Behold the curious case of Nevada’s Senator Jacky Rosen, who, in her boundless wisdom and indefatigable compassion, has decided that schools, churches, and hospitals should be as sacred and untouchable as a Sunday preacher’s collection plate. In the spirit of grand legislative endeavors, she has joined forces with fellow lawmakers to introduce the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, a bill designed to keep the long arm of immigration enforcement at bay in places where one might expect to find textbooks, pews, or stethoscopes rather than handcuffs.
“Why,” asks the good Senator, “should a respectable citizen be forced to contemplate the specter of deportation whilst reciting the Lord’s Prayer, bandaging a scraped knee, or attempting to decipher their child’s algebra homework?”
Respectable citizens don’t come to a country illegally or let their children worry about the long arm of the law.
She deems it “outrageous” that President Trump would dare disrupt the tranquil scenes of school drop-offs and Sunday sermons with the unpleasant business of enforcing immigration laws. Thus, with the noble stroke of a pen, she seeks to return when an individual could sit through a hospital waiting room’s ten-hour delay without the added inconvenience of federal agents in pursuit.
But let us not forget Nevada’s legislative minds, ever eager to take the cause of shielding illegal aliens from the terrifying prospect of border enforcement. Assemblywoman Cecelia González, perhaps inspired by the unshakable logic that laws shouldn’t get enforced whenever they cause discomfort, has put forth AB217, a bill so thoroughly padded with legal barricades that one wonders if Nevada schools will soon require a judge’s blessing for a janitor to change a lightbulb. This particular measure seeks to not only keep ICE from entering school grounds without a warrant but also makes it a crime for any school employee to so much as whisper a word of a student’s whereabouts to the authorities.
If there are worries that police might still have power in schools, the new bill makes it clear that students cannot get pepper sprayed or stunned. It seems that a troublemaker will get only stern looks and firm letters.
Meanwhile, the school districts, unions, and assorted guardians of education have taken it upon themselves to assure families that their private information shall remain as secure as the gambler’s last dollar in a casino. Letters of reassurance are issued, meetings convened, and declarations made that under no circumstances shall a school police officer, teacher, or administrator engage in the heinous act of acknowledging an immigration officer’s existence.
As Nevada’s lawmakers lay down the gauntlet against federal enforcement, will these measures provide the peace of mind they so earnestly promise, or will they merely serve as a temporary barricade against the realities of law and order?
Either way, one must admire the grand performance. If nothing else, it provides ample entertainment for those of us watching from the gallery.
The Old Blog in the Desert 
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