Next time I travel to Arizona, I better treat the trip like I am traveling to a foreign country and bring my passport. To be honest, I have made fun of Arizona in the past by saying going there is like traveling to another planet, but I was joking. Mostly.
Here is why I will need my passport:
The new Arizona law signed this week requires “ for any lawful conduct” made by law enforcement officials “where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United Sates, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person, except if the determination may hinder or obstruct an investigation.”
OK, so when Arizona police are in lawful contact with me they are going to want proof I belong in this country. Let’s see how I can satisfy this requirement. The Arizona law says “a person is presumed to not be an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States if the person provides to the law enforcement officer or agency” the following: “if the entity requires proof of legal presence in the United States before issuance, any valid United States federal, state or local government issued identification.”
Easy enough, I always carry my Iowa driver’s license.
Let’s make sure Iowa conforms to Arizona’s “if the entity requires proof of legal presence” stipulation. To get a driver’s license in Iowa an applicant needs “proof of age, identity and social security number.” Sweet! Things are looking good for me, unless Arizona digs too deeply. When I got my first license in Florida, let’s say a few years ago, nobody was too exercised about this citizenship stuff. I produced my birth certificate, took the test and I was off. Years later, I traded in my Florida license for an Iowa one and I was good. I did tell the lady at the counter my social security number, but Iowa did not verify these regularly. They just assigned that number to you as your driver’s license number (until they assigned more random numbers years later for security purposes). As long as no two people used the same 9 digit number back then, all was fine. I never had to prove my citizenship to drive.
What if Arizona decides to not grandfather me in and says my Iowa ID does not meet the proof of “legal presence” according to Arizona law? My Iowa driver’s license may not keep me out of Maricopa County Sherriff Joe Arpaio’s Phoenix pokey. That’s OK. I will bring my birth certificate. It is in fairly good shape for a guy my age. It’s printed on fancy paper and even has a raised seal. But, since I was born in Spain to my loving parents who lived there while my dad was serving in the United States Navy, this isn’t going to help much to convince the men and women of the Maricopa Sheriff’s Office I belong here. My palms are sweating now just thinking about it. I am sure jail would not suit me too well.
So, there it is. My Iowa driver’s license should prove I am in this country legally, but it does not, really. I was born in a foreign land where they speak (horrors of horrors) Spanish, so my birth certificate won’t help. The best way for me to be safe is to get a passport, keep it up-to-date and carry it at all times when in Arizona.
Oh, wait, I missed the key phrase in the new Arizona law, “where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien.” Whew! Look at me. I am a seriously White guy. I have the type of skin that burns if I stand under a fluorescent light for too long and my Spanish is really lousy. My White-ness saves me again. I’m out of harm’s way. On second thought, am I? Are you?
It doesn’t matter, you are sure I have exaggerated all of this to make a silly point. The Arizona law isn’t about persecuting innocent people, just those who some guy with a badge has reason to believe may not belong in this country. Good people won’t abuse people’s rights – your rights anyway. You hope.
After reading all this about aliens, I am beginning to think my old jokes had more truth in them than I thought. Arizona does seem like a different world. Now, where is that passport application?
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.
