Signed into law by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on April 23, 2010 and scheduled to go into effect on July 29, Arizona’s SB 1070 will make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. This law has reignited the divisive battle over immigration reform nationally. This panel explores the broader context for understanding contemporary immigration rules, including federal law as well as state and local rules like the one recently approved in Arizona. Panelists will discuss the political history of these rules, their likely impact on race and ethnic relations, and their relationship to similar rules in American history that have also attempted to discourage the presence of "undesirable" others.

 

Panelists include John Park, Associate Professor in the Department of Asian American Studies and Associate Dean in the College of Letters and Science at UCSB and Angélica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA).