From the "How Quickly We Forget" Department

As the challenge to Arizona's SB1070 winds its way through the courts -- and the Arizona Legislature explores additional unconstitutional legislation targeting undocumented aliens of hispanic descent-- the following excerpt from the Second Circuit's Opinion overturning John Lennon's deportation order is ringing very hollow:

"We have come a long way from the days when fear and prejudice toward alien races were the guiding forces behind our immigration laws. The Chinese exclusion acts of the 1880's and the 'barred zone' created by the 1917 Immigration Act have, thankfully, been removed from the statute books and relegated to the historical treatises."

Lennon v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 527 F. 2d 187 (2nd Cir. 1975).