My wallet needs a little cleaning out. It’s got a little cash, a couple credit cards, some loyalty cards for various businesses, an ATM card, a couple business cards, some old receipts, and a drivers license.*
You know what it doesn’t contain?
Proof that I am a United States Citizen, legally entitled to work in and be in this country.
And let’s get technical now, even if I were to stuff my short form birth certificate in there, it might not be good enough.**
Sure, I’m not worried if I go to Arizona. First of all if I’m in Arizona that means I’m at SkyHarbor with my passport waiting on a flight. Second, I’m a middle aged, middle class white woman. Supreme Court rulings aside, the odds of some random cop deciding I might not be a citizen are rather small! People of color and poor people are much more likely to find themselves trying to prove they are citizens.
I heard an interview with an ACLU representative this week and they are already on the lookout for profiling. Be sure to give them a call if you are a person of color targeted by Arizona cops.
Heh, not that cops in Maricopa County give a damn about the ACLU or court rulings.
In closing: not a bad idea; eminent domain and censorship; elitism; and apparently in Mexico it’s ok to arrest somebody for something his dad did.
* A drivers license shows that I can drive a car (legally and safely, one would hope). Technically it is also proof of identity. It is not proof of citizenship.
**And that’s why birther ramblings are dangerous to all of us. If the President can’t prove he’s an American, neither can you.