Nullifying SB1070

*Note* This paper was written about a year ago

Nullifying the Arizona Anti-Immigration Law SB1070

The unsafe environment of the Mexican-American border and the large quantities of illegal immigrants arriving in the United States is creating a wave of concern throughout the bordering states. The ruthless Mexican drug cartels constantly smuggle narcotics and people into the U.S. The impotence of the federal government pushed the state of Arizona to create its own anti-immigration law, SB1070, to combat the drug-trafficking organizations that are causing violence and chaos in the state. Many argue that this law is necessary in order to protect the state; however, this law strays away from the original purpose of diminishing the drug cartels power and instead focuses on discriminating against people of Hispanic descent. Therefore, this law should be nullified by the federal government because it encourages racial profiling and targets the wrong group of people.

One of the sections of Arizona’s anti-immigration law states, “If reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.” the law enforcement has the right to question the individual (Senate Fact Sheet). The provision, however, noticeably lacks a definition of “suspicious.” This lack of specificity allows the police to implement the law based on their own criteria, which, in some instances, can be stereotypical. Clearly, this ambiguous law can lead to racial profiling by the police. Would the system be justifiable if an individual is vulnerable to arrest based on a law enforcer’s personal biases? During a news conference, Jan Brewer, the Governor of Arizona, was asked “What does an illegal immigrant look like?” Surprisingly, the person who mandated the law allowing police to identify illegal immigrants responded, “I don’t know what an illegal immigrant looks like. I can tell you that there are people in Arizona that assume they know what an illegal immigrant looks like. I don’t know if they know that or not” (Holub). How does the governor plan to enforce a law targeting illegal immigrants when she does not know what they look like? The governor will not bluntly describe what an illegal immigrant looks like, simply because it is impossible to tell the immigration status of an individual based on their appearance. Unless a person is seen coming into the country illegally, pointing out an illegal immigrant is really impossible.

Is it safe to say that everyone of Hispanic descent can be seen as “suspicious” since they are the vast majority of undocumented people? Arizona Senator Russell Pearce stated, "Ninety percent of the illegal aliens in Arizona come from south of the border, so [appearance] certainly may be a factor" (Thomas). In other words, because most of the illegal aliens in Arizona are Hispanic, appearance will definitely contribute in determining suspicion. It is clear, that in order for this law to be enforced, policemen would have to pass judgment of a person’s citizenship status based on their race. As defined by the American Civil Liberties Union, this act of “discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of a crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin” is considered to be racial profiling. Therefore, it can be assured that Arizona’s anti-immigration law, SB1070, is currently promoting the unconstitutional practice of racial profiling.

Not only is the law promoting unconstitutional practices, it is affecting the wrong group of people. The intended purpose for the anti-immigration law was to decrease the violence the Mexican drug cartels bring into this country. Yet, the law is not appropriate for its so-called purpose to safeguard the state against the trafficking of narcotics, firearms, and humans. The state has an insufficient amount of resources to carry out both the obligations: safeguarding the state against crime and apprehending illegal aliens. In fact, after the law came into effect, “some [Arizona] residents calling 911 in need of an emergency police response could expect to wait 16 minutes before a squad car shows up” (Friedersdorf). Therefore, if a resident of Arizona was victim to a drug related crime by the Mexican cartels, the residents would have to wait longer for help to arrive. This is because the law enforcement would be so preoccupied on detaining illegal immigrants. SB1070 is so focused on detaining the entire illegal immigrant population, most of whom are not criminals, that it completely misses its target. Then, how is this law beneficial to the residents of Arizona?

Another one of the provisions in SB1070 “makes it a state crime for any foreign resident of Arizona to fail to carry federally-issued immigration documents at all times.” Before the law came into effect, the paranoid law enforcement of Arizona was already beginning to start acting ruthlessly towards its residents. According to ABC News, in April 2010, a Hispanic American citizen named Abdon, claimed to have been arrested and racially profiled in the state of Arizona. While stopped at a weight station, Abdon was asked for proof of U.S. citizenship by an Arizona policeman. He provided the officer with his drivers license and social security number, but the police officer was relentless and asked for his birth certificate. Since he was unable to provide his birth certificate, he was handcuffed and sent to an immigration detention center. When his wife arrived at the facility, she delivered the birth certificate necessary to release Abdon. Needless to say, his story is one of many that prove that racial profiling is directed towards Hispanics. The law’s ineffectiveness is stigmatizing Americans of Hispanic descent and wasting the state’s resources of law enforcement.

As the Arizona law enforcement departments are spending time finding probable cause to detain Hispanics to determine their citizenship status, they are becoming distracted and are allowing the cartels to continue their violent and ruthless attempts in the transportation of drugs and other illegal contraband. Since this law has not been successful at affectively deterring cartels, it would be in Arizona’s best interest to nullify SB1070, and look for a new way of combating the war against drugs on America’s southern border. There needs to be a new, more efficient law to replace SB1070. This law needs to effectively minimize the activities of the drug cartels and maintain the civil rights of all individuals.