Calls to boycott Arizona are spreading like a virus

Megan, before you cast that stone, wait to hear the rest of the story. Nobody is required to carry a birth certificate. What we heard is a sensational news story. If and when the rest of the story is told we will find there is more to it.

Think about it realistically. The law does not go into effect until Saturday so this was not a result of any changes. Does that story make sense to you? Can you imagine a police officer arresting anyone because they didn't have a birth certificate? There is no law requiring that even in Arizona.

He was arrested because they did not believe he was legal. If they arrested for any other reason, a birth certificate would not have freed him. End of story.

Driver's licenses can be forged, after all.

What Wade is saying... is that we don't know the entire story. It doesn't make sense. Why would they not interview the authorities involved, I can almost bet there was another reason for whatever happened. So far, it is one sided. Waiting and seeing where this goes might provide us the entire story.

Just my thoughts
I’ll start saying that I have all the papers and all the stuff that sais that I'm legally here as a international student, but it's awful that i would have to be carrying the 3 page paper in my wallet just in case I get pull over . What if i get robed or i lost them. I will not only have to pay lots of money to the school to redo the papers but i can even get deported by the school not the government just because i lost the dam papers. Although i look American meaning i have white skin and my facial features look like well you get the point and although i might never get stop and be ask to show my papers i still don’t like it but i respect it and understand it.
I agree with most of you guy’s and I can understand why some of you don’t like foreigners I mean most of the people that come here illegally are the rednecks of our country’s, and if it was backwards meaning you were illegally in Mexico so you can feed and provide your family with better opportunities i bet you would hate this law too but as a Mexican i wouldn’t like foreigners taking jobs and braking laws. Oh by the way I'm Mexican and proud to be so!

I do think this law is racist

What if you lost your papers but didn't get arrested? Isn't keeping track of those papers your responsibility regardless of this new law? Up till now have you had any problems with the police wondering if you were here legally? Do you have any reason to believe that will change. The immigration laws have not changed.

Nobody to this point has said they don't like foreigners or would want a halt to immigration. The issue is with illegal immigrants only.

Yes in a way the law is racist. It targets people who are in this country illegally.

Wade the law targets color skin, and i keep my papers save in my house not in my wallet wich can be easily lost.

What about people who are here on work visas? They can get a DL and a SS card, but what if they overstay their visas? Now they are here illegally. When stopped by police, they would have no problems showing documents that prove they are "Americans."

Unless you show a birth certificate, there is no way of proving you are indeed American. DL and SS cards are not only given to many immigrants who may never go back to their countries, they are also easily counterfeited.

As for student immigrants or even international tourists (people who can't get a SSN since they are not authorized to work in the US), they can easily get ID's with a valid visa (at least in CA).

I am eager to hear more about this law and what the required documents will be.

I've been stopped to check my passport on holiday in Greece, in Spain, in Paris. We don't carry any ID here in the UK, but it really wasn't any more hassle to remember to carry ID with me on holiday. So I'll still go to visit Arizona this year for my dude-ranching holiday. If enough people do boycott I might even get a better deal on my holiday!

Originally Posted by wade

Yes in a way the law is racist. It targets people who are in this country illegally.

Wade, pull your head out of your butt. It targets Mexicans.

Originally Posted by jpccusa

Unless you show a birth certificate, there is no way of proving you are indeed American. DL and SS cards are not only given to many immigrants who may never go back to their countries, they are also easily counterfeited.

Not in my state, Florida. You are required to provide a birth certificate or a passport and a social security card to get and renew a DL. As well as original documentation of every name change (marriage, divorce, remarriage, etc.) in one's life. I went with a passport as the simpler proof of ID, and to renew _that_ I needed to list my parents' cities of birth, birth dates, whether they were US citizens, and the same for my two ex-husbands. By the time I have a DL now, I'm am obviously a US citizen. It would be quite difficult to forge a Florida DL.