Dean Johnson, Professor Chin Comment on Immigration Claim for Politifact

Dean Kevin R. Johnson and Professor Gabriel "Jack" Chin were quoted in a report on PolitiFact.com regarding claims by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer that her state's controversial immigration law, SB 1070, "just mirrors federal law."

Though the bulk of the law, passed by Arizona voters in 2010, has been tossed out by the courts, the remaining portion authorizes state and local law enforcement officers to ask for proof of citizenship if a person is detained for a non-immigration offense and police have a "reasonable suspicion" the individual may be undocumented.

"It does not really ‘mirror' federal law, which delegates enforcement power to federal immigration authorities, not state and local law enforcement," Johnson said.

"It is not inaccurate to say that the state policy of gathering immigration information is consistent with federal law," Chin said. "As the Supreme Court held, it is certainly possible that SB 1070 could be interpreted in ways that violate federal law, but the basic step of gathering information does not."

 

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