I CAN'T disagree with the substance of this response to the Arizona immigration law from Marco Rubio:


Arizona cops are being told that they must stop those they "suspect" of being in the country illegally (or risk being sued by local communities, even). Meanwhile, the law's backers claim against all reason that it surely cannot lead to racial profiling. So what would make you suspect anyone was in the country illegally but would not constitute racial profiling? I do speak Spanish, but then again, I also have a Georgia Bulldogs sticker on my truck and am whiter than Casper the Friendly Ghost giving a polar bear CPR on Greenland. I may be just about the only person the Arizona cops could pull over without getting sued if (they should be so lucky!) I drive through Arizona and order en español at a taco stand. The law's defenders in the Newsweek article above give a hypothetical scenario of someone pulled over for speeding who cannot produce an address and doesn't speak English—precisely why immigrants were fairly unlikely to do 56 miles per hour in a 55 zone even before the law.  This kind of scenario, I can guarantee immigration-weary Arizonans, will not solve their problem. For the police, it could be profile aggressively or perish under lawsuits (the latter being the reason the cops can't just ignore the law as unenforceable). It's an idiotic brief to give the boys in blue, and kudos for Mr Rubio for courageously saying so.

(Photo credit: AFP)