Schneider defends Arizona's immigration law | The Spokesman

Crawford Schneider, X
Sports Editor

The Arizona State Legislature has just passed its most aggressive and all-inclusive immigration law yet. The bill?s most controversial aspect is that during ?lawful contact?, a police officer can inquire about anyone?s legal immigration status. Any officer has the power to ask for a given person?s papers. Two main arguments or concerns have come out of this new legislation deemed SB 1070. The first is that this would open a door for wide spread racial profiling and discrimination against the large Latino population in Arizona. The second argument against this new immigration act is that immigration laws are under federal jurisdiction, and the state of Arizona has no right to legislate on the matter.

First, we have to realize that making prejudices based on looks is a reflexive, human reaction. We hold law enforcement to a higher standard about being objective when it comes to racial profiling, but they are still human. In this act it specifically states that ?race color or nation of origin? should not be used in deciding whether to investigate the crime. It is no secret that the percentage of Latinos that are illegal aliens in Arizona is higher than the percentage of white illegal aliens in Arizona. Knowledge of your surroundings is an advantage for law enforcement officers, and therefore racial profiling is just a product of the demographic of the state you are in. In the law it does not say if the person is of Latino descent then you must check if that person is an illegal alien. This means that, for example, if in the next year a huge influx of illegal immigrants from Italy were to settle in Arizona the law enforcement would have the same right and duty to ask for identification.

The law says if you think that certain persons might be illegally in this country you must check and ask for identification. During every crime situation the police officer has to decide whether it is possible the crime happened. Then the officer will decide whether or not to investigate the crime. As far as I am concerned, immigration works the same way. Illegal immigration is a crime, therefore it should be treated as such.. In Arizona the most common crime is illegal immigration. And, the most common group to commit that crime is the Latinos from Mexico; so just like any crime the law enforcement should key in on this using legislation. Arizona?s new immigration law is just an effort to help law enforcement use common sense to enforce laws.

The most probable reason that this bill would be overturned in the Supreme Court is not from the questions about racial profiling, but that the ability to pass laws about immigration is not a state privilege. Under the Supremacy Clause in the Constitution the federal government has the right to make laws about immigration. This would mean that Arizona?s effort to take the enforcement of illegal immigration into their own hands would be worth nothing, for they do not have the power to create such a law. Interestingly, in the past, Arizona and other states have passed immigration laws without being challenged. However, due to the controversial nature of this bill, the Obama Administration has gotten involved.

In conclusion, I think the Supreme Court should repeal this bill. Firstly, if the Supreme Court were to allow SB 1070 to stand, it would violate the Constitution. Secondly, I believe that law enforcement officers should be able to think for themselves, and to specify their options in this piece of legislation is utterly unnecessary.

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