The Facts About the Arizona "Racial Profiling" Law

Those of you who know me or have read this blog much might have caught on that I like to disregard what the mainstream media (including, GASP, FoxNews) says and focus on research the facts of a particular issue.

There have been many stories posted online, aired on TV, and discussed on the radio about the new anti-immigration law passed in Arizona, SB 1070.  As can be expected, all of these stories conform to that particular presenter's agenda and only give the relevant information to support said agenda.  Even then, some of these stories can distort the truth or (worse) present false claims.  

For what it's worth, I subscribe to nearly 100 news sites and blogs in my RSS reader from the Left, the Right, and the Middle.  A quick search for "Arizona" or "1070" yields mostly results from the Left (and, the overwhelming majority are from Huffington Post).

I decided to read the bill myself (and attach it to this post).  While Arizona seem to enjoy all caps (making it hard to read), at least they use pretty colors.  The color you need to look for is BLUE.

Here's the first part that stands out:

B. FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OF A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE, WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON...

The above is the part of this subsection that people who are against this law on racial profiling grounds point out.  How this is read by most is that if a law enforcement officer suspects someone might be an illegal alien, then they have the legal power to compel the subject to provide paperwork verifying their lawful presence in the United States.  What they leave off is the following information from this very same subsection:

...A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE MAY NOT SOLELY CONSIDER RACE, COLOR OR NATIONAL ORIGIN IN IMPLEMENTING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SUBSECTION EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE UNITED STATES OR ARIZONA CONSTITUTION....

This makes it very obvious that it is illegal to directly engage in racial profiling, but it does not say that race, color, or national origin can be secondary considerations in providing a reasonable suspicion that a person may be an illegal alien.  This is an important part that is left off by both sides.  It is left off by those who are for this measure because it doesn't rule out the possibility of any legal consideration that amounts to racial profiling, while it is left off by those who are against the measure because it shows that racial profiling cannot be legally used as a primary suspicion.

...A PERSON IS PRESUMED TO NOT BE AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES IF THE PERSON PROVIDES TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OR AGENCY ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. A VALID ARIZONA DRIVER LICENSE.
2. A VALID ARIZONA NONOPERATING IDENTIFICATION LICENSE.
3. A VALID TRIBAL ENROLLMENT CARD OR OTHER FORM OF TRIBAL IDENTIFICATION.
4. IF THE ENTITY REQUIRES PROOF OF LEGAL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES BEFORE ISSUANCE, ANY VALID UNITED STATES FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ISSUED IDENTIFICATION.

It is made quite obvious here what documentation must be provided to law enforcement to afford you the presumption of a valid presence.  Of course, the argument is made by those against this measure that you will only be asked for this documentation after you have been racially profiled.  But as I pointed out previously, your racial profile cannot be the primary suspicion. (Furthermore, there is a subsection later that lays out a fairly tough penalty for organizations that engage in racial profiling.)

F. THIS SECTION DOES NOT IMPLEMENT, AUTHORIZE OR ESTABLISH AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED TO IMPLEMENT, AUTHORIZE OR ESTABLISH THE REAL ID ACT OF 2005 (P.L. 109-13, DIVISION B; 119 STAT. 302), INCLUDING THE USE OF A RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION CHIP.

And of course, we have the obligatory reaffirmation of nullification of Real ID.  :-)