Arizona Immigration Law 'an open invitation for racial profiling': U.S. professor

Texas, May 1(ANI): A Baylor University School of Law professor, who has studied immigration reform and has reviewed the Arizona Immigration Law, has said that the law is "an open invitation for racial profiling by state police".

After evaluating the Bill, Laura A. Hernandez, an Assistant Professor of Law at the university, said: "Its an open invitation for racial profiling by state police who are already over-anxious about the increased drug-related violence spilling across the United States border from Mexico."

"The textual language of SB 1070 is impermissibly vague on due process grounds in that it 'requires' police to detain suspects 'when practicable' upon a suspicion of illegal entry into the country. The circumstances that determine practicability are unclear and are open to wide and discriminatory application," Hernandez said.

Hernandez further stressed on a vital issue of fluency in English, and emphasized that many legal immigrants and American citizens of Hispanic descent may face problems in tackling the law, as they are not fluent in English.

"This may be enough for suspicion of illegal entry and grounds for detainment in Arizona. Moreover, the documents requirement can also be abused as most American citizens do not carry proof of citizenship, such a birth certificates or passports, on their person," Hernandez said.

"This law will place an additional burden/requirement on citizenship for those of Hispanic descent which also appears to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution," she added.

She also believes that Arizona is criminalizing the act of forgetting 'identity papers' that requires heightened scrutiny on the state's purpose for the law as it clearly discriminates on a racial basis.

"It is likely that the federal immigration laws will preempt Arizona state law because it appears to be conveying immigration enforcement authority to local police. It was on this basis that three federal courts enjoined housing ordinances in three different states that attempted to foist this same enforcement authority to private landlords," she added. (ANI)