Arizonas Immigration Law - Essay Example

Arizona's Immigration law in its totality criminalized innocent day-to-day interactions with illegal immigrants. One part of the law outlaws many forms of engagements with illegal aliens, which it refers to as harboring (Hesson, 2012). However, in section 2B, the most controversial part of the law, which doubles up as the main reason behind my objection, is the provision that allows police to stop people they thought of as aliens and demand identification. This is because it creates ample room for racial profiling, a clear discriminatory act that infringes on a person’s civil rights (Hesson, 2012).

It will also lead to wrongful detentions and unwarranted arrests because it is largely based on the officer’s discretion. This law not only wastes the already limited resources allocated to law enforcers but will also compromise the very ideals that America stands for, fairness and equality for all. They are a clear violation of the 4th and 14th amendments of the US constitution (Hesson, 2012).For over two years, this law has been subject to countless litigation with civil rights groups such as the rather vocal American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Right Project contesting provisions of this law in court.

In June 2010, the Supreme Court passed injunctions against three out of the four SB 1070 provisions (Hesson, 2012). The remaining provision, section 2B was allowed (Hesson, 2012). The Federal Court sided with the Supreme Court and refused to pass injunctions on the part that allowed police officers to inquire about a person’s immigration status, much to the delight of Arizona’s governor, Jan Brewer. However, the harboring statute still remains blocked by the court.