"Your Papers Please"...Keeping America Safe Since 1940

For those who are whining that the new Arizona immigration law will require aliens to have their identity papers with them at all times, you're right.  But then, that's been the law since 1940:

It is true that the Arizona law makes it a misdemeanor for an alien to fail to carry certain documents. “Now, suddenly, if you don’t have your papers ... you’re going to be harassed,” the president said. “That’s not the right way to go.” But since 1940, it has been a federal crime for aliens to fail to keep such registration documents with them. The Arizona law simply adds a state penalty to what was already a federal crime. Moreover, as anyone who has traveled abroad knows, other nations have similar documentation requirements.

If you don't like aliens having to carry identity papers around, you'll have to blame that fascist Franklin D. Roosevelt.