Following a recent United States Supreme Court decision striking down most of Arizona’s “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” (SB 1070) immigration law, a US District Court Judge lifted an injunction on Tuesday permitting the State to enforce the “show me your papers” provision of the law. This now permits Arizona to begin the implementation of section 2(B) of SB 1070 which requires local law enforcement to verify the immigration status in any lawful stop, detention, or arrest any time in which they have “reasonable suspicion” that someone is unlawfully present.
In its June 25 decision, the Supreme Court struck down three of the four provisions in SB 1070 as preempted by federal law. For a detailed summary of the decision, see our prior post here.
Employers sponsoring foreign nationals working, residing or traveling through Arizona (and states with similar laws) should ensure that their foreign national employees carry their passports and immigration status documents on their person at all times. Ironically, federal immigration law contains a similar, yet seldom enforced requirement which has been on the books for decades.
