Let me see your papers – legal identity

“In Arizona, immigration creates another Tea Party moment

By Richard Cohen

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.

Pretty soon this state will be dicey for blonds. Last week, Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill that allows the police to demand the papers of anyone reasonably suspected of being in the country illegally. Since this law is aimed at illegal immigrants from Mexico, the cops are almost certain to bend over backwards to avoid any suggestion of racial profiling and will, as a matter of fairness, stop and frisk the odd Scandinavian. Sven, don't let the sun set on you in this state.

I am not a blond, but I was once a redhead, and I sunburn to blinking neon orange. Even at some distance, it is clear that I am not Mexican, and so you would think that people like me are protected by the Incredible Power of White. But the Arizona law is so bizarre, fueled by anger and a dash of bigotry, that its effect is hard to predict. One thing is certain: Some cops will abuse their power -- such is human nature -- and the Hispanic minority will come to see the police as oppressors. History will repeat itself by moving west -- cactus instead of Spanish moss.

The law may seem absurd, but its harshness is no laughing matter. It has prompted widespread outrage from various politicians and civic leaders. And the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, has even likened it to "Nazism." This seems a bit extreme, since there was more to Nazism than merely stopping people on the street and demanding their identification documents. Still, the practice does bring to mind a certain Maj. Heinrich Strasser in the movie "Casablanca," who was in the habit of demanding "papers" from the likes of Paul Henreid, the Victor Laszlo character who managed to somehow escape a concentration camp in a Palm Beach suit. In fact, one of the splendid freedoms of America is to be free of "papers." All over the world, people carry papers saying who they are and where they belong and often revealing their religion or ethnicity as well. Not here. No papers.”