Examining Arizona's Immigration Law SB-1070

by MORE FACT LESS OPINION | April 27, 2010 at 05:00 pm

627 views | 8 Recommendations | 7 comments

Many critics of Arizona's new law claim it is racist and unconstitutional on the grounds that it promotes racial profiling. For reference the law can be found at: www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070h.htm on the State's website.

So what does this law really mean? And does it violate the civil rights of individuals living in that state? Let's examine the law itself a bit closer now.

Many opponents of this law say that police will violate the civil rights of both legal and illegal immigrants. The law itself states that there must first be lawful contact with the suspected illegal; i.e. they are suspected in a theft or vandalism or are implicated in some other crime. Local police will now have the right to check someone's immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion that they are not here legally. If the person in question is found to be an illegal immigrant they must immediately be handed over to federal authorities after facing any criminal charges before them. (AZ SB-1070 page 2, lines 20 through 31)

20 B. FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY

21 OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS

22 STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS

23 UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE,

24 WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON. THE

25 PERSON'S IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL BE VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

26 PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1373(c).

27 C. IF AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES IS

28 CONVICTED OF A VIOLATION OF STATE OR LOCAL LAW, ON DISCHARGE FROM

29 IMPRISONMENT OR ASSESSMENT OF ANY FINE THAT IS IMPOSED, THE ALIEN SHALL BE

30 TRANSFERRED IMMEDIATELY TO THE CUSTODY OF THE UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND

31 CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OR THE UNITED STATES CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION.

Another claim that has been made is that if you are caught with an illegal in your car you will go to jail and lose your car. The law states that there must be intent, with the purpose of human smuggling. (AZ SB-1070 page 4, lines 3 through 4)

3 A. It is unlawful for a person to intentionally engage in the

4 smuggling of human beings for profit or commercial purpose.

The law goes on to further penalize wrongdoers if the people being smuggled are under the age of eighteen or being forced by the threat of violence. (AZ SB-1070 page 4, lines 5 through 17)

5 B. A violation of this section is a class 4 felony.

6 C. Notwithstanding subsection B of this section, a violation of this

7 section:

8 1. Is a class 2 felony if the human being who is smuggled is under

9 eighteen years of age and is not accompanied by a family member over eighteen

10 years of age or the offense involved the use of a deadly weapon or dangerous

11 instrument.

12 2. Is a class 3 felony if the offense involves the use or threatened

13 use of deadly physical force and the person is not eligible for suspension of

14 sentence, probation, pardon or release from confinement on any other basis

15 except pursuant to section 31-233, subsection A or B until the sentence

16 imposed by the court is served, the person is eligible for release pursuant

17 to section 41-1604.07 or the sentence is commuted.

The law does make it unlawful to transport an illegal if you already know they are illegal and intend to remain here unlawfully. It also makes it illegal to harbor someone knowingly, illegally. Basically, the law states that you are only breaking the law if you know you are breaking the law and doing so intentionally, while committing another offense already. The law does not give police the right to seize your vehicle, only to impound it. (AZ SB-1070 page 5, lines 29 through 45)

29 A. IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON WHO IS IN VIOLATION OF A CRIMINAL

30 OFFENSE TO:

31 1. TRANSPORT OR MOVE OR ATTEMPT TO TRANSPORT OR MOVE AN ALIEN IN THIS

32 STATE IN A MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION IF THE PERSON KNOWS OR RECKLESSLY

33 DISREGARDS THE FACT THAT THE ALIEN HAS COME TO, HAS ENTERED OR REMAINS IN THE

34 UNITED STATES IN VIOLATION OF LAW.

35 2. CONCEAL, HARBOR OR SHIELD OR ATTEMPT TO CONCEAL, HARBOR OR SHIELD

36 AN ALIEN FROM DETECTION IN ANY PLACE IN THIS STATE, INCLUDING ANY BUILDING OR

37 ANY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION, IF THE PERSON KNOWS OR RECKLESSLY DISREGARDS THE

38 FACT THAT THE ALIEN HAS COME TO, HAS ENTERED OR REMAINS IN THE UNITED STATES

39 IN VIOLATION OF LAW.

40 3. ENCOURAGE OR INDUCE AN ALIEN TO COME TO OR RESIDE IN THIS STATE IF

41 THE PERSON KNOWS OR RECKLESSLY DISREGARDS THE FACT THAT SUCH COMING TO,

42 ENTERING OR RESIDING IN THIS STATE IS OR WILL BE IN VIOLATION OF LAW.

43 B. A MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION THAT IS USED IN THE COMMISSION OF A

44 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION IS SUBJECT TO MANDATORY VEHICLE IMMOBILIZATION OR

45 IMPOUNDMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 28-3511.

How does the law affect potential employers of illegal immigrants? Again the law requires foreknowledge of guilt by the party in question. There are steps prescribed to curb the hiring of illegals such as using federal databases such as e-verify. If an employer is found to be in violation of this law they have 72 hours to terminate the illegal workers. This is followed by a probationary period and stiffer penalties for repeat offenses. (AZ SB-1070 page , lines 11 through 16)

11 A. An employer shall not knowingly employ an unauthorized alien. If,

12 in the case when an employer uses a contract, subcontract or other

13 independent contractor agreement to obtain the labor of an alien in this

14 state, the employer knowingly contracts with an unauthorized alien or with a

15 person who employs or contracts with an unauthorized alien to perform the

16 labor, the employer violates this subsection.

