Arizona Immigration Law

Posted by donelder on May 4, 2010 · 4 Comments (Edit)

I know it’s old news, but with the U.S. Congress spurred into action, it isn’t news that’s going away. Let me give you the quick and dirty on the Arizona immigration law.
On April 23^rd, Arizona passed sb 1070. I read it. It’s not that long. Most of it, you’d be surprised that it wasn’t law already. The controversy seems to stem from three measures, two of which are terminological.

1. “Lawful contact” – Some conservative blogs and pundits have attested that “lawful contact” means police intervention, such as a traffic stop or a noise violation, or anything else for which one would normally show identification anyway. This is NOT ACCURATE. a quick look at the history of “lawful contact” in other bills and the collective shrugging of Arizona lawyers reveals that lawful contact could mean anytime a cop interacts with you without otherwise violating your rights. If you ask a cop for directions, that’s “lawful contact.” On the other hand, they can’t just kick down your door either.
2. “Reasonable Suspicion” – “Reasonable suspicion” is NOT “probable cause,” and requires less (or zero) evidence. With reasonable suspicion in the U.S., a cop can pull you over, and with reasonable suspicion in Arizona, he can ask to see your papers. Reasonable suspicion allows a cop to initiate lawful contact based on intuition.
3. A final interesting provision allows citizens to sue the police department if they don’t feel like they are enforcing these laws. In other words, if you are a cop and you don’t use your “reasonable suspicion” to make “lawful contact” with someone you think is illegal and then demand their papers under penalty of arrest, your department can get sued by pretty much ANYONE who wants those people gone.

Arizona Governor Jen Brewer expressed her absolute trust in the police department in upholding both these laws and the rights of citizens, despite admittedly having no idea of her own what an “illegal immigrant looks like.” Former Alaska Governor and Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin concurs, stating that there is “no ability of opportunity” of this law to lead to racial profiling. Let me repeat: “NO ABILITY OR OPPORTUNITY.”
My opinion:

1. Of course there is the opportunity for abuse. Anyone who trusts the police implicitly when the state hands them vaguely defined powers has never been a minority in America. As yourself this: do you even know whose job it is to advocate for the rights of illegal immigrants in America. I’d bet you don’t, and that should tell you something.
2. I don’t want to be cynical, but given the statements made by Gov. Brewer, it’s hard not to think she’s being disingenuous. She signed a law that literally allows cops to harass people based on how they look (although race, she said, can’t be the only characteristic) and even though she admits not to knowing what that means, she simply believes it will never be abused? No one in politics is that naïve. It’s more likely that this is a power play to force federal immigration reform.
3. Republicans: DON’T AGREE WITH THIS! A New York Time/CBS poll shows that a slight majority of Americans actually agree with this law! I‘m looking at you, Republicans! A law that empowers the state to stop people at random and demand their identification under penalty of arrest is LITERALLY THE OPPOSITE OF EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR! YOU DON”T TRUST THE STATE!