The new SB 1070 law, recently signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, is a hot topic. Kris Kobach wrote in an Op-Ed piece for the NY Times, that the vehement arguments against the bill are based off of a misunderstanding of what the bill actually contains. Kobash uses the article to debunk major criticisms of the bill bit by bit and most of his arguments state that Arizona is simply seeking to, as a state, enforce laws that already exist at the federal level. One example he uses is that it is already a federal offense for aliens to not keep their registration documents with them. He also cites that "reasonable suspicion" is not a new term. Law enforcement has used "reasonable suspicion" for over 40 years to determine whether or not to pursue a certain case. He also points out that the cries of racial profiling are hard to consider since section 2 of the bill expressly prohibits such conduct. Finally, he says, while it is true that immigration is primarily a federal matter, "the Supreme Court since 1976 has recognized that states may enact laws to discourage illegal immigration without being pre-empted by federal law."
On the other side of the argument, another editorial in the NY times by an unnamed author says that the bill will "lead to more racial profiling, hobble local law enforcement, and open government agencies to frivolous, politically driven lawsuits." The author also says that this creates a terrible relationship between immigrants and police officers. Immigrants "fear and shun the police," creating a public safety issue since they will be less likely to report crime to which they might be witness or victims.
After reading these articles, I have to say that I have crossed over from thinking this was a terrible, unfair bill, to thinking that maybe I have to rethink my position a little. It seems like Kobach pretty much addressed every issue that I've heard thrown about in the news, and it doesn't seem like such an abomination anymore. The article also seems more reliable since the author is listed, and he's a fairly well-known professor. I still don't think that I agree with it 100%, though. Although the bill itself demands that racial profiling is unacceptable, I'm not sure that there's any way of getting around it. Does anyone really think that white people, of any nationality are going to be targeted by this law?
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