An Outrage in Arizona
It is rare, indeed, to find ourselves nodding in agreement with a pronouncement from a politician named Bush.
But when Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, became the first prominent national Republican to speak out against Arizona’s new, draconian immigration law, he reminded us that there was a time not long ago when some of his party’s leaders understood the need for both comprehensive immigration reform and protection of civil liberties.
The Arizona law, a creature of the state’s GOP, is offensive in two ways, one abstract, the other personal. Since, oh, the early-19th century, immigration has been a federal issue in the United States, under the wise assumption that, even when there were fewer states in the union, it would be wrongheaded and impractical for each one to have a different policy and method of enforcement. Guarding its borders is a fundamental obligation of any nation, and Arizona’s decision to go it alone sets a dangerous precedent.
On a personal level, it’s not difficult to imagine the fear created by this law — the fear by anyone resembling an “alien” that, without the proper papers, he or she can be arrested. But there is another fear as well. Many police are concerned that their new job description — enforcer of immigration laws — will distract them from pursuing more serious crime, damage their relationships with the Hispanic community, and invite potential abuse.
“Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals.” That was another Bush, the former president, in his 2008 State of the Union address. What an astonishing turn the Republican Party has made, that such a basic sentiment is now so cruelly disregarded.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Most Popular
- 1
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- 2
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 3
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
- 4
Culture How two Jewish names — Kohen and Mira — are dividing red and blue states
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward ‘Another Jewish warrior’: Fine wins special election for U.S. House seat
-
Fast Forward Cory Booker proclaims, ‘Hineni’ — I am here — 19 hours into anti-Trump Senate speech
-
Opinion In Trump’s war against campus antisemitism, hate the tactics but don’t ignore the problem
-
Yiddish כ׳בענק נאָך די וועלטלעכע ייִדן וואָס האָבן אָפּגעריכט אַ טראַדיציאָנעלן סדר Longing for those secular Jews who led a traditional seder
מײַן פֿעטער יונה האָט נישט געהיט שבת און כּשרות אָבער בײַם אָפּריכטן דעם סדר האָט ער געקלונגען ווי אַ פֿרומער ייִד
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.