On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Arizona v. United States. Tomorrow, the State of Arizona will make its final argument in support of the Arizona Bill -- also known as SB 1070 -- to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices will consider the legality of the four provisions of the SB 1070 in questions.
Since the SB 1070 was passed in 2010, it's been clear that it leads to racial profiling and discrimination. But it is also a clear unconstitutional violation because it preempts federal law. The SB 1070 requires that Police Officers check the immigration status of anyone they stop in the course of their duties and whom they "reasonable suspect" of being in the United States illegal -- this leads to racial profiling -- even those pulled over for routine traffic violations. If that individual can't provide the proper documentation, she or he may be detained or arrested. The law also authorizes Police Officers, who have received no training in the complexities of immigration law and procedure, to arrests without warrants if the Police Office "suspects" that the individual has committed a deportable offense. The problem with this provision is that the State of Arizona doesn't have the federal authority or the ability to make deportation determinations. That burden would ultimately fall to federal officials, who would be forced to shift the limited resources from the federal government which is now being used to deport individuals with felony conviction and/or multiple misdemeanor convictions - to detained individuals who are considered "low priority" cases simply "suspected" for being in the United States illegally.
P.S.
Amnesty International defines racial profiling as follows: According to Professor David Harris of the University of Toledo College of Law, a leading expert on racial profiling, criminal profiles are a set of personal and behavioral characteristics associated with particular offenses that police use to predict who may commit crimes in the future, or identify what type of person may have committed a particular crime for which no credible suspect has been identified or eye-witness description provided. Criminal profiling becomes racial profiling when these characteristics include race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion.
