In a state of 'reasonable articulable suspicion'

In Resort City, Virginia, down by the water, a young police officer overhears a conversation in Spanish. A couple, deep in debate, step off a curb just before the light turns green.

The officer stops them.

"Papers, please," he says.

The couple look at the officer. They shake their heads.

"Under the authority of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli of the Commonwealth of Virginia," the officer says, taking a deep breath, "I hereby declare that I have 'reasonable articulable suspicion' that you have broken the law, by which I mean you crossed the street and the U.S. border illegally. Show me your papers, please."

The couple look at the officer. They shake their heads.

"Look," the officer says, "I'm just enforcing existing law. It's settled legal principle. The law does not distinguish between criminal violations of immigration law versus violations of any other criminal law. Crime is crime. Show me your papers."

The couple look at the officer. They shake their heads.

"Look, I know that immigration is politically controversial," says the officer, "but the legal principles discussed in the opinion are a matter of settled law and do not break any new legal ground. Papers, please."

The officer grows exasperated.

The couple look at the officer. They shake their heads.

"Stay there," says the officer. He steps away, holding up his hand, and dials his phone.

"Sarge," he says, "I just made a stop on Mediterranean, down near the water. A couple. They were walking against the light. And" - his voice lowers - "they were speaking Spanish."

The officer goes quiet and listens. People walk by, staring hard.

"They kinda look foreign," the officer says into his phone. "I don't know. They just do. The guy needs a shave."

As the officer listens, the couple look at the officer. They shake their heads.

"I didn't ask whether they were on vacation," the officer says into the phone. "I don't speak Spanish."

He listens.

"Look," the officer says into the phone, "the attorney general says I can stop anyone if I suspect they've broken the law. And I think these people crossed the border illegally. Therefore I can stop them and demand to see their documents."

He turns to the couple: "Papers, please!"

The couple look at the officer. They shake their heads.

"I'm telling you, Sarge," says the officer. "It doesn't matter what happened in Arizona. That judge was an activist, and that immigration law is too popular to be unconstitutional."

The couple look at the officer. They shake their heads.

"You should see 'em, Sarge," the officer says. "They just shake their heads and don't say a thing. I don't think they understand a word I'm saying. I sure could use some help. Thanks."

The officer hangs up the phone.

"A translator is coming," the officer says. "He should be here in a little while. Maybe then you'll understand."

The couple look at the officer. They shake their heads.

Finally, the woman speaks.

"We understand you perfectly," she says, in unaccented English. "We just thought this was America."

Donald Luzzatto is The Virginian-Pilot's editorial page editor. E-mail: donald.luzzatto@pilotonline.com.