Immigration Activists Continue to Protest Arizona's SB1070, Say Law Can't Be Enforced Without Racial Profiling
Although the law has been in effect for four years, immigration activists continue to protest Arizona's SB1070.
Especially under scrutiny is Section 2(B) of the law, commonly known as the "show me your papers" provision. This means that police officers can ask for proof of status from those they "suspect" are undocumented, according to EFE.
Norlan Flores, a Nicaraguan day laborer who has been in the U.S. for 10 years, was stopped by police after making a wide turn in his vehicle last week, Fox News Latino reports. Officers checked his status and discovered he was undocumented. A protest formed when Border Patrol officials arrived to take him into custody.
Flores' arrest was the second in recent days in the area, heightening tensions and accusations of racial profiling.
"There is no way to enforce SB1070 without racial profiling because the very premise and very basis of stopping somebody, and asking them for their papers and verifying their immigration status, is very connected to race and profiling based on race," Raul Alcaraz Ochoa, an immigration activist, told FNL.
Tuscon Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor said, however, that the number of Hispanics stopped under the law is proportionate to their population in the area.
"Our latest stats show it's about 43 percent, which is exactly the proportion of Hispanics in our community," he said.
Alcaraz Ochoa also argues that the police department should not have to deal with community residents through use of the Border Patrol.
Villaseñor, on the other hand, said that his department has worked with Border Patrol since before SB1070 was passed.
"We work with them; we have for years," he explained. "The word 'collaborate' is a term that's being used by immigrant activists to give an image of some type of conspiracy."
According to data by the Tucson Police Department, from June 12 through Aug. 10, 3,109 people's immigration statuses were verified under the law. The Border Patrol responded 45 times and took 24 immigrants into custody.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.
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