By SANDRA LORD – Caribbean

When I attended performing arts school in New York, each semester I found myself one of few black students in the classroom. The rest of the students were primarily Caucasian, many from Europe and Canada.

I thought nothing much of it until one day a fellow classmate from Holland asked me if I knew how she could get her Green Card. I was taken off guard. The fact is, until that moment, it had never dawned on me that any of my fellow classmates was in the U.S. illegally – after all, they were um…white.

It turned out that several of them were here illegally, including those from CANADA.

I’ve never stopped thinking about that for like many Americans, I had subconsciously been brainwashed to believe that illegal immigrants were brown, black and yellow.

So, you would understand why, whenever the issue of immigration comes up, as with the new immigration law in Arizona, it makes me stomping mad, for without fail, illegals are generally portrayed as people of color – specifically Latin Americans.

For the bigots under the guise of “I love my country and want to protect it” like that buffoon, Lou Snobbs, I mean, Dobbs, white illegal immigrants never seem to make it into the equation when the issue of illegal immigration comes up.

Also, I never hear people talking much about securing the Canadian border, where a multitude of Canadians pass through and never go back.

Yes, that includes some of our celebrities. Hollywood is full of Canadians who made it big here – Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, Nicolette Sheridan, Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Neve Campbell, Avril Lavigne, Howie Mandel, Dan Akroyd, Kim Cattrall, Martin Short, Paul Shaffer, Nelly Furtado, , Hayden Christensen, Mike Myers, Keanu Reeves, Kiefer Sutherland, Sandra Oh, Matthew Perry, Eric McCormack, Alex Trebeck, etc., etc.

But I wonder how many of them were actually here legally at the time they got their big break. I wonder how many had a Green Card, work permit or the backing of a television or film studio or record company that allowed them to pursue or gain employment in the United States when they sauntered over the Canadian border to pursue their dreams, aye? I have no beef with the Canadians at all, but I just wonder if anyone bothered to ask. I don’t think so!

One of the key provisions of the new Arizona immigration law “requires police officers to ‘make a reasonable attempt’ to determine the immigration status of a person if there is a “reasonable suspicion” that he or she is an illegal immigrant.” What would constitute a “reasonable suspicion?” Pray tell. Oh wait. It continues. “Race, color or national origin may not be the only things considered in implementation.” That’s the joke of the year.

Based on who is typically viewed as “illegal,” in my opinion the Arizona bill is inherently racist, not to mention unconstitutional.

The new bill endorses racial profiling and gives racist cops full authority to indulge in overt racist practices. For, if you look anything even remotely like some policeman’s perception of an illegal immigrant, to be blunt, non-white, you are at risk of being stopped at will and put through the indignity of producing documents showing that you’re in the good ole USA legally.

The thing is, there is no adjunct system in place that tells immigration-happy cops that you’ve already been hassled; say something like a stamp on your forehead or on your wrist (like the ones you get at the nightclubs) to show that you’ve already proven your status for that day or week or year. This annoyance can intrude into your life multiple times a day, 24/7, 365 days a year “whenever and where-ever an officer requests.” Talk about freedom of movement! It kinda smacks of the good old days of slavery whereby people of color had to carry their freedom papers, doesn’t it?

Maybe all immigrants who’ve been checked and passed the test the first time should just be given an electronic ankle or wrist bracelet that immediately signals “immigration approved” to avoid any further hassle.

Yes, we undoubtedly need sweeping immigration reform. And, ironically, I do understand the frustration of the state of Arizona, which has one of the highest rates of illegal immigration in the country, a state that has received little help from a federal government responsible for securing its borders. But Arizona has opened up a can of worms with the nature of this new bill.

Rounding up people because they look a certain way or are suspected of being in violation of immigration law or arbitrarily detaining them on the basis of skin color and accent is not a good idea and can only lead to a severe violation of people’s fundamental civil rights.

I seriously hope that this law is not introduced in California or other States.

I am not just expressing my opinion on this subject. I am voicing my displeasure from experience.

Several years ago, fellow guest blogger on this blog and friend, blonde, blue-eyed Melody Jackson gave me a ride home from one of my Hollywood Networking Breakfast events. When we got to my home, we sat in the car chatting for a moment. Up ahead, we noticed several police cars with as many policemen looking around. We didn’t think much of it, but as I got out of Melody’s car, my arms full with all my breakfast stuff, beautifully dressed in one of my famous tailored business suits, I was suddenly accosted by three policemen who wanted to know what I was doing in this Beverly Hills neighborhood.

