US Supreme Court Upholds Arizona’s SB 1070, Strikes Down Major Provisions

On June 25, The US Supreme Court struck down significant portions of the Arizona’s anti-immigration law SB 1070, but left intact the “show me your papers” provision  which requires law enforcement to check the immigration status of individuals stopped and  suspected of being in the country illegally.

The court also struck down three other major provisions:

• The requirement that all immigrants obtain or carry immigration registration papers
• Making it a state criminal offense for an illegal immigrant to seek work or hold a job
• Allowing police to arrest suspected illegal immigrants without warrants

State Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a released statement, “This ruling spotlights the critical need for comprehensive immigration reform.

“Laws that target and demonize people are not the answer,” she said in. “Stripping people of their civil liberties and humanity is not the answer.”

Harris called SB 1070  a cruel and ill-conceived idea that wasted taxpayer dollars and demeaned our country’s values of fairness and freedom.