[LAPhil]

No, you're not wrong about anything you said except possibly for the part about a judge permanently striking down the law. I think that even if that were tried the decision would be appealed, except in this case you wouldn't have the governor of the state dropping the appeal as Gray Davis did with Proposition 187 in California. And I believe what you meant about a law requiring anyone to have to show papers at any time is that the law already exists. If that's not what you meant please correct me, because I may not have understood you correctly. The Arizona law only mirrors existing federal law and in fact doesn't even go as far in its intrusiveness, but very few people seem to know that. And I certainly do agree with you about how many of us are limiting our efforts by being afraid of being called racist, fascist, neo-Nazis, etc. In the public perception there's a very thin line between enforcing the law and being a police state.