Arizona, Immigration, and Christianity

In light of the newly proposed immigration bill working its way through the Arizona government, I'd like to consider a few things. But before we get started, you can see my views on what I believe are some sensible solutions both here in Part I, and here in Part II. I wrote these posts back in 2006, but even as I reread what I wrote, those ideas still seem to make sense. Now on to the tough stuff. I am always trying to see life through a lens of faith. For me, that faith lens is Christianity and the Bible. Now I wish I could say that this is what the bible says, and that it is clear as day with no competing viewpoints. But that is just not the case and no amount of wishful thinking can make it so. For a view on the conservative side here is an excellent post for you to check out. If you want to see the more liberal side, here is another post. Suffice to say that like a lot of stuff in the Bible, you can probably make a case for either side of this debate. What should not be at issue though is this. As Christians we are called to be compassionate, show mercy, and act justly towards the immigrant who is here legally, or illegally, just like we should act towards everyone. So let me pose a few questions for you. If the Arizona law is passed and upheld, which I doubt, how will the police determine if there is a reasonable possibility that someone is here illegally? Will he not speak English? Will he not have papers? What if he doesn't speak English, appears to be from a Latin American country, forgets to signal before a lane change, gets stopped by the police, and is a citizen of the United States. When the police ask for proof of citizenship, how should he respond? I mean, if he is a citizen, why would he carry that proof with him? I don't. do you? Doesn't this sound a little like the dark period of American history when we placed thousands of American Citizens in internment camps because they were of Japanese descent? Finally, as a good friend of mine used to say, "Riddle me this Batman." In all of our headlong rush to label President Barack Obama a Socialist and accuse him of supporting the policies of Hitler, Marx, Lenin, and even Dr. Evil, isn't there the least bit of irony in the fact that those who are screaming loudest at Obama are the biggest supporters of this proposed legislation? Finally, in closing, the picture above is the father of one of my dearest friends in Mexico. His Dad came across the border during WWII to enlist in our Army. After the war he was offered citizenship for himself and his family. He declined and walked back to Mexico. Today I wonder if someone like this would be demonized for even trying to come across our border. I'm just askin...