Any claims made on the basis of race, color or origin will be dismissed according to the law. The law also tries to protect legal immigrants from frivolous complaints, making them illegal now. (AZ SB-1070 page 6, lines 28 through 43)

28 The attorney general or county

29 attorney shall not investigate complaints that are based solely on race,

30 color or national origin. A complaint that is submitted to a county attorney

31 shall be submitted to the county attorney in the county in which the alleged

32 unauthorized alien is or was employed by the employer. The county sheriff or

33 any other local law enforcement agency may assist in investigating a

34 complaint. When investigating a complaint, the attorney general or county

35 attorney shall verify the work authorization of the alleged unauthorized

36 alien with the federal government pursuant to 8 United States Code section

37 1373(c). A state, county or local official shall not attempt to

38 independently make a final determination on whether an alien is authorized to

39 work in the United States. An alien's immigration status or work

40 authorization status shall be verified with the federal government pursuant

41 to 8 United States Code section 1373(c). A person who knowingly files a

42 false and frivolous complaint under this subsection is guilty of a class 3

43 misdemeanor.

The remainder of the bill repeats word-for-word, prior sections of itself using the abbreviations that are described in earlier portions. Please take the time to read the bill yourself and make your own assertions about it. Don’t listen to what some politically motivated dolt on TV has to say about this issue. Get the facts, then please leave a respectful comment with your thoughts and insights.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend Sign In or Join to post comments

Jordan Yerman

at 09:51 on April 28th, 2010

That' a very optimistic interpretation of "lawful contact". Consider that, in reality, a police office can challenge any citizen at any time if that citizen is out in public. At that point, you (the citizen) are stuck, and from then on you will bear the burden of proving that you're in Arizona legally. No problem if you're white, but a different story if you're Latino, or if a cop thinks you're latino (I'm of Eastern European descent, and am consistently mistaken for Middle Eastern at airports if I skip a day of shaving or have a tan, and am subject to a lot of "random screenings"; around 30% of the time I fly- it's not safe to presume that officials are smart when it comes to identifying race).

I suggest that people keep their eye on the ball with this one: opposition to this bill isn't about protecting illegal immigrants, but about protecting law-abiding citizens from what amounts to mandated harassment.

MORE FACT LESS OPINION

at 10:35 on April 28th, 2010

I would argue that you have a pessimistic view of local police. If you do not like words like "lawful contact" and "reasonable suspicion", I believe you should familiarize yourself with American law, the Constitution and the Supreme Court in regards to using this language and it's protection of civil rights.

If you believe that police will not follow the law... why write laws?

If you believe that this is a Hispanic only problem you should read more about illegal immigrants. You would find that more than 1/4 of all illegals are of Asian descent.

This bill also addresses the issues of human trafficking, the U.S. State Department claims that 14,500-17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CAwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhtrc.polarisproject.org%2Fmaterials%2FHuman-Trafficking-Statistics.pdf&rct=j&q=human+trafficking+statistics+in+the+united+states&ei=tHvYS5TUO47-8wSV2siIBw&usg=AFQjCNGk1uVAYj66OATntmYbbj_BUpqdYg) Those people are victims and now the local police have juristiction to protect them and prosecute those who perpetrate those crimes.

I have been stopped and screened at the airport many times myself and I will gladly give up 5 minutes of my day to be safer. If I do not like the checkpoints I have the freedom of choice to choose another mode of transportation or not travel at all.

The cops in Arizona already have the right to ask to see documents proving your right to be here and there is no outcry of abuse. The difference is that they have the jusistiction to enforce the law by handing these illegals over to the Feds now. In the past they would charge them with the crimes they committed and hope immigration wanted to pick them up. Now they have the ability to use Federal databases to confirm a person's immigration status and deliver the law-breakers directly to the Feds. I think that this should be done every time every person is booked or charged with a crime, regardless if they are white, purple, green or whatever.

Your assertion that the police will abuse the law tells me you have more of a problem with law enforcement than with actual law.

I appreciate your comments, even thought I believe them to be misguided. Please follow up if you feel you have more to say, I'm interested in hearing from you again.

MORE FACT LESS OPINION

at 10:40 on April 28th, 2010

Jordan, could you also please site the page number and lines of the portions of the law you believe give cops the right or the encouragement to harrass anyone legal or not. This would help to better illustrate your arguement and help me to understand where you are coming from since we are on oppisite sides of this issue.

Thanks again.

Maria in Arizona (not verified)

at 21:34 on April 28th, 2010

Your link at the top of the article does not go to the final, signed version of SB1070. The bill signed into law is the "House Engrossed" version, not the "Senate Engrossed" version. Among other generally more minor differences, only the final bill as signed contains the language forbidding the use of race, color or national origin alone as a criteria for implementing the requirements of the bill. The following are two State of Arizona web pages that display the final signed versionof the bill: www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070h.htm www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070h.htm

MORE FACT LESS OPINION

at 08:17 on April 29th, 2010

Thank-you for the info. I will update the article with the proper link.

MORE FACT LESS OPINION

at 08:26 on April 29th, 2010

Maria, I am glad you posted your comment. It is clear that the burden of proof is on the officers to prove that they had lawful contact and that something other than a person's ethnicity must raise reasonable suspicion that the person is not here legally. I really appreciate your input.

Maria in Arizona (not verified)

at 23:13 on April 29th, 2010

You're welcome. It's NOT easy to tell from the official Arizona websites which posted version of the bill is the one that was signed. I've e-mailed some of their offces about the difficulty, but no telling how soon it will be made more clear (I haven't looked today). It's good to see a post like yours rationally discussing the bill / law. So much that's being said and written is obviously by people who rely on what others say the bill is about and who haven't even tried to look at the actual language. It's especially alarming that so many public figures and elected officials who must know how to read a bill are mischaracterising it anyway, especially when what they are saying is so inflammatory and hateful toward Arizona citizens, lawmakers and law enforcement personnel - including Hispanics. It's also pretty clear that lots of people are seeing what they want to see or expect to see instead of what's there. Too bad.