Introduction to the Issue

SB 1070 was passed in 2010. The law has several provisions which can be considered racial profiling. However, because of a suit filed by the US Department of Justice, several portions of the law have not  gone into effect. Those portions include:

• "The requirement that police officers investigate the immigration status of all individuals they stop if the officers suspect that they are in the country unlawfully;
  
• The mandatory detention of individuals who are arrested, even for minor offenses that would normally result in a ticket, if they cannot verify that they are authorized to be in the U.S.;
  
• State criminal penalties for non-citizens failing to register or failing to carry registration documents;
  
• The provision authorizing warrantless arrest of individuals who are deemed by state or local police officers to be "removable" from the U.S.; and
  
• State criminal penalties for alleged unauthorized workers." http://www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights-racial-justice/frequently-asked-questions-update-legal-challenges-arizonas-racial-
  

 The bill, which was written in coordination with an organization supported by the private prison industry, is also facing a suit from the ACLU and several other human rights and civil liberties organizations.

Right now (March of 2011), things are stalled while the lawsuits are carried out.