Research+Paper+-+Racial+Profiling

Racial Profiling: Racism or Public Safety? The ACLU describes Racial Profiling as “ law enforcement and private security practices that disproportionately target people of color for investigation and enforcement.” Racial Profiling is something that everyone has used at one point or another, whether it was consciously used or not. Depending on who you ask, you will get two totally opposite views on what racial profiling is. Some people will call it blatant, legal racism, while others will call it something that helps provide safety to the public. Racial Profiling isn’t something that people just now begun to use. It has been used for many, many years, by many people. The most current and perfect example of how police and others use racial profiling now is the Arizona Immigration Law that was recently passed. The Arizona Immigration Law, also known as, Arizona SB 1070, makes it illegal for an alien or illegal immigrant, to be in the state of Arizona without the proper or required identification or paperwork. As soon as this bill was proposed it immediately met great opposition. The outcries were that of racism and discrimination. Rallies and marches that opposed the bill occurred throughout the country and raised awareness to everyone, not just citizens of Arizona. The bill, passed and signed by Arizona’s governor this last April came into effect this June. The Arizona Immigration Law allows for police officers, in the state of Arizona to stop people they suspect of being an illegal immigrant and ask them to present proof of citizenship to them immediately. Being caught without such identification can lead to arrest, fines, and even incarceration. There is a proposed minimum $500 fine for a first offense, $1000 for a second, and even jail time for stops after this. With this law being enacted, people became aware of the fact that officers will begin to stop more people who are of Hispanic descent. In April of this year, after the Immigration Law had been signed, the governor signed another legislature signed bill which amended the Arizona Immigration Law. This new bill, HB 2162 changed some of the things that were proposed by the original bill. These changes included how and when police could stop individuals to check for citizenship as well as the punishment for non-citizens. Police can now only check individuals for citizenship during arrests or lawful traffic stops. The punishments for being caught without identification have both been reduced. The fines have been lowered, as well as the jail time to be served. This bill came in response to the staggering number of illegal immigrants that have been flooding our country for years. The stereotypes of illegal immigrants sneaking into the country and taking jobs from hardworking Americans have begun to run rampant even more so in the last few years. Increases in border patrol in states such as California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas have helped slightly cut down the amount of illegal immigrants sneaking into the country, but individuals’ sneaking in is still a daily occurrence. The rise of border patrol has increased the use of “Coyotes”. These “Coyotes” are people who get groups of individuals who wish to enter the United States, charge them usually large amounts of money, and then sneak these people into the country. The problems with Coyotes are that they will either bring in large groups of illegal immigrants, or they will scam people by leaving them in the middle of the desert after they have been paid. These people, usually dehydrated and malnourished, mostly end up dying in the desert where they were left to wander. The overall debate over the Arizona Immigration Law is that it allows and encourages police officers to use racial profiling when stopping individuals to check for legal citizenship. I have been a strong opponent to the Arizona Immigration Law since talk of it surfaced in legislation. The ideas and processes behind this law are what I would consider to be unethical and inappropriate. I feel that in some places, racial profiling is already used in law enforcement. Because of that reason I feel that there should never be a law or piece of legislation enacted that either force, influences, or encourages a law enforcement officer to use racial profiling when doing their jobs.  The overall purpose of this bill has become lost in the intense criticism. The original means of this bill were to help cut down on the number of immigrants that were gaining access to our country illegally, yet over time the criticism came to say the bill was just one to allow law enforcement agents to use racial profiling. Chris Stanislowski stated in an article in The Prague Journal of Central European Affairs that: “ the new law grants state law enforcement agents the ability to check the immigration status of any individual if they believe there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is in the United States illegally… this law simply institutionalizes discrimination and condones racial profiling as “reasonable suspicion” is not clearly defined.”  The ability by police to stop anyone they “reasonably suspect” of being an illegal immigrant isn’t just creating fear in Arizona alone, but in other states as well as other countries. Because police are able and are willing to stop individuals they feel are out of place it could be that people from other states or people visiting legally from other countries might be discriminated against. Stanislowski states in his article again: “Legal residents and foreign nationals who are visiting the United States legally will also face unnecessary and unfair harassment… Even people who live in other states of the US have demonstrated reluctance to visit or move to Arizona.” I feel that when a law is passed that installs enough fear in people to keep them from visiting a state that there is a major problem with legislation and there could be a better way to solve the problem they are trying to fix.  Besides the ability of police and other law enforcement to stop a person based on how they look, the law added other stipulations that immigrants must follow. These were things such as they must have possession of papers, other than identification, to prove they were in fact a legal immigrant. An article by Kris Kobach in National Review states that: “There’s nothing new about police officers’ taking illegal aliens into custody, in Arizona or elsewhere. The documentation provisions of S.B. 1070 simply give Arizona law enforcement one more option in how to deal with them.” Kobach also argues that the new stipulations that require immigrants to carry paper work aren’t new at all. Kobach says: “Since 1940, it has been a federal crime for aliens not to keep certain registration documents on their person or not to register with the federal government. The Arizona law prohibits aliens from violating these federal statutes.”  With all of the controversy that has surrounded this Arizona Immigration Law, I am personally surprised that it hasn’t been changed. The purpose for it and the methods it uses seem unethical and surprising for a law passed through legislation, and signed by the Arizona Governor. A bill or law that adds strength to an already powerful law enforcement department is a terrifying thought for most people. These laws made me think quite often about the control that the government has over everyone in this country. While I do believe that there should be something done about the staggering number of illegal immigrants in the United States, I do not believe that they took the correct course of action in this circumstance. This law has met great opposition and I hope to soon see it changed so that individuals will not be unfairly targeted or chosen and harassed. Works Cited 1.)  Kobach, Kris W. "Defending Arizona." // EBSCO Host // . National Review, 7 June 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2010.       2.)   Pullen, Randy. "Arizona: Read Our Immigration Law!" // EBSCO Host //. 31 May 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. 3.)  "Racial Profiling." // ACLU // . Web. 31 Oct. 2010. .       4.)   Stanislowski, Chris. "Arizona's New Law: A Call for Reform." // EBSCO Host //. 1 July 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2010.