Arizona has passed a law that allows police to check the immigration status of a person. If law enforcement has a reasonable suspicion that something is not quite right, they may ask the suspect to produce identification, and proof that they are in America legally. The law has sparked a firestorm of criticism among civil rights activists, and pandering politicians………..Gee! I wonder if the outraged crowd might be interested in commercial fishermen? Let’s see… We get asked for our papers every time we’re stopped, whether anything is suspicious or not. We get tracked 24 hours a day with Vessel Monitoring Systems. We have suspicious mates snatched from the boats in the middle of fishing trips. We have to have special ID cards that can be tracked with GPS. We are forced to reveal how much money we make, how much taxes we pay, and our ethnic background… Enough? Well, there’s more if anyone needs it.
