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Show Me Your Papers!
Arizona’s New Law Is The Same As The Existing Federal Law
Written and Researched by OUTLOUD Staff
The State of Arizona and 70% of its voters decided to deal with its illegal immigrant problem since the federal government failed to take action at the national level. Arizona’s new immigrant law mirrors and enforces the already existing federal law that requires aliens (non-citizens) to register and carry their documents with them, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
On April 23, Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed the Senate Bill 1070 into law, making Arizona the first state to demand that non - citizens carry their papers with them. Because it is now a state law they are allowed to enforce the federal law – and local law enforcement can make arrests for that violation.
Arizona’s immigration troubles soared in recent years. It is one of the fastest growing illegal immigrant populations in the country with the federal government estimating an increase from 330,000 in 2000 to 560,000 by 2008. The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 12% of Arizona’s workers are illegal immigrants.
However, Arizona’s new law raises a great many questions – first one being is it constitutional? Is there a possibility the law will create a basis for racial profiling and does it target the Hispanic community? This is a complicated issue since there are 2 million Hispanics residing in Arizona and they represent 30% of its population. Also Arizona does not issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, so if stopped for a traffic violation it would result in a certain arrest.
The law states that if you’re in Arizona, having entered the U.S. illegally, you are guilty of criminal trespass, which allows police officers throughout Arizona to arrest you, and, if you’re found guilty of that and/or other offenses, turn you over to federal immigration authorities once your Arizona sentence is completed.
The new law has reignited the once heated debate on immigration reform which questioned whether or not to legalize the estimated 11.9 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S, in 2008 – three quarters (76%) are Hispanic, according to Pew Research.org.
A lawsuit has been filed against the state by the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of civil rights groups, all of whom challenge the constitutionality of Arizona’s law. The law is seen as “extreme” because it could allow people of color to be racially profiled.
To show opposition toward the new law, a boycott on Arizona has been suggested by government and city officials outside of the state. Employees of both San Francisco’s city government and Denver’s public schools are banned from work-related travel to Arizona, while New York City Council members considered an official boycott on any products made in Arizona.
The law, unless amended or withdrawn, takes effect 90 days after the legislative session in Arizona ends— so immigrants may have to show their papers beginning in August.
- 70 percent of Arizona voters approve of the new state immigration law
- Arizona has one of the fastest growing illegal immigrant populations in the country: from 330,000 in 2000 to 560,000 by 2008
- In 2007, an estimated 12 percent of workers in Arizona were illegal immigrants
- More than 80 percent of illegal immigrants are from Latin America, which may lead police to target only Hispanics when enforcing the new law
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