George Phillips is the GOP endorsed candidate for Congress in New York’s 22 Congressional District.  Today's Binghamton Press carried an Op-Ed from Mr. Phillips on the subject of Illegal Immigration and Arizona’s SB1070.

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits to come from the simple act of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signing her state's new immigration legislation into law was the beginning of a much-needed, long overdue national discussion on the subject of border security.
There were understandable concerns raised when SB1070 was passed. Questions were raised about the possibility of racial profiling and police being put in a potentially untenable position when enforcing the law. But Arizona 's governor quickly moved to sign HB2162, which clarified troubling aspects of the legislation.

What we were left with was, in fact, a law which closely mimics existing federal immigration regulations. This brings us to the question of whether or not the states, as opposed to the federal government, should be engaged in the enforcement of border security. It's an important issue and a debate that we should explore fully. But it still fails to address the underlying crisis that brought us to this point.

Arizona and our other border states have been asking for help for years now, but Washington has failed to address this very real threat in any meaningful way.

We interrupt this op-ed to interject that the previous administration (aka George W. BOOOOOOSSSSHHHH) was equally at fault here.

What Gov. Brewer and the Arizona Legislature have done is not some sort of revolt against federal authority, but a final act of frustration, if not desperation. The utter failure to act by the federal government has left them with few options. When ranchers along the border were being routinely plagued by vandalism, assault and, in some cases, murder, with little or no help in sight from the appropriate authorities, something had to be done.

That is part of the reason why I am doing my "The Cost Of Illegal Immigration" series.  Real people are being hurt badly by illegal immigration.  This is not some "victimless crime" as I will continue to point out.

It is unfortunate that opponents of these measures have chosen to frame the debate in racially charged rhetoric, depicting supporters of Arizona 's actions as being somehow opposed to immigration in any form.

Great point and it is something that both sides need to work at getting past.  As I have pointed out numerous times in the past, this is not about the race of the people coming across the border.  It is about the law!

Washington must move forward with robust immigration reform that puts a halt to the entry of those who would demonstrate disdain for our laws or, in the worst-case scenario, seek entry to do us harm. It is already illegal by definition to be in this country without the appropriate documentation. Now is the time to support the states most afflicted by this problem and enforce existing immigration law as we seek to improve it.

It is not just the border or western states that are adversely affected by illegal immigration. It is hitting all states, just in different ways which is why SB1070 may work in Arizona and not work in New York or even Utah.

Immigration reform needs to happen - of that there is no doubt. The system is badly broken.  However, we need to get past the demagoguery that has driven the debate thus far.   Until we do that, we will never find an answer to this problem.