- Published: October 2, 2022
- Updated: October 2, 2022
- University / College: University of San Diego
- Level: Secondary School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 21
The paper ” Arizona’s Immigration Law” is an outstanding example of a law essay.
Popularly referred to as the ‘ Show me your papers law’, Arizona’s immigration law, SB 1070 is a piece of legislation that outlaws the harbouring of illegal immigrants and also regards committing specific federal immigration crimes as state crimes. The law also requires police officers to verify a person’s immigration status with the federal government during the course of traffic stops and other law enforcing actions if they have reasonable suspicions. As such, the police can stop people they suspect to be illegal aliens and ask for identification (Hesson, 2012).
I strongly oppose this bill. This is because the law in its totality criminalized innocent day to day interactions with illegal immigrants. One part of the law outlaws many forms of engagements with illegal aliens, which it refers to as harbouring (Hesson, 2012). However, section 2B, the most controversial part of the law, which doubles up as the main reason behind my objection, is the provision that allows police to stop people they thought of as aliens and demand identification. This is because it creates ample room for racial profiling, a clear discriminatory act that infringes on a person’s civil rights (Hesson, 2012).
It will also lead to wrongful detentions and unwarranted arrests because it is largely based on the officer’s discretion. This law not only wastes the already limited resources allocated to law enforcers but will also compromise the very ideals that America stands for, fairness and equality for all. They are a clear violation of the 4th and 14th amendments of the US constitution (Hesson, 2012).
For over two years, this law has been subject to countless litigation with civil rights groups such as the rather vocal American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Right Project contesting provisions of this law in court. In June 2010, the Supreme Court passed injunctions against three out of the four SB 1070 provisions (Hesson, 2012). The remaining provision, section 2B was allowed (Hesson, 2012). The Federal Court sided with the Supreme Court and refused to pass injunctions on the part that allowed police officers to inquire about a person’s immigration status, much to the delight of Arizona’s governor, Jan Brewer. However, the harbouring statue still remains blocked by the court.