The Arizona law is discriminatory against Mexicans because it only targets one specific race of undocumented immigrants. This, in turn, promotes an attitude of racism that the United States’ standards claim to not uphold. The law may also lead to excess racial profiling and much harassment for all Latinos is Arizona, legal or not. I do not believe that passing this law was just.



Censorship was a major issue of this topic. Speaking of only the “positive” benefits of passing SB 1070 was one tactic used by shady politicians. They also tried to pass the law off under the name “The Immigrant Reform Law” which made it seem to many people that it was a much smaller matter than it really is.



People who support this law may argue, “Immigrants brought this upon themselves by being here illegally in the first place.” Although this is something that may be true, the law does not affect all illegal immigrants, just those from Mexico. This makes the law unfair and prejudice towards a people of one nationality only.



Article 11 of this law states, “In addition to any violation of federal law, a person is guilty of trespassing if the person is: a) present on any public or private land, or b) is not carrying his or her alien registration card or has willfully failed to register”. Not only is an illegal not allowed in any area in the state of Arizona, but a legal Latino resident, who may have forgotten to carry his or her papers, can also be wrongfully deported. Unfair deportation is another reason that I do not support this law. According to nydailynews.com, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, who is accused of censoring some of the most controversial parts of SB 1070, states, “There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens.” Even someone who helped pass this law realizes some unfair treatment will be happening, yet, there are many people who support it.



Article 1 of this law declares that if there exists any “reasonable suspicion” that a person is undocumented, law enforcement has the right to question them. I, however, feel that the law enforcement will blatantly disregard that aspect of the law and intentionally switch out the words “reasonable suspicion” for the physical feature of “brown skin”. The law states that the suspicion has to be reasonable. It is not reasonable at all to say someone is suspicious because of their racial background. Should a lighter-skinned Latino be any more deserving or deportation than a Latino with darker skin? Or should the Arizona police only pull over people with a thick accent rather than a Mexican who can speak perfect English? The fact that “brown” and “illegal” are linked to one another is reason enough to discern that this law is racist.



My argument though is whether or not Arizona should have such a big role in the control of illegal immigration. As said by azfamily.com, “Gov. Jan Brewer and or SB 1070 supporters say Arizona has to step up because the federal government is not enforcing immigration laws or doing enough to secure the border.” I think that illegal immigration control is not in Arizona’s power or any other state for that matter. It is the responsibility of the federal government and should therefore be taken care of by them only.



Many critics of this law say that it is unconstitutional. The Declaration of Independence states,”…That all men are created equal…” (usconstitution.com). Numerous people find SB 1070 and what it entitles is in direct violation of this document on which the country’s beliefs were founded on.