[AtLast]

OK.... feeling like I have to say something about the drug stuff. In thinking about this legislation and all of the aspects around immigration, what strikes me is how complex it is. When it gets into the drug/gang/cartel/arms and sex trafficking aspects and the violence... I know I need to hear what people deal with everyday in the areas hardest hit. And something I always see in these conversations is a very distinct difference between parents and non-parents. I might live a few miles from a city here in CA that has one of the highest rates of street murder among kids of color, but I don't get up every morning wondering if my kid will make it home from school. I didn't have this on me when I was raising my son even with the typical worries that parents have. A whole hell of a lot changes if you become a parent, no matter if biologically, via adoption, fostering, as a guardian or as a co-parent with a partner (Yup, making a point about all of the types of parenting!)

The fact of the matter is that illegal entry into the US (from both the northern and southern borders) involves drug and arms trafficking and then there are the sex trades that include children (all over the world).

All of this is intertwined in immigration issues. Its just there. Frankly, even if I agree with legalization of substances, I am not naive enough to believe that this will actually curtail the violence born out of drug use. The fact of the matter is that people under the influence make stupid choices often leading to violence. Impairment is impairment. people that are intent upon doing harm to others will do so no matter what drugs are legal or illegal. Look at alcohol use ...... how many times do we hear I was drunk as an excuse for behavior? How many people are killed each year due to alcohol related situations? How many rapes, molestations, etc? And at certain ages, alcohol is legal to use. But this doesn't change its effects or its addiction factors.

The crux of this whole matter isn't about drugs, its about racial profiling with idiotic, bigoted legislation like this one in AZ. A big part of this also has to do with big business and how it takes advantage of immigrant populations in order to increase profits- our labor laws. Directly related are the people smuggled into the US being treated like cattle and many dying awful deaths in an attempt to just find work.

We are at a critical time concerning immigration reform and need to figure out what will work now and in the future. The AZ legislation could become the catalyst for reform, finally. To me, the notion that some assbites have that all of the illegal immigrants that are here (which include non-Latinos as well) should be deported (or jailed) will solve the problems makes me nuts. A lot of these idiots base their opinions on economic statistics and how this population is draining resources (which is not based upon accurate data or considers the actual economic contributions made by most of these folks). The idea that deportation of from 11 to 15 million people would be cost effective is lunacy!! Total waste of funds that should go to real reform constructs that benefit all. A focus on this as part of immigration reform based upon the economic arguments is nothing more than an attempt to cover-up racism, plain and simple. But we all know that anything that smacks of amnesty will impede any federal attempt to deal with these issues. This will even be fought against by many organizations representing large numbers of Latino (and other) citizens that are pissed that they went through the proper channels in coming to the US.

This such a multi-faceted social and economic issue and is going to take a multi-faceted approach. Yet, it always gets bogged down and I think, is planted during election years! These mid-term elections coming up seem to me to be mainly about white anger and having a non-white president and the GOP taking back power in Congress. These jackasses aren’t thinking about the day to day lives and struggles the common citizenry are going through.

I feel that it is so important to stay focused with the core issues when it comes to immigration reform. Otherwise it continues to spin into oblivion and never gets dealt with in any meaningful way. We have to start somewhere and get somewhere!