The outcome of this decision is being watched closely by those who are concerned with the treatment of illegal immigrants as well as other groups who are generally concerned with the treatment of Latinos by authorities in the United States. The fear these groups have is that individuals will be singled out by police for being Latino- something clearly unconstitutional. In addition, the argument is being made that it makes little sense for local and federal authorities to have overlapping jurisdiction.

Those parts of the law blocked by the Judge included that section which permitted law enforcement to inquire as to the immigration status of an individual if the individual were for example, detained on a traffic matter. The Judge also blocked that part of the law which required immigrants to carry their immigration papers on them at all times.

The Judge ruled that only the federal government has the power to detain people on those grounds, not the states. The Arizona Governor and other officials who were proponents of the new law said they would continue to fight to keep those portions of the law in the bill, presumably on appeal. The Arizona bill as originally drafted would have permitted law enforcement to conduct an investigation into the immigration status of the detained individual which could lead to an arrest for being in the state illegally. This would have been a significant expansion of the state’s rights into what the U.S. Constitution says is exclusively the jurisdiction of the Federal government. It would have also opened up Hispanic people and those who may “look like immigrants” to be subject to questioning by law enforcement. A whole host of constitutional issues would have been raised to include equal protection issues and rights protected under the 4th amendment and known as search and seizure.

In April, Arizona passed one of the nation’s toughest illegal immigration bills, SB 1070—a bill which President Obama strongly criticized. The law, whose aim it is to identify, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants, sparked uproar not only in Arizona, but in California as well.

In Orange County, eight people chained themselves together outside the federal building in Santa Ana while protesting the law. The protestors gathered to call on Santa Ana to declare itself a “sanctuary city.” A recent UC Berkeley graduate who lives in Santa Ana was quoted saying, “Undocumented people are human beings, we’re not criminals.” Protestors view laws such as this as racist, as it gives police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Such suspicion would most likely be directed towards Hispanics and is being deemed racial profiling by many.

President Obama has said that the Arizona law has threatened to “undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”

The Santa Ana protestors were ultimately arrested and taken to city jail, but later cited and released. See Penal Code Sections 415(1), (2) (Disturbing the Peace) and 602 (Trespass).