Arizona SB 1070 Essay

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Arizona SB 1070: Over Enforcement of Borderlands

In an era where terrorism and international turmoil continues to plague the news, it is no wonder that so many Americans would be scared enough into wanting to amp up border security. However, Arizona has taken these concerns way too far. Arizona SB 1070 is much too extreme and thus violates the constitutional rights of legal immigrants, while also making economic and environmental efforts in the region much harder to fulfill. Overall, Arizona SB 1070 clearly stands against the philosophy that the United States was originally built on.

Arizona Senate Bill 1070 is a controversial border protection law that has been raising concerns all over the nation. Essentially, it is a "law requiring state and local law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of suspected 'illegals'" (Olsen, 2011). Not only does this mean that anyone who looks Hispanic must carry around proper paperwork, but it also means immediate mass deportations are possible without the precautions typically taken. According to the research, "Law enforcement officers are required to, among other things, check the immigration status of suspected illegal aliens during any lawful stop or in any other circumstance in which probable cause exists that an individual is an illegal alien" (Kraehenbuel, 2011). The state has also erected a massive wall across the desert to try to stop illegal crossings. Arizona has spent over $250 million in amped up border security measures since the passing of SB 1070. This is a massive expense in an era where many public resources are already being strained by the financial recession that has plagued the United States since 2007.

Despite the good intentions of increasing border security in an uncertain time, the law itself is a direct violation of constitutional rights.

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There are serious complications for the law, "all of these concern challenges to human dignity" (York & Schoon, 2011). Arizona SB 1070 is clearly unconstitutional. It allows law enforcement to use racial profiling in their attempts at checking immigrant status. Much law enforcement uses the stereotype of Hispanic as the only premise to ask individuals to show their immigration paperwork. Yet, this is in an area where many of the actual U.S. citizens are of Hispanic descent themselves. Thus, law enforcement is practicing "racial profiling and mass deportation" (Olsen, 2011). Ultimately, this is a violation of constitutional rights for many Arizona citizens. The Civil War Amendments established that it was illegal and unconstitutional to discriminate against individuals because of their race. Yet, this law blatantly flouts these Amendments and empowers law enforcement officers to use racial profiling as a way to harass and illegally search and question Arizona natives just because of their race. This goes against the basic premise this nation was founded on. Essentially, "our multicultural present has roots in many decades of migration -- east, west, north, and south" (Olsen, 2011). Rather than embracing our multicultural past, Arizona law enforcement is using this law to violate constitutional rights.

Even worse, Arizona is clearly overstepping its boundaries in regards to what it can do in regards to border patrolling. Border protection is a federal concern; yet, Arizona has taken over and instilled its own rules that do directly violate those set up by the federal government. Essentially, supporters of SB 1070 "demonstrated their discontent by passing state and local laws intended to modify the….....

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