Governor Brewer, Read Your Own Law!
“You aren’t going to be asked for ID unless you first commit a crime,” said Arizona Governor Brewer in defense of Arizona’s new immigration law. Really? Arizona SB1070, as amended by HB2162, applies the “papers please” requirement to any “lawful STOP, detention or arrest.” People can be lawfully stopped to ask if they witnessed a crime. Or, if they are at a house with a car up on blocks.
Wouldn’t happen, you say? That’s not what the law intended, you say? This passage from an email from the Kansas lawyer who actually wrote the law to the legislator who put his name on it makes clear that papers please applies to anyone encountered in any way by the government:
“When we drop out ‘lawful contact’ and replace it with ‘a stop, detention, or rest, [sic.] in the enforcement a violation of any title or section of the Arizona code’ we need to add ‘or any county or municipal ordinance.’ This will allow police to use violations of property codes (ie, cars on blocks in the yard) or rental codes (too many occupants of a rental accommodation) to initiate queries as well.”
Yes, these were the very amendments made by HB2162.
Governor Brewer, you signed the law and its amendments. Don’t you think it’s time you found out what is really in there?