Arizona illegals law sparks fury, Obama criticism

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Jahir Ahmed Chowdhury, councilor of Chittagong City Corporation, speaking at a get-together for non-resident Bangladeshis organised by Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited in the port city recently.

WASHINGTON, Apr 24 (AFP): Authorities in the US state of Arizona faced new protests Saturday after the governor signed a tough new law targeting illegal immigrants, which critics claim enshrines racial profiling and President Barack Obama branded 'misguided'.
One of the most severe measures on immigration in the statute books ignited fury among immigrant groups, and a fierce legal and political row, just as Democrats consider launching a comprehensive immigration reform bid.
The law, signed by Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer Friday, allows police to question and detain anyone in the southwestern border state they believe may be an illegal immigrant, even if they are not suspected of committing another crime.
It would also require anyone in the state suspected of being an illegal immigrant to show some kind of document proving citizenship, like a "green card" permanent residency document or a passport.
"This bill supports law enforcement and safe neighborhoods and strengthens the laws of our state," Brewer said at a signing ceremony. "It protects all of us, every Arizona citizen and everyone here in our state lawfully."
Opponents of the law say that if police demand papers from someone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant, and they turn out to be a US citizen, their constitutional rights will have been infringed.
A long legal battle is likely over the law, possibly centering on a clause of the US Constitution which protects a citizen against unreasonably being stopped and searched.
Obama, in a rare presidential intervention on a state matter, earlier described the law as "misguided." He said he ordered top officials to monitor the situation "and examine the civil rights and other implications of this legislation."
At a naturalization ceremony for immigrant US service members at the White House, Obama said the measure threatens to "undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe."
Bill Richardson, the Hispanic governor of the neighboring state of New Mexico, described the measure on CNN as "a terrible piece of legislation" that nevertheless shows "the frustration of a lot of Arizonans that recognize that we do need comprehensive immigration reform."