A Constitutional/Federalism Study of New State Immigration Laws: Arizona



A Constitutional/Federalism Study of New State Immigration Laws

Introduction

The legislation makes not carrying immigration documents a crime, gives Arizona law enforcement broad powers to detain anyone they suspect is illegally in the U.S. and allows lawsuits against local governments and agencies by individuals who believe federal or state immigration laws aren't being enforced (Claiborne 2005).

It can be observed that the difference between the approaches towards the new illegal immigration law adopted recently in the U.S. state of Arizona is significantly varying. An attempt was made to overhaul the federal immigration system in 2007 (Fisher et.al 2011). It failed. So states and cities not just in border areas; Albertville in Northeast Alabama is one have adopted or are considering adopting ordinances to control illegal immigration.

Discussion

Many of those measures have been tossed out by the courts on federal/state jurisdictional grounds. However, they are a response to federal inaction on an issue Washington doesn't seem to want to face. There are political considerations; both parties are eyeing the growing Hispanic voting bloc. There are business considerations; employers reap the benefits of hiring illegal immigrants with no legal or economic consequences (Hillman 2011). The way to keep states and cities from taking action like the Arizona legislation is for Congress and the White House to put those considerations aside, do their jobs and begin work on comprehensive immigration reform.

Migration, like many processes these days are marked with the stamp of globalization, a process that is multidimensional, involving economic variables, political, technology, essentially the development of communications and information. The rationale used historically for immigration policy international organizations have been linked to the following topics: human rights of migrants and family, economic development, labor, social structure, relationships international physical space and the environment.

A central issue for the formulation and implementation of public policy in the field of migration is related to the human rights of migrants and their families, which guideline should be central to all policy making, especially in the case of an issue as sensitive to the population, involving aspects such as tolerance, solidarity, discrimination, racism and xenophobia.

Stanislowski (2010) explained that it can be observed that the difference between the approaches towards the new illegal immigration law adopted recently in the U.S. state of Arizona is significantly varying. A law in Arizona intended to crack down on illegal immigration would allow for racial profiling by police, and oversteps state authority to infringe on a federal responsibility (Eagly 2011). It is written so broadly that if you were visiting in Arizona and you had an accent, and you were a citizen from another state, you could be subjected to the kind of inquiry that this law permits. We have to try to balance the very legitimate concerns that Americans, not just people in Arizona, but across the country have about safe and secure borders.

For purposes Bergman (2004)presented, the orientation of the problem that gives rise to a public policy focuses on the phenomenon of migration, ...