Hey again, y’all. Thanks to Spencer for having me back and to Jamelle, who sets the guestblogging bar high. No thanks to the Arizona state legislature and Governor Jan Brewer for giving me obvious blogging fodder by passing the most despicable anti-Hispanic law I’ve seen in my (admittedly short) life.

Oh, did I say “anti-Hispanic”? I meant “anti-undocumented immigrant.” Maybe police officers in Arizona are equipped with a sixth sense (call it Docu-Vision) that tells them whether to  “reasonably suspect” that someone they pass on the street is undocumented, but doesn’t register his race. Those of us who only have five senses think the new law looks mighty likely to open the door to widespread racial profiling of Hispanics. Even Governor Brewer herself admitted when she signed SB 1070 that she doesn’t know what an undocumented immigrant looks like. But don’t worry, she’s certain — certain — that the law she’s signed will not lead to racial profiling.

Why? “Racial profiling is illegal in America and is certainly illegal in Arizona,” she reminded the press on Friday.

I wonder if Governor Brewer thinks Connecticut isn’t part of America, or if law gets more powerful and unbreakable as it cooks in the Arizona sun. Because the day she signed SB 1070 into law, this happened (via the AP):

Students at Yale Law School on Friday released an analysis showing that more than half of the tickets East Haven police issued along two main roads went to Hispanic drivers, even though Hispanics make up less than 6 percent of the population. [...]

The report, aided by Yale statisticians, also said East Haven police officers substantially underreported the number of tickets issued to Hispanic drivers by reporting most of them as white. It cited one officer as reporting virtually all of his tickets were issued to white drivers and none to Hispanics, although nearly 80 percent of his tickets were issued to Hispanic drivers.

Note that nothing in Connecticut law makes this a good idea strategically; East Haven police can’t get sued for not pulling over enough Hispanics people-who-look-like-they-could-possibly-be-undocumented-immigrants. Under SB 1070, Arizona police can.

But don’t worry. Here in America, the sheer force of law is enough to prevent people — no matter how great their need or desperation — from breaking it.

Permadisclaimer: my opinions about immigration politics and policy are entirely my own and are in no way associated with my employer or any other organization.