A Letter to My Local Newspaper

Dear Sir or Madam,

I’ve followed the unfortunate events in Arizona with considerable sadness. I served a church in that state for five years and came to love the people and the natural beauty one finds there.

Of course there is blame enough to go around. The Federal government under both Republican and Democratic administrations have failed to act, to offer reasonable redress to the legitimate concerns of people about both the numbers of undocumented immigrants who have come here seeking opportunities when there have been so few at home, and as a result have been forced into an underground economy that does few any good, as well as fear that the violence from the drug wars along the border will spill over to this country. And, while we know the source of those drug wars are the good old market forces generated in this country, it doesn’t lessen the fear people feel, particularly so close to the border. With these issues pressing for years, still, there is no action at the Federal level. I think it reasonable to lay this mostly at the door of the Republican congressional leadership, but my no means exclusively. Time has passed and passed.

Now out of Arizona comes the worst sort of response from people taking the matter into their own hands. The image of people with guns asking those who “look” like they might be here illegally for their “papers” echoes too many horrors that too many of our ancestors fled. This is terrible. How this can lead to anything but racial profiling, despite the assertions to the contrary within the language of the law itself, is to my mind inescapable.

I’m confident Arizona’s new law is unconstitutional. I can’t image how it could be otherwise. Still, the very fact that it has been passed by Arizona’s legislature and signed by their governor and now demagogues like the sheriff of Maricopa county can use it as a cover for a reign of terror against people of color in the Phoenix area and other parts of the state, makes me shudder with shame.

The review of this law will be painfully slow. In the meantime it seems so important that people of good will speak up in opposition to this terrible thing, to stand unequivocally on the side of love.

Sincerely,

James Ishmael Ford

Senior Minister

First Unitarian Church

1 Benevolent Street

Providence, Rhode Island 02906