Religion & Law

Several of us have weighed in, with reactions to the new illegal-immigration-related law enacted in Arizona.  (Disclosure:  my family moved to Arizona 25 years ago, and I love the place.)  My initial reaction was -- and I think my view still is -- that the law is misguided.  That said, I have an uneasy sense that many of the law's critics are engaging in hyperbole (this is not surprising, of course -- it's an election year) and failing to take seriously enough the concerns that, in my view, the law (for the most part) reflects.  (I say "for the most part" because, as Eduardo hints, it is probably the case that some of the law's supporters are in the grips of an unattractive nativism.  But, in my view, the vast majority are not.)

In today's New York Times, there is an op-ed by Prof. Kris Kobach (a law-school classmate of mine), who was one of the drafters of the new law. He responds to the leading criticisms of the law, and concludes that:

[The law] takes a measured, reasonable step to give Arizona police officers another tool when they come into contact with illegal aliens during their normal law enforcement duties.

Again, I think there are good reasons to worry about this law.  But, Rob's earlier expressed concerns about Cardinal Mahoney's reaction to it ring more and more true for me.