Arizona Senate Passes Contentious Alien Trespassing Law
July 9, 2009 – 10:53 am
Taking a tough stand against undocumented aliens’ presence in its territory, Arizona has moved a step closer to becoming the only state in U.S. to criminalize the presence of undocumented aliens by broadening the ambit of its trespassing law. Last week, the Arizona Senate passed the contentious bill by 16-11 vote. However, the measure must still be approved in the House and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer. Notably, the action has drawn commendation as well as condemnation from the proponents and opponents of the bill. While, the former say local police enforcing an expanded trespassing law would provide a second layer of enforcement to catch immigrants who slip past federal agents. The latter predict it would lead to racial profiling that would target thousands of Latinos who are lawful U.S. citizens. According to estimation, undocumented aliens account for 500,000 people in Arizona’s 6.5 million populations.
For complete information, please click Arizona Senate OKs immigration enforcement bill
Sphere: Related Content