On April 24, Arizona's governor signed a highly controversial immigration bill into law. The law requires police officers to check the immigration status of anyone who may seem to be illegal citizens. As such, it also requires immigrants to carry all alien registration documents at all times in order for the police to ensure they are here legally. Before, police officers could only check the immigration status of someone if they were suspected in a separate crime.
How does someone look like they're illegal? No matter what sort of anti-racial profiling rhetoric the governor may use in support of this new bill, how can any reasonable person not think that this bill will become largely used for racial profiling? What, besides race, language and possibly socioeconomic status, may allude to someone being illegal?
This law not only allows for racial profiling but encourages it by requiring officers to check immigration status. The previous protocol, to allow an officer to check immigration status if someone is suspected in another crime, seems perfectly reasonable. Now, however, perfectly law-abiding citizens can be harassed by police because they're of Hispanic descent.
I do believe that there needs to be immigration reform, but this seems like a step in the wrong direction - one down a path leading to racism and increased distrust of police officers and government.
Michael Jones\nCLAS I
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