Friday, April 23^rd, 2010 marks the beginning of the divisive battle now taking place in America. It was on this date that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill that gave life to Arizona's new Immigration Law, Senate Bill 1070.  Ms. Brewer and her supporters view the law as a 'tool' that must be used by the state to put an end to the crisis of illegal immigration. Unfortunately, Arizona's location places it at the center of the immigration crisis, and Arizona is now forced to deal with the crisis directly.

Arizona is amongst one of the most rapidly growing states in the US, and recently overtook Nevada to become the most rapidly growing union state, with an annual growth rate of 3.6%. Much of this increase is due to the influx of illegal immigrants and their US born children. These illegal immigrants and their offspring account for two-fifths of Arizona's population growth, or about 42.4 percent. Current records show that there are more than half a million illegal immigrants living in the state, accounting for 13 percent of the population.

Governor Brewer wants every American to see the importance in the immigration debate. The significance lies in the impact the immigrants are having on our nation. How or why illegal immigration occurs is of even lesser significance, especially when compared to the greater issue: why the Federal Government refuses to fix the issue and the impact it has on our nation. For this reason, supporters of the law believe that Arizona, and other states if desired, must step in and take action for the well-being of this nation. On the other hand, critics of the law are focusing in on legality of the law, more specifically, on how a state law can enforce federal law.

Obama stated that the law threatens to 'undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.' Obama must have forgotten who the "us" is in his statement. "Us" does not include those immigrants living within our borders illegally. As John Adams once stated, "Government is instituted for the common good, for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people..." True Americans, those of us who abide by the law of the United States, are the people, and as the people, we deserve government protection to help us lead prosperous lives. This is the basis of trust we have with the police officers in our communities. It is our right as Americans to seek protection from those who come into our nation illegally, abuse the law of our nation, endanger our privileges and often our lives, as well as cost us our tax dollars. Action is necessary.

According to a recent study conducted by the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, the state of Arizona spends $150 million annually to provide care for illegal immigrants residing in the state. Further, 37 cents of every tax dollar paid by Arizona residents is used to pay for the problems associated with illegal immigration. Cochise County, a county in Arizona greatly affected by illegal immigration, admits to spending 10 percent of its health department budget on the medical treatment of illegal immigrants each year. Hospitals in the county have been forced to shut down due to lack of compensation from the illegal immigrants receiving care. The Federal Government would rather see hospitals close their doors than compensate the institutions with the money lost from treating illegal immigrants. Arizona is forced to fix what the Federal Government is apparently not able do on its own.

The Arizona Immigration Law is a secondary law, which means persons must have committed a crime before they can be rightfully detained by police officers. No one can be detained by simply "looking suspect"; there is always a need for probable cause. A police officer is forced to make a reasonable attempt "when practicable" to determine the status of the immigrant. This may mean the immigrant was or is either convicted of a violation, on discharge from imprisonment, in custody, or imprisoned. Then the immigrant is either transferred to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection, or the individual's immigration status is sent to be verified with the Federal Government. Arizona can practice no policies that limit or restrict the enforcement of Federal Immigration Law.

A USA Today/Gallup poll released in May finds that Americans find both sides of the immigration-policy debate of almost equal importance when judged on a scale of "extremely important", "very important", "moderately important" or "not that important". Sixty-eight percent of respondents replied to the comment, 'controlling U.S. Border to halt the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S.' as either extremely important or very important, and 67 percent of respondents favored the idea of, 'developing a plan to deal with the large number of illegal immigrants who are already living in the U.S.' with extreme importance or as very important. But when deciding which of the two goals the Federal Government should have as its main focus, there is a slight favor in halting the flow of illegal immigrants into our nation (53%), compared to dealing with the illegal immigrants already living within our borders (45%). Digging even deeper, of the 53 percent who favor halting illegal immigrant flow, 43 percent of these respondents claim to be Democrats and 34 percent claim to be Liberals.

According to the same Gallup poll, 64 percent of Americans claim to be sympathetic toward immigrants in our country, yet further polling finds that the majority of Americans are more likely to be "very concerned" with the potential harm that illegal immigrants could cause our nation than they are about the harm that could be caused on the illegal immigrants themselves by enforcing stricter immigration laws. The limitations of American sympathy are obvious. Again, action is necessary.

Citizens are making it clear what they want from the government this year. The government must make it a priority to halt illegal immigration by controlling the US borders, as well as deal with the immigrants already living within our borders. Americans are also willing to let the government enforce these priorities by allowing stricter immigration laws, such as the Arizona Immigration Law, if these regulations will guarantee that our homeland be protected from the harm our nation endures from illegal immigrants living within our borders. Arizona should be respected for its decision to make the next step in making America safer for those of us who abide by the laws of our nation, those of us who are true Americans. Let the battle carry on!