by Oliver Adriance
An unidentified supporter of Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law holds a sign. The law is currently being reviewed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. (PHOTO BY OLIVER ADRIANCE)
Protesters showed up en mass to the James R. Browning Courthouse Monday morning, some for, but most against Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law which is being reviewed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The law, which was signed by the state’s Republican Governor Jan Brewer last April, was quickly challenged by several lawsuits brought on separately by civil rights groups and the Obama administration.
The law would require immigrants to carry papers proving their legal status as a citizen of the United States at all times. According to the law’s “stop, detain and arrest” provision, their citizenship may be checked at any time by an officer who stops them for any other legal reason and suspects they may be in the country illegally.
The court will hear arguments throughout the week, specifically on this provision, and how long an individual may legally be detained while their imigration status is confirmed. Only a day before the law was to take effect, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked this key provision.
Another issue is whether or not the law would violate or supersede federal laws on immigration enforcement.
Protesters of Arizona’s SB 1070 Immigration Law against SB 1070.: (PHOTO BY OLIVER ADRIANCE)
Critics and protesters have argued that the law will lead to massive cases of racial profiling in the state of Arizona and the harrassment of many of its Latino citizens.
This argument was echoed by a U.N. investigation published Monday which found that migrants are most often the subjects of the harshest cases of racial discrimination and xenophobia. According to MSNBC.com, the author of the study, Githu Muigai, said that “we need to develop systems, structures, and policies in an international legalenvironment in which we can address the legitimate concerns of the receiving states while being able to safeguard the fundamental humanity, in my judgment, of the immigrants.” When asked about SB 1070, Muigai was quoted as saying that it “does not respond to minimum human rights standards.”
Supporters of the law say that Gov. Brewer and the rest of Arizona’s legislature, were only trying to compensate for years of failure by the federal government to curb a flood of illegal immigrants crossing the boarder from Mexico. This sentiment was shared by one protester carrying a sigh which read simply “Stop the invasion.”
Another protester said that he has “no problem with immigrants” and that “there’s no reason they can’t come in to this country legally.” Most polls show that nearly 70 percent of Arizona citizens support the law according to an article by The Center for Immigration Studies, an independent, non-profit reserach organization.
Their statistics show that the population of illegal immigrants in Arizona has gone from 330,000 in the year 2000 to well over half a million by 2008.
According to a court spokesperson, there is no timeline for when they will make an offical ruling on SB 1070. Gov. Brewer has stated that she is willing to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if the case does not end in her favor. She was present for the hearings but flew back to Arizona in time to oversee the final hours of her successful gubernatorial reelection campaign.
