Alejandra Gomez, executive director of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), speaks out about Proposition 314. . (File photo by Stella Subasic/Cronkite News)
Proposition 314 would make it a crime under Arizona law to cross the border illegally – allowing police to arrest anyone who can’t prove U.S. citizenship or legal residency and state courts to order deportations.
Even if voters approve the measure in November, it faces high legal hurdles.
Immigration enforcement is a federal power, and federal courts have so far blocked similar laws in Texas and other states. Advocates for civil liberties and migrants warn that such “show me your papers” laws put Americans with darker skin and accents at risk.
“It’s completely unconstitutional under every interpretation of the Constitution by the federal courts to date,” said Lynn Marcus, a clinical immigration law professor at the University of Arizona.
A similar Arizona law from 2010 known as SB 1070 triggered nationwide backlash and boycotts, amid allegations it would lead to racial profiling.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of that law in 2012 in Arizona vs. United States. The ruling reiterated a basic principle of federalism: “States are precluded from regulating conduct in a field that Congress has d …
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