Having heard horror stories about cops and blacks, I was naturally suspicious, but I calmly told them ‘I live here.’ No, they wanted proof that I did. In America?  Yessirree!

I had not committed any crime, so I asked them why was I being stopped? Well, the expressions on their faces said they couldn’t believe I had the audacity to ask.

Melody’s expression was utter shock as in, “I can’t believe this is happening.”

The Amazon female policeman and the physically- challenged, Napoleonic-complexed male cop barked, “We are not letting you leave until you show us your ID.”

I was livid and the stench of their attitude did not help at all. Then they seemingly had a brainstorm!  The third cop waddled over to Melody and asked for her ID. Brilliant move to save face and “cover their asses!” Melody complied. After seeing that and not knowing exactly what the law was in such circumstances, I finally had to drop all my stuff and show them my ID. [You gotta pick your battles, I guess.]

So, after they had gotten their kicks from their power trip that day, the pint-sized turd and his whale jumped into their car, and giving me the finger, roared away making monkey faces at me. My neighbors all had their jaws dropped. In fact, it was one of my neighbors who shouted to me “He flipped you the bird” – alerting me to the cop’s stubby erect middle finger, no doubt a vivid replica of his own other physical shortcomings.

Some members of my family have had incidents of being accosted by police demanding ID, guns drawn, simply for being in an affluent neighborhood, even though that’s where they lived, shopped and dined.

So, you will understand why, as an accented naturalized U.S. citizen of color, I am not keen on the “show your ID” laws such as that of Arizona. That now gives rogue cops an excuse, not to mention, carte blanche to hassle people of color, beautifully dressed or not, under the guise of  “authenticating immigration status.”

America is known and marketed as the land of opportunity, so is it any wonder that most people want to come and seek a better life in this country? Heck, this country was built on immigrant labor and the majority of white Americans are descendants of immigrants.

So, if America had closed its borders generations ago, where would we be? And to take it further, most Americans are virtually immigrants in a land that is indigenously Indian. Many illegal immigrants have fought in the U.S. army for our freedom and the right to even rally against them in a self-righteous manner. Did you know that?

Then there are those anti-immigration activists who want children born to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. (so-called “anchor babies”) to assume the nationality of the parents – clearly Mexicans. There are some who go further and want the American born children to be deported with their illegal parents. So, to deprive children the recognition of their country of birth is constitutional? Silly me, I thought if you were BORN IN AMERICA, you were American and in that unique capacity you can even run for the highest office in the land – President.

And what is the beef with Mexicans anyway? Some of my friends argue that illegals are a burden to the healthcare, welfare and economic system; they take jobs away from hardworking Americans; the Arizona bill will result in “less crime,”  “lower taxes,” “safer neighborhoods,” “shorter lines in the emergency rooms,” “smaller classrooms,” yada, yada, yada.

Most or all of that may be true, but let’s not put the entire burden on the backs of Mexicans. ALL illegal immigrants (Europeans and Canadians included) put a burden on the country’s resources.

From my observations, most Mexicans are a hardworking people doing work in which most Americans have no interest. They are an important part of life as we know it, with many industries depending on a cheap and undocumented workforce to survive — from our farms, restaurants and landscaping, to the care of our children, cleaning of our homes and offices, the construction of our streets and buildings etc. Even some of my African American friends, another minority, blame Latinos for their troubles. I don’t know one of them who would want to work these jobs.

At the end of the day, immigrants have the same hopes, dreams and aspirations as any American, to make life better for themselves and their families in this land of hope and opportunity.

So, to those who say we need to bring this country back to what it was, what exactly does that mean and how far back do you want to go? I daresay the native Indians would be happy to have their country back and the Mexicans would like to have their land with all the still Spanish-named towns and cities back.

I am not at all advocating illegal immigration, but I do believe that if sweeping exclusionary measures are put into place, and people are required to produce ID authenticating legal status, then it should be an all-inclusive, “equal opportunity roundup” – Europeans, Canadians, Latinos – the whole lot.

But most importantly, I do believe that an immediate viable solution is amnesty for illegals currently here, who have paid taxes and lived an exemplary life.

After that, I say, “America, secure ALL your borders.”

In the meantime, I don’t think I’ll be going to Arizona any time soon.

And by the way, the last time I checked, the term “illegal” was a crime, NOT a race.