- WASHINGTON - The new
law recently signed by the governor of Arizona, SB 1070, makes it a state
crime to violate some federal immigration statutes. While the law is extremely
popular in the state, with 70 percent of Arizona voters approving of it
and just 23 percent opposed, it has raised controversy. Below is a brief
summary of the relevant information on illegal immigration in Arizona,
followed by a short analysis of SB 1070's major provisions.
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- Illegal Immigration In Arizona
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- The federal government estimated that Arizona had one
of the fastest growing illegal immigrant populations in the country, increasing
from 330,000 in 2000 to 560,000 by 2008.<#1>1
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- Arizona has adopted other laws to deter the settlement
of illegal immigrants in the state in recent years. The federal government
estimates that the illegal immigrant population dropped by 18 percent in
the state from 2008 to 2009, compared to a 7 percent drop for the nation
as a whole.<#2>2 This may be evidence that the state enforcement
efforts are having an impact.
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- The Maricopa County Attorney's Office has found that
22 percent of felonies in the county are committed by illegal immigrants.<#3>3
Illegal immigrants are estimated to be 10 percent of the county's adult
population.<#4>4
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- Analysis of data from State Criminal Alien Assistance
Program showed that illegal immigrants were 11 percent of the state's prison
population. Illegal immigrants were estimated to be 8 percent of state's
adult population at the time of the analysis.<#5>5
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- Approximately 17 percent of those arrested by the Border
Patrol in its Tucson Sector have criminal records in the United States.<#6>6
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- The issue of illegal immigration and crime is very difficult
to measure, and while in Arizona there is evidence that illegal immigrants
are committing a disproportionate share of crime, it is not clear this
is the case nationally.<#7>7
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- In 2007, the Center for Immigration Studies estimated
that 12 percent of workers in the Arizona are illegal immigrants.<#8>8
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- In 2007, the Center estimated that illegal immigrants
and their U.S.-born children (under 18) comprise one-fifth of those in
the state living in poverty, one-third of those without health insurance,
and one out of six students in the state's schools.<#9>9
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- In 2007, the Center estimated that one-third of households
headed by illegal immigrants in Arizona used at least one major welfare
program, primarily food-assistance programs or Medicaid. Benefits were
typically received on behalf of U.S.-born children.<#10>10
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- The new law (SB 1070) is extremely popular among Arizona
voters. A Rasmussen poll found that 70 percent of voters approve of the
new bill, and just 23 percent oppose it.<#11>11
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- Among the new law's provisions:
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- The new Arizona law mirrors federal law, which already
requires aliens (non-citizens) to register and carry their documents with
them (8 USC 1304(e) and 8 USC 1306(a)). The new Arizona law simply states
that violating federal immigration law is now a state crime as well. Because
illegal immigrants are by definition in violation of federal immigration
laws, they can now be arrested by local law enforcement in Arizona.
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- The law is designed to avoid the legal pitfall of "pre-emption,"
which means a state can't adopt laws that conflict with federal laws. By
making what is a federal violation also a state violation, the Arizona
law avoids this problem.
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- The law only allows police to ask about immigration status
in the normal course of "lawful contact" with a person, such
as a traffic stop or if they have committed a crime.
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- Estimates from the federal government indicate that more
than 80 percent of illegal immigrants come from Latin America.<#12>12
Thus, there is concern that police may target only Hispanics for enforcement.
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- Before asking a person about immigration status, law
enforcement officials are required by the law to have "reasonable
suspicion" that a person is an illegal immigrant. The concept of "reasonable
suspicion" is well established by court rulings. Since Arizona does
not issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, having a valid license
creates a presumption of legal status. Examples of reasonable suspicion
include:
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- A driver stopped for a traffic violation has no license,
or record of a driver's license or other form of federal or state identification.
- A police officer observes someone buying fraudulent identity
documents or crossing the border illegally.
- A police officer recognizes a gang member back on the
street who he knows has been previously deported by the federal government.
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- The law specifically states that police, "may not
solely consider race, color or national origin" when implementing
SB 1070.
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- When Arizona's governor signed the new law, she also
issued an executive order requiring the Arizona Peace Officer Standards
and Training Board to provide local police with additional training on
what does and what does not constitute "reasonable suspicion."<#13>13
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- # # #
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- The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent
non-partisan research institution that examines the impact of immigration
on the United States. It is not involved in drafting legislation and has
not formally endorsed or opposed SB 1070.
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- Endnotes
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- 1 See Table 4 "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant
Population Residing in the United States: January 2008," http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2008.pdf.
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- 2 See 'Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population
Residing in the United States: January 2009," Table 4, http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2009.pdf
See also Table 4 "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population
Residing in the United States: January 2008," http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2008.pdf.
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- 3 The Maricopa County Attorney's office report is at:
http://www.mcaodocuments.com/press/20081002_a-whitepaper.pdf.
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- 4 See Table 3 in "Immigration and Crime: Assessing
a Conflicted Issue," http://www.cis.org/ImmigrantCrime.
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- 5 See Table 6 in "Immigration and Crime: Assessing
a Conflicted Issue," http://www.cis.org/ImmigrantCrime.
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- 6 See "The Krentz Bonfire: Will the murder of a
respected Cochise County rancher change anything on our border?" Tucson
Weekly, April 29, 2010, http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/the-krentz-bonfire/Content?oid=1945848.
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- 7 The Center for Immigration Studies has conducted a
detailed review of the literature and data available on crime. Nationally
it is very difficult to come to a clear conclusion about crime rates among
immigrants. The report, "Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted
Issue," is at: http://www.cis.org/ImmigrantCrime.
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- 8 See Tables 21 in "Immigrants in the United States,
2007: A Profile of America's Foreign-Born Population," http://www.cis.org/immigrants_profile_2007.
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- 9 See Tables 23, 24, and 26 in "Immigrants in the
United States, 2007: A Profile of America's Foreign-Born Population,"
http://www.cis.org/immigrants_profile_2007.
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- 10 See Tables 25 in "Immigrants in the United States,
2007: A Profile of America's Foreign-Born Population," http://www.cis.org/immigrants_profile_2007.
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- 11 Rasmussen poll released April 21, 2010, of likely
voters in Arizona, http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_
- 2010_senate_elections/arizona/70_of_arizona_voters_favor_new_
- state_measure_cracking_down_on_illegal_immigration.
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- 12 See 'Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population
Residing in the United States: January 2009," Figure 2, http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2009.pdf.
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- 13 See http://www.azpost.state.az.us/bulletins/eo201009.pdf.
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- Contact Mark Krikorian, (202) 466-8185, msk@cis.org
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