The Sole Examiner: S.B. 1070

ARIZONA-- April 23, 2010 Senate Bill 1070 was signed by Governor Jan Brewer. It’s been a little over a year, and it seems the controversy surrounding the bill is slowly deteriorating. It seems, however, the action preceding the passing is still highly active. Has it helped immigration laws or is it causing racial profiling and stereotyping? The answers are still mixed throughout all levels of society.

Obviously Governor Brewer’s stance is highly defended. It’s reported that “over 3.7 million dollars in donations have been collected”[1] by her office. There are, however, citizens and organizations trying to counter her actions, including the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. government sued Arizona’s law, resulting in a countersuit by Arizona in February 2011. In the countersuit, “Arizona claims that the federal government has violated the U.S. Constitution by failing to enforce immigration laws”[2]. Naturally, it would seem Arizona may have used extreme measures to get some type of response from the government. Well, Arizona received the attention they sought, but it may not be the attention they needed.

The aftermath of the bill has been well documented on the federal and state level but what about the citizens effected? Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a communications and public relations Director remembers the day the bill was passed: “By mid-day, thousands of young people had walked out of their school sanctums towards Arizona's State Capitol Building”[3]. He fears citizens of Arizona will be in a “battlefield where loved ones, their parents in particular, could be criminalized, displaced, uprooted with the stroke of a demagogue's pen”. The effects of S.B. 1070 have been showcased throughout national and local news and is effectively sending a ripple effect throughout the country. Other states are using it as a model to follow; “copycat laws” are in production in states like Utah, Georgia and Florida. It seems states may be acting without hesitation because of the lack of federal aid for immigration issues. Can the government solve the problems or will states attempt to come up with more short term solutions?

S.B. 1070: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf

[1] http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/1158b7a51ef74cf4afdf4aef0b1f79d7/AZ--Defending-SB1070/

[2] http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/04/13/35764.htm

[3] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jorgemario-cabrera/arizon-sb1070-immigration-reform_b_850309.html