Poll: Most Americans think Arizona immigration law is "about right"

CBS ^ | 6/7/2012 | By Lucy Madison

[tobyhill]

As the Supreme Court weighs a decision on Arizona's controversial immigration law this summer, a new CBS News/New York Times poll shows that more than half of Americans see the law as "about right."

The legislation, which was signed into law in April 2010, is considered among the most stringent immigration laws in the nation. It requires Arizona law enforcement members to check the citizenship status of anyone they believe appears to be an undocumented immigrant -- and has incited much controversy about whether or not it effectively legalizes racial profiling in a state with a heavy Latino population.

According to the survey, conducted from May 31-June 3 among 976 adults nationwide, 52 percent of Americans believe Arizona's immigration policy is about right, while 33 percent say it goes too far. Eleven percent say the law does not go far enough.

[JoeRed]

“It requires Arizona law enforcement members to check the citizenship status of anyone they believe appears to be an undocumented immigrant — and has incited much controversy about whether or not it effectively legalizes racial profiling”
Lucy Madison should have actually read the law before publishing this nonsense.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks tobyhill.

[exDemMom]

The U.S. Department of Justice is challenging the law on the grounds that it conflicts with what it contends is the federal government's exclusive right to set immigration laws for the country.

Yet states have a ton of other laws on the books that cover areas already covered by federal law, and I don't see the DOJ going after those. State EPAs, state OSHAs, state EHSs... it can be a real headache trying to comply with a plethora of federal, state, and local laws and regulations that address the same subject.

Clearly, the issue is not that Arizona has a law that state law enforcement officials can check for citizenship status (which they should have been doing all along). The issue is that the feds aren't upholding the law, there aren't (and never will be) enough federal agents to check the status of every suspected illegal in every state, and Holder's justice department does not want to enforce the law. Hence, the tantrum over the fact that Arizona made a law that supposedly impinges on federal authority.