American Civil Liberties Union

In April 2010, lawmakers in Arizona enacted a notorious “show me your papers” law that threatened to transform it into a police state, and invited rampant racial profiling against Latinos, Asian Americans, and others presumed to be “foreign” just because of the way they look or sound.

Among other things, the law, known as SB 1070, requires police to demand papers proving citizenship or immigration status from anyone they stop who they suspect of being in the country unlawfully. It also authorizes the police to make warrantless arrests of people, including individuals who have committed no crime, if officers – untrained in the complexities of federal immigration law – think they might be deportable.

After separate lawsuits filed by the United States government and by the ACLU and a coalition of civil rights groups, a federal court blocked the core provisions of this blatantly unconstitutional law from taking effect. The federal court of appeals has upheld that decision.

Arizona’s enactment of SB 1070 set off a number of copycat attempts in states across the country this year. As the dust settles on state legislative sessions in 2011, six states have passed laws inspired by SB 1070. The ACLU and other civil rights groups have already filed lawsuits challenging five of the laws, including Arizona's, and intend to challenge the sixth one soon. So far, federal courts have blocked unconstitutional provisions in four states from taking effect, and we are confident that the other two laws will meet the same fate. Copycat measures that posed real threats have been defeated this year in no less than 14 states.

Arizona’s racial profiling law and its imitators threaten fundamental American values of fairness and equality for all people. The ACLU will continue to stand up for the civil liberties of all Americans, no matter what race, ethnicity, or national origin.