New Arizona immigration law an affront to decency

“Show me your papers.” Can any phrase sound more chilling to Jews?

Redolent of Nazi or Communist thuggery, these words could form the mantra of a police state. Now, thanks to a horrendous new law in Arizona, we have a police state next door.

The signing April 23 of the so-called Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act means Arizona has taken the crackdown on illegal immigration to a dangerous new level.

It is incumbent upon Americans, including our Jewish community, to speak out against this sickening act. As our story on page 8 indicates, many Jews are already doing so.

Under the terms of the law, which is slated to take effect in 90 days, Arizona police officers may demand proof of legal residency from any person they choose to question –– and let’s face it, cops will mostly go after people with brown skin.

If those questioned cannot produce the proper documents that legitimize their presence on U.S. soil — such as a passport (but not a driver’s license), a birth certificate, a visa or a green card — they may be carted off to jail, even if they are citizens or legal residents.

To make it easier to justify such actions, suspects need only be “trespassing,” which according to the law is defined as being “present on any public or private land.”

Or, more to the point, breathing while Hispanic. As Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of the Los Angeles Diocese told the New York Times this week, the authorities’ ability to demand documents was like “Nazism.”

As if the moral dimensions weren’t reason enough to condemn this law, it also opens the door to a judicial nightmare.

To quote from the legislation, a person may “bring an action in Superior Court to challenge any official or agency of this state or … other political subdivision that limits” enforcement of immigration law.

Imagine the legal Pandora’s box that clause could open.

While almost everyone agrees immigration reform is necessary, this draconian step will not fix the problem. Undocumented workers will continue to cross the border. Citizens and legal residents may come to view police with hostility after being ordered to prove they can be in this country.

This issue matters to Jews because we know from our history how easily governments can train their sights on us.

We hope this law is struck down by the Arizona Supreme Court, or, if necessary, the United States Supreme Court. Until then, we must raise our voices to proclaim that this racist, immoral and unworkable law will not stand.