Arizona SB 1070
The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act is a 2010 legislative act in the U.S. state of Arizona that was the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration law in the United States when passed. It has received international attention and has spurred considerable controversy.
U.S. federal law requires immigrants older than 18 to possess any certificate of alien registration issued to him or her at all times; violation of this requirement is a federal misdemeanor crime. The Arizona act made it also a state misdemeanor for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents, and required that state law enforcement officers attempt to determine an individual's immigration status during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest" when there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is an illegal immigrant. The law barred state or local officials or agencies from restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws, and imposed penalties on those sheltering, hiring and transporting unregistered aliens. The paragraph on intent in the legislation says it embodies an "attrition through enforcement" doctrine.
Critics of the legislation say it encourages racial profiling, while supporters say the law prohibits the use of race as the sole basis for investigating immigration status. The law was amended by Arizona House Bill 2162 within a week of its signing, with the goal of addressing some of these concerns. There have been protests in opposition to the law in over 70 U.S. cities, including boycotts and calls for boycotts of Arizona.
The Act was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer on April 23, 2010. It was scheduled to go into effect on July 29, 2010, ninety days after the end of the legislative session. Legal challenges over its constitutionality and compliance with civil rights law were filed, including one by the United States Department of Justice, that also asked for an injunction against enforcement of the law. The day before the law was to take effect, federal judge Susan R. Bolton issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the law's most controversial provisions. In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the case Arizona v. United States, upholding the provision requiring immigration status checks during law enforcement stops but striking down three other provisions as violations of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.
Provisions
U.S. federal law requires aliens 14 years old or older who are in the country for longer than 30 days to register with the U.S. government and have registration documents in their possession at all times. The Act makes it a state misdemeanor for an illegal alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents and obligates police to make an attempt, when practicable during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest", to determine a person's immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion that the person is an illegal alien. Any person arrested cannot be released without confirmation of the person's legal immigration status by the federal government pursuant to § 1373 of Title 8 of the United States Code. A first offense carries a fine of up to $100, plus court costs, and up to 20 days in jail; subsequent offenses can result in up to 30 days in jail. A person is "presumed to not be an immigrant who is unlawfully present in the United States" if he or she presents any of the following four forms of identification: a valid Arizona driver license; a valid Arizona nonoperating identification license; a valid tribal enrollment card or other tribal identification; or any valid federal, state, or local government-issued identification, if the issuer requires proof of legal presence in the United States as a condition of issuance.The Act prohibits state, county, and local officials from limiting or restricting "the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law" and provides that any legal Arizona resident can sue the agencies or officials in question to compel such full enforcement. If the person who brings suit prevails, that person may be entitled to reimbursement of court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
The Act makes it a crime for anyone, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, to hire or to be hired from a vehicle which "blocks or impedes the normal movement of traffic." Vehicles used in such manner are subject to mandatory immobilization or impoundment. For a person in violation of a criminal law, it is an offense to transport an illegal alien "in furtherance" of the illegal immigrant's unauthorized presence in the U.S., to "conceal, harbor or shield" an illegal alien, or to encourage or induce an illegal alien to immigrate to the state, if the person "knows or recklessly disregards the fact" that the alien is in the U.S. without authorization or that immigration would be unlawful. Violation is a class 1 misdemeanor if fewer than ten illegal aliens are involved, and a class 6 felony if ten or more are involved. The offender is subject to a fine of at least $1,000 for each illegal immigrant involved. The transportation provision includes exceptions for child protective services workers, ambulance attendants and emergency medical technicians.
