As Arizona implements their new immigration law (A.R.S. 13-1509), making it a federal misdemeanor, punishable by 30 days in jail and/or a $100 fine, for failing to carry one’s “certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card”, other states have looked to replicate this law, namely North Carolina. Senator Don East of Surry County, NC has introduced Senate Resolution 1349 which if approved, would require immigrants to carry proof of citizenship or an alien registration card. The problem with this law and with the Arizona law is that they both ignore the complexity of the every changing area of immigration law. For example, if you are from Haiti and you were in the USA illegally you could have been arrested under this new law up until January of 2010. After the earthquake in Haiti all Haitians that were already here with no criminal records could apply for “Temporary Protected Status.” You could have been in the USA illegally one day and be completely legal the next a...
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