At this point, you may already know about the extreme anti-immigrant Arizona bill that passed their state legislature. Normally, I like to blog about issues in our own state, but bills like the one in Arizona cannot go without comment.
Just yesterday, Edward blogged about the rights we have when stopped by law enforcement. It’s tricky business, knowing how to advocate for yourself when you’re talking to an armed person with authority. Our rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and to due process are nuanced, and sometimes difficult to understand. When I talk about this issue with high school students, I sum it up by saying law enforcement generally needs a reason to talk to you, and while you should always be polite, you have the right to say you do not consent to a search or a conversation. You can simply say “I do not consent to this” and then remain silent. It’s that simple.
Then we discuss reasonable suspicion and probable cause, noting that law enforcement needs one or the other to question or search you. Reasonable suspicion can be a lot of things, including a broken tail light. In my opinion, reasonable suspicion isn’t that hard to find, so I certainly want to make sure that in the very least law enforcement has reasonable suspicion when they question and search people.
Arizona’s bill directs law enforcement to ask everyone they reasonably suspect is an undocumented immigrant to provide proof of legal presence in the country. It’s not just that law enforcement can do this, but that they must. If reasonable suspicion is the circumstance that would lead a reasonable person to believe a crime has been or is about to be committed, what exactly constitutes reasonable suspicion for violation of federal immigration law?
Some would say the color of a person's skin may indicate a potential for lack of documentation on a southern border state like Arizona.
The policing practice that will ensue if this law is signed by Arizona’s governor is disturbing on so many levels. Racial profiling is wrong and ineffective, and it humiliates and degrades those affected by it. When it happens in every day interactions, it’s sad and troubling. When it happens in interactions between individuals and law enforcement, it’s scary and dangerous, sometimes even deadly.
When it comes to documentation or legal presence in the country, one community is impacted disproportionately – the Latino community. Two summers ago I visited Arizona for my cousin’s wedding. His wife’s family lives in Phoenix, and it’s a nice place to visit. I am Mexican-American, and my ethnicity is an easily identifiable thing; during summer months, my skin is really, really dark. Because I was born in California, it would never occur to me to carry my birth certificate with me. I’ve been a US citizen my whole life and I’ve never given the matter much thought. Under Arizona’s new law, any law enforcement person could stop me and ask that I prove my legal residency in the country. If I could not prove my legal residency, I could go to jail. After I prove my legal residency (in my birth country), I could then be required to pay the fees associated with my jail stay. So when visiting my family in Arizona, I would feel compelled to carry my birth certificate with me, while I’m sure my adopted white father wouldn’t have to give the matter a second thought. It doesn’t just feel unfair, it feels morally reprehensible.
Some people commenting in the news have claimed the Arizona law wouldn’t result in racial profiling. Similar programs like 287-g, an ICE ACCESS program, can serve as a test to their claim. In a study from the University of North Carolina School of Law, 287-g programs were found to be ineffective and result in expansive racial profiling. We know when local law enforcement enforces federal immigration law, racial profiling happens (it happens when federal agents enforce immigration law, too), and we know racial profiling doesn't work.
I hope Arizona’s governor will consider the implications of this bill for the country and not sign the law. America should be a welcoming place, and rejecting Arizona’s bad law is one step towards making us a more welcoming country.