My thoughts on "The Arizona Senate Bill 1070"

The Arizona Senate Bill 1070 brings to perspective the issue about how the immigration laws should be enforced.  A portion of the population may see the bill as a necessary step to fight crime. However, the bill opens the door to profiling by allowing police to interrogate anyone they may suspect is in the country illegally.  Furthermore, in the case of being detained and not producing the required documents, a person can face jail time, or a fine. Another issue this Bill addresses is that anyone who employs, or transports an illegal immigrant will be penalized by law (Senate Bill 1070, 2010).

The Bill is unconstitutional and should not have been passed. One of the reason the passing of the Bill was successful, besides the manifestations against it was that the political strategy was so well linked to the existing realities of a declining economy which created the conditions amongst the American people to blame illegal immigrants for the economic set back similar to what happened during the great depression when immigrants where sent back across the border under claims that they worsened the economic conditions of the U.S. (Karger, Midgley,  Kindle,  & Brown,  2007).

Jansson, (2014) explains that grounding policy in the current realities during a specific time frame can broaden the chances of the policy to be passed. This is precisely what happened in Arizona when a portion of the population saw the bill as being necessary to protect the American people, but at what cost? Many simply forget that the Mexican people have been here since before 1848 when the Mexicans were forced to sell their territories now known as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, parts of Utah, and Idaho (Karger, et al, 2007). Profiling Hispanics basing police intervention on assumptions of being an illegal immigrant is simply a violation towards the millions of Hispanics that live and work in the United States legally.

The Senate Bill 1070 is oppressive to Hispanics by permitting stigma to be applied to profile and target based on assumptions. Based on the Senate Bill 1070, (2010) Illegal immigrants are an economic burden on the U.S. What the Bill does not do is take into consideration are the many benefits immigrants have on the economy. (Karger, et al, 2007) explains that the need for inexpensive Mexican labor to sustain the economic capital of the United States is met by Hispanics who cross the borders in search for work. Oppressing and persecuting Hispanics will have detrimental effects on the economy and can have outcomes that many have not foreseen.

The NASW, (2008) calls for social work professional to work for and ensure social change especially on behalf of vulnerable populations.  this Bill brings to the table a regression to the times when skin color was used as the main indicator of inferiority or as a reason to be pinpointed or excluded. After reaching many milestones initiated from the civil rights movement, it is unacceptable to fall back to racial profiling and targeting of individuals based on unspecified criteria which grant law enforcement the right to speculate into if a person is in the U.S. illegally solely by using criteria like last names, accent, skin color, or race.  Furthermore, aligning with this bill puts at risk the concept of fairness and liberty and places the safety of Hispanics that are in the U.S. at risk of being victims of prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion solely based on how a person looks.

Miguel A. Soto, LMSW, LCSW

References

Jansson, B. S. (2014). Becoming an effective social policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Karger, H. J., Midgley, J., Kindle, P. A., & Brown, C. B. (2007). Controversial issues in social policy (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/default.asp

Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, Senate Bill 1070. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf