Are you sure you're not illegal?

Could Arizona's jihad against folks with Spanish surnames be reaching just a tad too far -- embracing people holding actual U.S. citizenship? That seems to be the case, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Juan Carlos Ochoa, a naturalized U.S. citizen who lives in an upper-middle-class subdivision near Phoenix named Laguna Hills, can't find a job because a government database classifies him as a possible illegal immigrant. ...

Because many did not register their citizenship with the Social Security Administration, they are often listed as possible illegal workers.

That's what apparently happened to Ochoa, 47, who became a citizen in 2000. He quit his job as a car salesman at the end of last year and got hired by a local Dodge dealership in February. Days later, his new employers called him with bad news -- E-Verify classified him as a possible illegal immigrant. He only had a couple of days to convince Social Security that he wasn't.

He had lost his naturalization certificate, so Ochoa took his U.S. passport, Social Security card, driver's license and Arizona voter identification card to the local Social Security office. He was told he'd have to request new papers from the Department of Homeland Security, which could take up to 10 months.

"I love this country, I'm happy in this country," said Ochoa, a father of two, who escaped eviction this month only because a church group paid his rent. "The guy who made this law, I don't know him. He's started destroying a lot of families."

American citizens mistaken for illegal immigrants are only a subset of the problems caused by the anti-immigrant frenzy. Other problems include families impoverished, people thrown out of employment, economic damage and the right to engage in business treated as a privilege that can be revoked by the government. But they make for especially poignant victims because there's no pretending at an excuse for ensnaring them in the net of sanctions and penalties, unless you're just out to inconvenience Hispanics.

I've written before that the best possible reaction to the sanctions law, short of outright repeal, would be enormous growth in the size of the state's underground economy. That would guarantee jobs for immigrants, employees for businesses, and somewhat offset the damage done by the law. But life in the shadows is cold comfort for people who've actually jumped through the hoops required for full access to the American dream -- and find themselves denied the fruits of their efforts.