Immigration Law in Arizona - Research Paper Example

Arizona Immigration Law As of April 23, the Arizona governor signed into law an Act that would prevent illegal citizens from living in the state of Arizona, making it a crime to live illegally in Arizona, a law that is to take effect on July 29, 2010. This law would prompt police officers to inquire about the citizenship status of people that they have suspicion to be in the state illegally (Pearce, 2010). A traffic or criminal infringement does not need to have taken place for a police officer to make this sort of request for information; those that do not comply to the request of the officer will be arrested and later questioned while in custody. Unfortunately, due to this new law and the newly acquired responsibilities of police officers, many people, citizens and lawmakers alike, have begun to wonder about the ramifications the law could have in regard to racial profiling. It is widely believed that racial profiling can be the only end result of the new law. Furthermore, even though the law is not in effect just yet, businesses have begun to suffer because of the lack of support by the citizens. Though it is the job of the federal government to ensure that citizens are not living illegally in the United States, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer long since felt that they were not doing their job and took it into her own hands instead. The result is one of the most controversial laws ever to be signed by a state governor. With the threat of potential racial profiling, an act that Governor Brewer claimed would not take place and any police officer that goes against this part of their new responsibilities would be reprimanded, many citizens, the majority of which are Mexicans, have left Arizona for states that they deem to be more friendly. However, this has caused many businesses to decline due to either a lack of customers or a lack of workers. Other companies have begun to be concerned over their employees, firing those that they believe to be working illegally or might otherwise impede their business because of their feelings towards the new law. The impact of Arizona’s Immigration Law on intercultural communication is already proving to be dire and immense. Intercultural communication is the driving force behind businesses and organizations that consist of people from many different religions, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds (Eckert, 2005). Without solid intercultural communication, businesses and organizations tend to suffer, finding it difficult for workers to exist peacefully among each other, and bringing with it a downfall of the business or purpose of the organization. Whether employees get arrested for being in Arizona illegally, are fired due to their business owners believing them to be in the state illegally, or simply leaving because they do not agree with what is taking place, Arizona businesses are beginning to show signs of failure due to the responses that people are having in regard to the law. Furthermore, businesses from other states and countries, huge industries that Arizona strives to keep business ties with, have either boycotted Arizona or else threatened to do so unless the law is stopped dead in its tracks, showing the support for the people that may or may not be at the end of a racial profiling incident. While there are some signs that, in some cases, intercultural communication is increasing among those that support each other, it can be seen as thinning out amongst other businesses, many that are not even located in Arizona, and are therefore apart from the law and adjoining activities. Especially in regard to Mexican citizens, whether or not they are legal or were born legally in the United States, a vast majority has made it their priority to make it known where the stand in regard to the law by leaving their places of employment, closing down their businesses entirely, or moving to a state that has not yet adapted the new law, as many of them are. Regardless of whatever rift there is in a business, it all comes down to a lack of intercultural communication. The intercultural communication problems that are arising in businesses have included harsh actions and reactions without reason, such as employees being fired without employers first checking their citizenship statuses, or else legal employees leaving without giving warning because they do not agree with the law or the stance that a fellow worker may have. Yet another problem comes from the raids that police officers are conducting on businesses, arresting numerous illegal citizens at one given time. Their family members stand by as their loved ones are taken away; another barrier is dropped down between many categories of citizens, many who do not know each other, but are fighting on different sides of the battle. Other areas that are seeing negative effects in intercultural communication because of Arizona’s Immigration Law include tourism, travel, business meetings or corporate events, and labor (Tyson, 2010). It has come to a point where, in many cases, intercultural communication no longer exists. Businesses that never looked twice at the citizenship of its employees are now focusing on nothing but; many employees are trying to beat their bosses to the punches, leaving before they are given a chance to get fired or else arrested. The rallies and protests that are taking place against the new immigration law have caused a cease in tourism and travel, prompting usual visitors to go elsewhere. A noticeable rift has been placed between people of different ethnicities, bringing about racial tensions that have been dampened down for quite a few decades. Unfortunately, many of these issues could have been foreseen, but were else ignored, as the Arizona Governor claimed that there would be no problems, especially in the work places (Wian, 2010). Businesses are failing and communities are being torn apart because of the immigration law in Arizona; intercultural communication is at an all-time low. People are no longer looking eye to eye, but seeming unable to look beyond skin color. It will be this lack of ignorance that will become Arizona’s downfall. Works Cited Eckert, Susan. Intercultural Communication. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2005. Pearce, Russell. “Senate Bill 1070.” AZLeg.com. Arizona Legislature, 23 April 2010. Web. 26 July 2010. Tyson, Bruce. “How the Arizona Immigration Law Hurts Local Businesses.” Helium.com. Helium, 2 May 2010. Web. 26 July 2010. Wian, Casey. “New Immigration Law Won’t Hurt Economy, Arizona Governor Says.” CNN.com. CNN, 27 April 2010. Web. 26 July 2010. Read More