Arizona HB 2162
On April 30, 2010, the Arizona legislature passed and Governor Brewer signed, House Bill 2162, which modified the Act that had been signed a week earlier, adding text stating that "prosecutors would not investigate complaints based on race, color or national origin." The new text also states that police may only investigate immigration status incident to a "lawful stop, detention, or arrest", lowers the original fine from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $5000, and changes incarceration limits for first-time offenders from 6 months to 20 days.Background and passage
Arizona was the first state to enact such far-reaching legislation. Prior law in Arizona, like most other states, did not require law enforcement personnel to ask the immigration status of people they encountered. Many police departments discourage such inquiries to avoid deterring immigrants from reporting crimes and cooperating in other investigations.Arizona had an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants in April 2010, a fivefold increase since 1990. As the state with the most unlawful crossings of the Mexico–United States border, its remote and dangerous deserts are the unlawful entry point for thousands of illegal immigrant Mexicans and Central Americans. By the late 1990s, the Tucson Border Patrol Sector had the highest number of arrests by the United States Border Patrol.
Whether illegal aliens commit a disproportionate number of crimes is uncertain, with different authorities and academics claiming that the rate for this group was the same, greater, or less than that of the overall population. There was also anxiety that the Mexican drug war, which had caused thousands of deaths, would spill over into the U.S. Moreover, by late in the decade 2000, Phoenix was averaging one kidnapping per day, earning it the reputation as America's worst city in that regard.
Arizona has a history of restricting illegal immigration. In 2007, legislation imposed heavy sanctions on employers hiring undocumented workers. Measures similar to SB 1070 had been passed by the legislature in 2006 and 2008, only to be vetoed by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano. She was subsequently appointed as Secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration and was replaced by Republican Secretary of State of Arizona Jan Brewer. There is a similar history of referendums, such as the Arizona Proposition 200 that sought to restrict illegal immigrants' use of social services. The 'attrition through enforcement' doctrine had been encouraged by think tanks such as the Center for Immigration Studies for several years.
Impetus for SB 1070 was attributed to demographics shifting towards a larger Hispanic population, increased drugs and human smuggling related violence in Mexico and Arizona, and a struggling state economy and economic anxiety during the late-2000s recession. State residents were frustrated by the lack of federal progress on immigration, which they viewed as even more disappointing given that Napolitano had joined the Obama administration.
The major sponsor and legislative force behind the bill was state senator Russell Pearce, who had long been one of Arizona's most vocal opponents of illegal aliens and who had successfully pushed several prior pieces of tough legislation against those he termed "invaders on the American sovereignty". Much of the bill was drafted by Kris Kobach, a professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law and a figure long associated with the Federation for American Immigration Reform who had drafted immigration bills for many other states. Pearce and Kobach had worked together on prior immigration legislation, and Pearce contacted Kobach when he was ready to pursue stronger state enforcement of federal immigration laws. A December 2009 meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council in Washington, D.C., produced model legislation that embodied the Pearce initiative.
One explanation for the impetus behind the bill was that ALEC is largely funded by corporate contributions, including some from the private prison industry such as the Corrections Corporation of America, Management and Training Corporation, and GEO Group. These companies would benefit from a large increase in the number of illegal immigrants sent to jail. Pearce later denied that he created the bill for any reason other than to stop illegal immigration. He denied that he submitted the idea to ALEC for any reason other than helping it pass in Arizona and, potentially, in other states.
The bill was introduced in the Arizona legislature in January 2010 and gained 36 cosponsors. The Arizona State Senate approved an early version of the bill in February 2010. Saying, "Enough is enough," Pearce stated figuratively that this new bill would remove handcuffs from law enforcement and place them on violent offenders.
On March 27, 2010, 58-year-old Robert Krentz and his dog were shot and killed while Krentz was doing fence work on his large ranch roughly from the Mexican border. This incident gave a tangible public face to fears about immigration-related crime. Arizona police were unable to name a murder suspect but traced a set of footprints from the crime scene south towards the border. The resulting speculation that the killer was an illegal immigrant increased public support for SB 1070. There was talk of naming the law after Krentz. Some state legislators believed, however, that the impact of the Krentz killing has been overstated as a factor in the law's passage.
