Raising Arizona?

Carey and I are moving to Arizona in August. It's unlikely we'll see any of our new friends from Guatemala there.
As you know, Arizona just passed the nation's toughest bill on illegal immigration with the purpose of identifying, prosecuting, and deporting more illegal immigrants. From my understanding, the bill will give law enforcement officers in the state the ability to request citizenship papers from civilians to verify their legal residency (however, apparently the bill was recently amended to say police could only request papers from "suspicious" individuals or individuals whom they've stopped for some other infraction of the law or crime). Many in the US and abroad have responded strongly to this new legislation. For Carey and me, it's become a personal issue as well.
During our time in Guatemala, we have met many wonderful people - some of whom will be our lifelong friends. As we've gotten closer to them, a few of them have revealed that they have either lived in the US or at some point been tempted to cross into the US illegally. These confessions have brought the issue closer to home for me.

Until I lived in a country south of the border, I guess I never thought much about the individual people and families who make up the estimated 12 million illegals currently in the US. They are guys my age without much education who go to find work. They are men desperate to provide for their families. And they are families looking to escape corrupt governments and militaries.
Now, I'm no fool. I also recognize that there are criminals, drug-dealers, and people who will take advantage of the welfare system among them too. And I also recognize that this is a very contentious issue, without any easy answers or solutions. However, I can't help but cringe when I hear lawmakers in Arizona call all illegal immigrants the "bad guys."
I say this only because I recently started thinking about what I would do if I were in their position. Admittedly, this was uncomfortable for me to do, because it made my morality a little less black and white. But Carey and I will have children one day (yes, mom, soon - we promise!), and we'll want to do everything we can to provide them with opportunities (education, health, jobs, safety) to live a happy and well-rounded life. With this thought in mind, the issue comes down to only one question for me: "If I happened to be born on the south side of a border instead of on the north side of a border and desperately wanted to provide these opportunities for my family, would I take the risk of crossing that border in order to ensure that happened - even if I my action would be considered illegal and I would be termed a 'bad guy?'"

Yes, I would.

Peace,
Jay