SB 1070

SB 1070 is a law that passed in Arizona in April 2010 but doesn't go into effect until July 2010. It makes it a misdemeanor crime to be in AZ without legal documents and allows law enforcement to enforce this by asking for legal documents from those they suspect as being undocumented immigrants.

UPDATE: The bill was redrafted to state that the suspected undocumented immigrant must be suspected of other illegal activity in order to be able to request legal documents from the individual. That was due to extreme political pressure due to racial profiling. Despite this, much of America (60%) has been in support of this bill. It also changes incarceration limits for first time offenders from 6 months to 20 days.

source: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/nationally_60_favor_letting_local_police_stop_and_verify_immigration_status



When I heard about this I was extremely shocked that in the 21st century, a bill such as the one above could be passed into law.This law specifically targets people of Latin American origin.What about other illegal immigrants, how come they aren't being targeted? Racial harassment and profiling should never be made legal. Although proponents of this law say that unemployment, decreased wages, crime, etc are caused by immigrants, this is not the case. I feel that valuable police time will be put towards trying to find illegal immigrants. When I was in middle school, there was an altercation between my neighbors and when the police came, one of my neighbors asked him if there's anything he can do. His response was that there aren't enough police officers to worry about little problems between neighbors while there are murders and bigger problems going on. So in this case, I feel like the same can be said, law enforcement should be focusing their time and effort onto more important problems. There are so many other pressing issues out there, why aren't there bills or laws about that? Proponents of this law say that may say that these undocumented immigrants are the root of crime, but as stated in class, "Out-of-status persons are more likely to be victims of unreported violent crimes than perpetrators."

-Hien Ngo


I first heard about the bill SB 1070 in our Environmental Justice class and was astonished and went home and researched more about it. After revealing the truth of what Arizona is really doing i was hurt and felt betrayed, even if i am not part of this and didn't or couldn't have done anything to stop them from passing the bill i wanted with all my heart to see this bill taken down. I told all my friends and family memembers, anyone that would hear me out to go and look up the bill and see if we can do anything, i mean it's not fair what they are doing and i totally believe that this is 100% racist to that community and the world in general. I want to make sure that even if someone is caught as an illegal immigrant that they are able to take action to get legal documents, not just be deported back to their land of orgin or not be given the right to speak. We are slowly taken down the human race and it's actions like the SB 1070 that make it look like it's alright to pass this kind of law and get away with it, but it is in fact very wrong and unjustified. What happened to the Bill of Rights and The Constitution, don't people read or listen to what they have to say. All citezens should be treated equal, it doesn't specifically mention that only U.S. citizens should be treated equal. What happened to integrity, to honor and respect for one another... i don't know, i feel like it's all gone now.

-Alaa Al-Harab

When I had first heard of this law through the news, I thought to myself, "Some Americans may be bigoted and worried about illegal immigration, but no one is going to ACTUALLY take it that far..." However, as our class began to discuss it more often and I did my own research about it, I was shocked to find out that the law has a lot of support and has already more or less been passed. I was appalled. How is it that people can seriously think that the law has no flaws and that it actually violates many of our rights. Sure, illegal immigrants aren't guaranteed the same rights, but they are striving to gain them. In addition, what about the Latinos/as that are already in Arizona, legally? Police have been given the ability to racially profile legally. How is this allowed when the Latinos/as that are citizens have a Bill of Rights just as any other American? I am an American, will the police in Arizona ask me for my papers? If not, why not? I was born a U.S. Citizen but I am of Asian decent. I could be an illegal immigrant. Why am I not being pursued after? It is because SB1070 only targets one group: Latinos/as. It is blatantly racist. In recent news, HB2281 has now been passed in Arizona and bans the funding of "ethnic studies". Its basis is that the teaching of it will divide people. Nothing like good ol' white dominated Anglocentric studies to unite an increasing diverse population, right? Wrong. After the passing of these two laws, I have to wonder, "what is it about Arizona that they are so adamant in passing laws that violate rights?" Their neighbor New Mexico is prone to all the same problems, but why are they not following in the footsteps of Arizona? Hopefully, through more research and protest, I will be able to find the true reasons why Arizona has passed such laws and to stop them from harming others.

-Dustin Vu

I first heard about the bill in my American Politics class, before it was even signed into law. I remember clearly thinking something along the lines of, "There’s no way that this will ever get signed into law, it targets too many people, overrides the rights that a state is granted in the Constitution, and is a direct violation of a persons own liberty and rights.” Imagine my shock when I found out a week later that it had been in fact signed into law by the Arizona governor. I was even more shocked to find that the bill had a high percentage of supporters. Granted, immigration/border control is without a doubt one of the most arduous problems that the U.S. is attempting to face today, because no matter what legislation is passed, people will never be able to see eye to eye.
For my Poli Sci 202 class, we are required to spend a minimum of two days working for the Public Opinion Polls on campus. This entails calling registered voters houses and asking them their opinions on contemporary issues, local and national politics, etc. I was shocked to find so many people were in strong favor of the bill. The questions do not specify if they are in favor of institutionalized discrimination based solely on race, but in my mind that was exactly what people were agreeing for. Until the provisions of racial profiling were removed, the bill was nicknamed the “Juan-Crow” bill, as it was reminiscent of Jim-Crow law days.
I do understand that immigration is a huge problem, but there are other solutions besides building a huge wall or making all illegal persons felons. I am an avid supporter of a proposition which would grant illegal persons some rights if they fulfill civic duties such as paying taxes, etc. The guest worker program is another solution that I am in support of, but it definitely has a long way to go. In all reality, America functions on cheap labor provided by illegal immigrants. This is not to say that I am in support of persons coming to the U.S. illegally, but I do understand the push and pull factors which make this decision. Perhaps the problems with illegal immigration do not lie in the protections/borders themselves more so than in the laws which limit legal immigration.

-Mercedes E. Luna