July 29, 2010, 10:22 a.m. Even in the early morning hours, the Arizona sun had scorched us as we marched from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral to Cesar Chavez Plaza in Phoenix. I now stand with hundreds of other protestors, baking in that sun, at the intersection of Washington Street and First Avenue in downtown Phoenix. I’m sure it has to be at least 120 degrees out here. Sweat trickles down my chest and back and pools at the waistband of my pants. Fortunately, I had stopped at a sporting goods store last night and bought a lightweight white golf cap. ClimaCool, it is called. I can’t say it is keeping me cool, but at least sweat isn’t dripping down my face as well. In addition to my protective hat, I am a wearing a bright, goldenrod-colored T-shirt with the logo and motto of the Standing on the Side of Love (SSL) campaign, a public witness program of my faith community, the Unitarian Universalist Association. My arms are linked firmly at the elbow with two other protestors, so if the hat doesn’t do its job, there is no way I can wipe the sweat from my face.
Today is the day Arizona enacts its latest anti-immigration legislation, SB 1070, commonly referred to as the “Papers, Please” law. This law requires everyone, American citizen or not, to carry identification papers or risk being arrested as an illegal alien. As a middle-class, white woman of Irish, French, and German descent, I know police will never stop me and ask me for my papers. They target only people of darker skin, people who do not speak English as a primary language, people who, according to the police, “look” illegal. Systematically targeting and arresting people because they fit a profile of an illegal immigrant violates the first of the seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism, which affirms “the inherent worthy and dignity of every person.” This egregious violation of human rights prompted me to decide, along with scores of other Unitarian Universalists, to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience and put myself in the position of being arrested. I also chose, as is my right as an American citizen, not to carry my identification with me.