But for a state like Arizona where nearly one-third of the population is Hispanic, reasonable suspicion is unnervingly vague and may lead to racial profiling. The law does stipulate that an officer must have “lawful contact” to ask someone for proof of
their citizenship.
However, if Hispanics were to be pulled over for speeding, for example, and spoke little English, they could be asked for papers, whether they were illegal immigrants or not, and must provide them.
For a country known worldwide for accepting immigrants and providing them with opportunities not afforded to them in other countries, this law seems very aggressive. Families looking to make a better life for themselves will come to the United States, only to be deported after missing a stop sign. Other legal immigrants will have to carry proof of citizenship wherever they go knowing that if they were to come into “lawful contact” with an officer at anytime, they would have to prove they have a right to be in America.
Hispanics and rights groups across the country like the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Center for Constitutional Rights have erupted in protest against the law. Protests in Phoenix have even turned violent. Officials in California are proposing a boycott of Arizona businesses.
Florida senatorial candidate Marco Rubio, republican, said the law could “unreasonably single out people who are here legally, including many American citizens.” President Obama recently called it a “poorly conceived law.”
While Arizona’s new immigration law is an overly aggressive act, some of the blame must also fall on the federal government. In 2007, there were nearly 12.6 million illegal immigrants in the United States, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
The responsibility of preventing illegal immigrants from entering the country falls under National Security and should therefore be the responsibility of the federal government. With the federal government passing little reform on immigration, these immigrants often burden states’ economies and public systems by not paying taxes.
Arizona undoubtedly grew impatient with the federal government’s lack of action on the issue. Accordingly, their plan for action seems rash and hastily created.
Rather than opening the door for racial profiling, Arizona should lead the way in federal immigration reform and bring the issue to the forefront of national politics. States like Florida must push for federal reform before other states adopt Arizona’s hostile legislation towards immigrants. Representative Debbie Riddle of Texas has already said that she hopes to introduce a similar law in her state in the January legislative session.
Arizona’s stand on immigration has caused an uproar among Hispanics for a reason. It effectively ignores one of America’s
most fundamental values: that one is innocent until proven guilty. By forcing a specific racial group to carry their papers with them at all
times, Arizona is not only promoting racial profiling, but also overlooking the civil
rights granted to each and every American citizen.