1) From FAIR: “… Arizona’s law provides a carefully crafted set of rules that proscribe how Arizona law enforcement officers are to inquire about immigration status. First, an Arizona law enforcement officer must engage in lawful contact with the individual in question. (SB 1070, §2). That means that the stop or contact must survive any challenge with respect to the 4th Amendment’s protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Then, if an officer has conducted a lawful stop, the officer must also have “reasonable suspicion” that an individual is unlawfully present before inquiring about immigration status. (Id.). Importantly, the Arizona law expressly states that a law enforcement official “may not solely consider race, color, or national origin” in implementing this provision, including forming a reasonable suspicion. (Id.)…” Here.
2) From The NY Times: “Residents are unnerved by the violence in Mexico and the heavy drug trade and illegal immigrant trafficking in Arizona. Most studies have shown illegal immigrants do not commit crimes in a greater proportion than their share of the population, and Arizona’s violent crime rate has declined in recent years. But in this state any crime tied to illegal immigrants gets notice. Half of the drugs seized along the United States-Mexico border are confiscated in Arizona, and it is a major hub for human smuggling. Last month, Robert Krentz, 58, a member of a prominent ranching family, was killed on his property 20 miles from the border, and the police said the gunman was probably connected to smuggling. “People outside of Arizona are not living in this state and don’t understand the issue,” said Mona Stacey, a computer technician from Mesa. “Most of them coming across are mostly good, Catholic families getting over here. But you also have the drug lords and the smugglers. It makes the good guys look bad, and you don’t know who is who.” Here.
