April

When the Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, signed a bill regarding illegal immigration. The bill was passed in April of 2010 and sparked news stations to revisit the ideas of immigration reform. Brewer explained that she signed the bill because something needed to be done to prevent more Hispanics from entering the United States illegally. The law states that immigrants are required to carry their immigration papers and/or green cards with them at all times in case a law enforcement officer needs to see their identification. Protests immediately erupted because many people felt that this gave police officers the right to stereotype immigrants to deport them. President Obama criticized the law and noted that it "undermined [the] basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe."

New York Times Article

I don't think the Arizona immigration law is going to work out very well. Though I cannot currently propose a better solution, something does need to be done to prevent illegal immigrants from staying in the country after their visas and green cards have expired. But is it best to force them to carry around the immigration documents? No. This force will lead immigrants feeling offended because of race and/or ethnicity. Natural born Hispanics and immigrants will feel judged when they are asked to give a police officer their documents. Although this law is only in effect in Arizona, the law will initiate discussion in Washington, D.C. Even though Obama and his presidential cabinet disagree with the decision, I don't think that anyone should complain about a decision if 1) they have not made an effort to do anything else or 2) they don't give another suggestion to solve the problem. The Arizona state government is at least taking a stand on an issue because illegal immigrants have cost their state money due to failure to pay taxes.

Is there a better way to combat this predicament? I think so.

Attached is the video clip that became basis for forming my ideas.

Controversy with Arizona law