Blog 4: Racial Profiling Law Approved and Enforced!

Civil rights groups rally after judge says Ariz. police can enforce ‘show me your papers’ law

Rebellion against a newly passed law, stating that it is legal for the authorities to ask persons to "show them your papers", in Phoenix, Arizona, is growing steadily. Civil rights groups have been congregating in front of the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement building chanting repeatedly "No papers, no fear....”  Efforts, such as the Puente Movement, have been encouraging people not to cooperate with the enforcement of this law. Some illegal immigrants, like Leticia Ramirez, have been trying to educate the Latino immigrant community to help them fight this oppression, encouraging them that it is best to remain as quiet as possible when pulled over by the police, only distributing their name and birth date if absolutely necessary. As well as warning them not to keep any documents on their person or in the possessions documenting their birthplace or legal status. There are also a number of hotlines from civil rights advocacy groups that are available for people to call to get information on how they would defend themselves in a situation. The advocates are asking the authorities not to continue to enforce the law, but not enforcing the bill could leave the agencies vulnerable to lawsuit against people stating that they aren’t complying with the law. The law has even been taken to the Supreme Court to challenge the accusations of unconstitutionality, but the US Supreme Court states that is completely constitutional. The battle doesn’t end there as the Latino community is waiting upon a response from the District court of appeals.

 

I feel that this could be interpreted in a few of ways. One as an act of discrimination against the Latino community as they are the main force of immigration in the state of Arizona. There is no doubt that this is racial profiling. It is not fair at all. Why not target all nationalities if that is the case. Pull over a person of black, white, or Asian ethnicity to see if they are an immigrant. They could be from anywhere in the world, learned to speak English as well as Americans and moved here for a number of different reason. But they would be an immigrant; so why not them? Why just target Latinos? Could it be racism? Secondly, this could be an opportunity to push along immigration reform in the United States, making it easier for authorities to catch immigrants. All in all, I think this is an unjust law that needs to be appealed and overturned. Authorities are shadowing people’s lives, leaving them in fear that at any moment they could be deported back to the very thing from which they escaped. It saddens my heart and I can’t help but to wonder, what is that were me, or my race?....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/education-campaign-launched-after-judge-says-ariz-can-enforce-show-me-your-papers-provision/2012/09/19/0594e948-02b7-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html