This Tuesday, Arizona passed a new, highly restrictive immigration enforcement bill. The new law, SB 1070, has made the lack of correct immigration paperwork a misdemeanor in the state. It also directs police officers to determine a person’s immigration status if they reasonably suspect the person is an illegal immigrant.

SB 1070 passed 35 to 21 in the State House of Representatives, but has nevertheless been the cause of much division throughout the state. Police associations were torn about the bill; police unions backed it, but the state police chief’s association opposed it and believed it could harm levels of trust the police have with immigrant communities in the state. Immigration groups, as expected, were horrified by the passing of the bill, with many stating it, in effect, mandates racial profiling and creates a police state.