Under Arizona state law, bail is denied to undocumented immigrants that have been placed under arrest and the American Civil Liberties Union has recently been pleading with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to have that legislation struck down. The ACLU, along with immigration activists from all over the United States believe the law is unconstitutional, as well as unfairly targeting Latino immigrants who are being detained, despite never having been convicted of committing a crime.
Arizona voters approved the law eight years ago in 2006 with its implementation being just one of a number of methods used by the state’s law enforcement officials to stop undocumented immigrants from coming to the state. Republican, Russell Pearce, who proposed the controversial law, was also responsible for being the man who introduced the infamous “Show Me Your Papers” SB 1070 bill.
Arizona state attorneys say that the law was created in order to prevent undocumented immigrants from fleeing the country when accused of a crime and to improve public safety. However, the American Civil Liberties Union says that there is zero evidence that immigrants have a higher flight risk than American citizens. The American Civil Liberties Union says that Latino immigrants are being unfairly detained because of this law, while others are allowed bail.
The American Civil Liabilities Union intends to continue the fight to have the law struck down in the state of Arizona, although there are also similar laws in place in other US states such as Virginia and Missouri.