The bill, with several amendments, passed the Arizona House of Representatives on April 13 by a 35–21 party-line vote. The revised measure then passed the State Senate on April 19 by a 17–11 vote that also closely followed party lines, with all but one Republican voting for the bill, ten Democrats voting against it, and two Democrats abstaining.
File:Kyrsten Sinema at SB1070 protest.jpg|thumb|State representative Kyrsten Sinema, opponent of the bill, attending a protest at the Arizona State Capitol on the day of the bill's signing
After a bill passes, the Arizona governor has five days to either sign, veto, or allow it to pass without the governor's signature. The question became whether Governor Brewer would sign the bill into law, as she had remained silent on her opinion of SB1070. Immigration had not previously been a focus of her political career, although as secretary of state she had supported Arizona Proposition 200. As governor, she had made another push for Arizona Proposition 100, a one percent increase in the state sales tax to prevent cuts in education, health and human services, and public safety, despite opposition from within her own party. These political moves, along with a tough upcoming Republican Party primary in the 2010 Arizona gubernatorial election with other conservative opponents supporting the bill, were considered major factors in her decision. During the bill's development, her staff had reviewed its language line by line with state senator Pearce, but she had said she had concerns about several of its provisions. The Mexican Senate urged the governor to veto the bill and the Mexican Embassy to the U.S. raised concerns about potential racial profiling that may result. Citizen messages to Brewer, however, were 3–1 in favor of the law. A Rasmussen Reports poll taken between the House and Senate votes showed wide support for the bill among likely voters in the state, with 70 percent in favor and 23 percent opposed. The same poll showed 53 percent were at least somewhat concerned that actions taken due to the measures in the bill would violate the civil rights of some American citizens. Brewer's staff said that she was considering the legal issues, the impact on the state's business, and the feelings of the citizens in coming to her decision. They added that "she agonizes over these things," and the governor also prayed over the matter. Brewer's political allies said her decision would cause political trouble no matter what she decided. Most observers expected that she would sign the bill, and on April 23 she did.
During the wait for a signing decision, there were over a thousand people at the Arizona State Capitol both in support of and opposition to the bill, and some minor civil unrest occurred. Against concerns that the measure would promote racial profiling, Brewer stated that no such behavior would be tolerated: "We must enforce the law evenly, and without regard to skin color, accent or social status." She vowed to ensure that police forces had proper training relative to the law and civil rights, and on the same day as the signing she issued an executive order requiring additional training for all officers on how to implement SB 1070 without engaging in racial profiling. Ultimately, she said, "We have to trust our law enforcement."
Sponsor Pearce called the law's passage "a good day for America."
News of the law and the debate around immigration gained national attention, especially on cable news television channels, where topics that attract strong opinions are often given extra airtime.
Nevertheless, the legislators were surprised by the reaction it gained. State Representative Michele Reagan reflected three months later: "The majority of us who voted yes on that bill, myself included, did not expect or encourage an outcry from the public. The majority of us just voted for it because we thought we could try to fix the problem. Nobody envisioned boycotts. Nobody anticipated the emotion, the prayer vigils. The attitude was: These are the laws, let's start following them." State Representative Kyrsten Sinema, the assistant House minority leader tried to stop the bill and voted against it. She similarly reflected: "I knew it would be bad, but no one thought it would be this big. No one."
The immigration issue also gained center stage in the re-election campaign of Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona John McCain, who had been a past champion of federal immigration reform measures such as the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Also faced with a primary battle against the more conservative J. D. Hayworth, who had made legislation against unlawful immigration a central theme of his candidacy, McCain supported SB 1070 only hours before its passage in the State Senate. McCain subsequently became a vocal defender of the law, saying that the state had been forced to take action given the federal government's inability to control the border.
In September 2014, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ordered SB 1070 sponsor Russell Pearce to comply with a subpoena calling for him to turn over his emails and documents about the contentious statute. Challengers of the bill wanted to determine from them whether there was a discriminatory intent in composing the statute.