In the United States, illegal immigration remains a critical issue affecting society and the workforce situation. Whether or not Arizona law officials should be authorized to detain individuals arbitrarily to check their immigration status is a matter of human rights. This paper argues that the decision is rather harmful despite its potential positive effects.
As for the pros, the decision to normalize immigration status checks in Arizona during lawful stops can boost the effectiveness of immigration rules by facilitating the identification of undocumented individuals. As of 2010, the state of Arizona had around 500.000 undocumented people, with the majority coming from Mexico (The.News, 2010). To some extent, the new law could be a matter of protecting legal citizens’ right to access services and jobs. By increasing the immigration crime detection rate, the initiative can reduce the intention to violate the law, thus maximizing the number of Arizona citizens that have access to healthcare and other first-priority services (Sánchez, 2017). Thus, the rule can maximize diverse populations’ safety, although in a controversial way.
The pros, however, do not outweigh the negative consequences of the initiative, such as increased racial profiling, opportunities for discrimination, and racial minorities’ psychological stress. As per anecdotal evidence, the passage of the SB1070 act in Arizona was followed by a substantial decrease in the Hispanic users of religious institutions, healthcare services, and schools (Sánchez, 2017). This might signify the minority group’s increased fear of being considered suspicious and stopped in front of others. Even legal Arizona residents are concerned that their level of English can become a reason for a lawful stop and further investigation (The.News, 2010).
The opponents of the act are also concerned that it further supports racial profiling and stopping people in the streets just on the basis of their looks (Democracy Now, 2009). Thus, the act can promote discriminatory practices under the disguise of anti-terrorism efforts (Democracy Now, 2009). Therefore, the intimidation and social division that such decisions can cause are rather problematic.
Finally, detaining people arbitrarily to check their immigration documents is harmful in terms of racial justice. The decision can have positive effects, including reducing the intention to cross the country’s borders illegally. Nevertheless, some investigated cases would not compensate for minority groups’ enormous psychological stress and feeling unwelcome.
References
Sánchez, G. E. (2017). The short-term response of the Hispanic noncitizen population to anti-illegal immigration legislation: The case of Arizona SB 1070. Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, 22(42), 25-36. Web.
Democracy Now. (2009). Obama admin expands law enforcement program 287(g), criticized for targeting immigrants and increasing racial profiling. Web.
The.News. (2010). Immigration debate. PBS Learning Media. Web.