illegal immigration is the act of migrating illegally into a country. Illegal immigration is a violation of most nation laws, and it usually raises red flags in political, social and economic factors. In some countries, it has criminal sanctions attached to it. In the United States, illegal immigration is one of the most serious problems being faced today. The various States were given the mandate to formulate laws that deal with the issue of illegal immigrants in their regions.
Arizona as a State formulated the arizona immigration law sb1070 in 2010. However, as soon as this law was signed into enforcement, it was surrounded by a lot of controversy and court action. This law was enacted by the Arizona legislature in April of 2010, and it was supposed to come into force on the 29th day of July 2010. It is necessary to note that the Arizona immigration law SB 1070 was approved by the legislature on the 19th day f April 2010, and signed by the Governor of Arizona on the 23rd day of April 2010. As has been stated, the law was supposed to come into force on the 29th day of July 2010, but this was not made possible by a series of court actions.
Before looking at the court cases against the law; it is crucial for us to examine this law, alongside the law of the country as a whole. In the U.S, the Constitution is the Supreme law and all laws are supposed to conform to it. Laws that are not in conformity with the constitution are considered null and void to the extent of their unconstitutionality. It should also be noted that the laws enacted at national level have supremacy over those that are enacted at State level. However, it was found that some of the provisions in arizona immigration law sb1070 were not in conformity with the laws of the nation. For example, Federal law states that all aliens above fourteen years who wish to remain in the country for more than thirty days should register with the government and have their registration documents with them all the time. The Arizona law stated that all aliens who were found to be without these documents committed a misdemeanor. The law further went on to state that law enforcement officers could stop and search any person, who was reasonably suspected of not having these documents. This law, therefore, gave law enforcement officers the right to stop, search and arrest any person who was reasonably suspected to be in breach of the law. The law also put up strict measures to crack down on all people who were suspected of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants.
All in all, this law was looked at as racist an unconstitutional, since it did not recognize the rights of aliens or immigrants. The unconstitutionality of the law was one of the main grounds for grant of an injunction against it by the court.