Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) -- By now, the entire country has gotten the message that Arizonans are angry and frustrated over illegal immigration. But, oddly enough, the anger and frustration isn't usually aimed at the illegal immigrants themselves. Many Arizonans would probably admit that, if they were unable to feed their families in their home country, they too might venture out in search of employment. And, if they were faced with waits of 10 to 15 years to enter another country legally, you can bet many of them would enter illegally. What really gets Arizonans fired up are three things: the feeling that they're under siege by spillover violence from Mexican drug cartels, the concern that the U.S. government isn't doing enough to protect them, and indignation that people in other states are judging them for responding to a reality most of us can't imagine.
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Ruben Navarrette: Arizonans upset about drug violence, government's inaction
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Defenders say law helps fight drug violence, he says, but crime down in Phoenix
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Governor said most illegals used as drug mules, he says, which is untrue
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Navarrette says scare tactics used to justify bias against ethnicity, fear of change
"If you're going to write about this issue with credibility," he said, "you have to acknowledge the reality of the violence caused by the Mexican drug cartels and the inability of the @placeholder government to contain it."