Now that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has signed SB 1070 into law, the action will move to the courts. MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, condemned the aggressive anti-immigrant bill as unconstitutional and vowed to pursue all legal avenues to challenge it. The measure, authored by State Senator Russell Pearce, puts cops on the frontline of immigration enforcement, by requiring them to ask anyone they suspect of being undocumented to show proof of immigration status. Will Arizona’s new immigration mandate stand? What will its passage mean for the national immigration reform debate?
Guests:
Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriff
Tom Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF
Russell Pearce, Arizona State Senator, and author of immigration bill SB1070
Alfredo Gutierrez, former Arizona State Senator (from 1972-1986), and editor of La Frontera Times.com, which advocates for immigration reform