UnConstitutional? I don't think so. I understand the arguments about the federal government taking the lead in immigration and violations of civil rights. But let's face it: This Supreme Court will not throw out a law that is popular with the Republican base.
The Arizona immigration law makes it a crime to be caught in Arizona without your 'papers.' Police must make an attempt, when practicable during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest made by a law enforcement official," to determine a person's immigration status.
It is not well-thought-out. It is vague and may have unintended negative consequences. The problem with this law is it gives too much power to the cop on the street -- prosecutor, judge, jury, executioner. It calls for racial profiling -- despite language against that -- under the guise of "reasonable suspicion."
Let's be honest: There is NOTHING a person can do that will create a reasonable suspicion of being an illegal immigrant -- except for having brown skin. Even a "I'm an illegal immigrant" T-shirt should be reasonably seen as a political statement -- especially when worn by Megan McCain. :p The legal definition of "reasonable suspicion" will be tied up in court for years.
I criticize the Arizona lawmakers for coming up with a week law that will drain the resources of Arizona's courts.
And other resources. The Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police criticized the legislation, saying that it will negatively affect the ability of law enforcement agencies across the state to fulfill their many responsibilities in a timely manner. Simply, solving crimes against Arizona citizens gets harder as you scare a portion of the population into not cooperating.
However, there is still no reason to applaud the Mexican President's criticism before Congress.
P.S.: There are two things I learned while researching this topic:
1. No illegal immigrant is living 'the American Dream.'
2. It's harder to become legal than I thought.
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