PHOENIX , Arizona— A new training video for police officers in Arizona was created in order to teach them how to handle questioning immigrants for legality.
Opponents of the new anti-illegal immigration law that requires police officers to question the legal status of those who break the law are trying to implement the use of videotaping in order to determine if police officers are racially profiling immigrants.
Arizona officers are stuck in a catch-22 type situation. It is a difficult for officers because on the one hand, they can be fired for not questioning perpetrators and on the other hand, they can also be fired for racial profiling.
A perpetrator’s appearance can only be relevant to the actual crime, as in using a description of someone’s physical appearance to find the perpetrator of a crime, not to question legality.
However, if officers are restricted from using a person’s appearance (race or color for example) as the base from questioning them over legal status, how else are they expected to bring the subject up unless there is a direct complaint over an illegal immigrant being involved in a crime.
Immigration attorneys and civil rights activists argue that Hispanics are being targeted because of their appearances. Hispanics make up the greatest population of immigrants in Arizona. There are currently around 2 million legal Hispanic immigrants living in the state who are either residents or citizens.
Illegal immigrants are being encouraged to apply for work visas as opposed to being paid under the table. Many businesses have hired illegal immigrants to do work for them, but without proper legal status or an employment visa, those businesses that employ illegal immigrants are breaking the law.
