Arizona Immigration Law SB 1070 was signed into effect by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on April 23, 2010. Even before it was enacted, it earned notoriety as the most stringent statewide immigration law in the United States. Barack Obama referred to it as a "irresponsibility" on Arizona's part and filed suit against the state claiming the law obstructs federal efforts to control illegal immigration.http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/06/nation/la-na-arizona-lawsuit-20100707 The law requires law enforcement officers to inquire about a person's immigration status when they have a "reasonable suspicion" that the person is an illegal immigrant. Foreign nationals who do not have their proper documentation are to be jailed and charged with a misdemeanor, even if they are lawful immigrants. The law also provides mechanisms through which Arizonans can sue municipal governments if they are not enforcing the laws strictly enough.

Just hours before the law was set to take effect on July 29, 2010, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked a portion of the law, specifically the provision that would allow law enforcement to check immigration status based on reasonable suspicion. Setting up a lengthy legal battle, Governor Jan Brewer vowed to appeal the judge's decision.http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-07-28-arizona-immigration_N.htm

Immigration has long been a heated issue in across the border in general and in Arizona particularly. Bills similar to SB 1070 had been vetoed several times over the past several year by previous Governor Janet Napolitano, who left her post to serve as the federal Secretary of Homeland Security. The issue became even more heated in recent months because of the murder of rancher Robert Krentz, with police suspecting an illegal immigrant as having pulled the trigger (tracks led to the nearby Mexican border).http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/30/illegal-immigrant-suspected-murder-arizona-rancher/

The law purports to respond to the problem of illegal immigration along the southern border of the United States, which has long been a festering problem in Arizona. Proponents of the law say that it responds to the failure of the federal government to control the southern border. They point out that there are some 450,000 undocumented immigrants in Arizona, and are likewise concerned about violence along the Mexican side of the border.http://www.newsweek.com/id/132231

Opponents of the law likewise lament the federal government's inaction on immigration, but they consider SB 1070 a horrible solution. They point out that it encourages racial profiling, and that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are otherwise law-abiding. They also point out that the free movement of labor is a basically righteous principle, and that the mostly Mexican migrants are only responding the demands of the labor market, which this law can't wish away.