'Papers Please’ Arizona Clause Alarms Advocates

WOMENSENEWS)—Women’s advocates reacted angrily on Monday to the Supreme Court’s June 25 decision upholding a contentious clause of an Arizona immigration law.

“We were strongly hoping the entire law would be struck down, especially the ‘papers please’ law,” said Miriam Yeung, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, an advocacy group with offices in New York and Washington.

Yeung says the clause will inhibit women from reporting domestic violence and seeking essential services. “For them the message is still ‘if you are going to interact with any aspect of government that they may have to produce their papers,’ ” she said.

The clause, which was unanimously upheld, allows police to check the immigration status of detained individuals. It is part of a law enacted in 2010--SB 1070--as a reaction to the increasing number of people without legal documentation in the state.

more: http://womensenews.org/story/in-the-courts/120625/papers-please%E2%80%99-arizona-clause-alarms-advocates