By Stephen Kopko
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
ARIZONA, United States-Today, the state of Arizona passed the United States’ strictest immigration law. Under great pressure from a primary opponent, Governor Jan Brewer signed the legislation which will take effect 90 days after the current legislative session is complete. President Obama rebuked the law in a speech at the White House today.
The Arizona law is the strictest immigration law in the United States. Entitled SB 1070, the law was sponsored by State Senator Russell Pearce. According to the legislation, immigrants are required to carry proper immigration and identification documents at all times. If a person is found without documentation, he or she will be charged with a misdemeanor crime. It also grants police officers the authority to detain people they reasonably believe are in the United States without proper documentation. The police are required to check with federal officials to determine if a person has proper immigration documents.
Governor Brewer pledged that the new law would not violate citizens’ constitutional rights. She believes that the law is a compromise that helps Arizona deal with the problem of undocumented immigrants while balancing people’s liberty interests. She stated; “I will not tolerate racial discrimination or racial profiling in Arizona.”
Arizona lawmakers believed they needed to take action because of the federal government’s failure to pass immigration reform. Governor Brewer stated that Arizona has been “more than patient waiting for Washington to act.” Also, Senator Pearce said that those who oppose the legislation were “against law enforcement, our citizens, and the rule of law.”
Before the legislation was signed into law, President Obama expressed his thoughts on it during a speech before members of the United States armed forces. President Obama stated that the new law threatens to “undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.” The President also has instructed the Justice Department to assess the legality of the new law. He also called upon Congress to pass immigration reform at the federal level. Harry Reid, majority leader of the United States Senate, stated that an immigration reform proposal may be before the Senate after Memorial Day.
For more information, please see:
FOX News-Arizona Immigration Enforcement Law Spurs Obama Criticism-23 April 2010
MSNBC-Ariz. governor signs immigration bill into law-23 April 2010
NY Times-U.S’s Toughest Immigration Law Is Signed in Arizona-23 April 2010
