Arizona gained national attention with the passage of Senate Bill 1070, which Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law April 23, 2010. As the 10th anniversary of the “Show me your papers” law approaches, we want to hear how it affected you good or bad. (File photo by Cronkite News staff)
PHOENIX – Nearly 10 years ago, Senate Bill 1070, the heavily disputed and highly controversial Arizona immigration law, became law.
Dubbed the “Show me your papers” law, SB 10170 required law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone they “reasonably suspected” was in the country illegally.
But the law also sparked a movement within the state, and with that movement came a shift.
SB 1070 ultimately led to a rise in a new wave of activism. The number of Latinos running for office skyrocketed, and now, as the Nov. 3 presidential election approaches, both Democrats and Republicans are viewing Arizona as a battleground state crucial to victory.
But in its immediate aftermath, SB 1070 – officially called the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act – had devastating impacts on the state’s Hispanic community.
Notable numbers of undocumented immigrants fled Arizona; protests took the Valley — and the nation — by storm; such hardline immigration-enforcement measures as workplace raids and neighborhood sweeps were normalized by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other local officials.
As the 10th anniversary of the law approaches, we want to hear how SB 1070 affected you.
Did you or a person you were close with have negative experiences following its enaction? Were you inspired to become more politically active after SB 1070 became law? Did you — or possibly, do you still — support the ideas behind the law?
Share your experiences on all sides of this story by answering the questions below before Monday, April, 13. We will try to follow up with as many of you as possible, but we may not be able to do so with everyone.
We’re committed to maintaining your privacy. The information you provide will be confidential and will not be used for marketing, fundraising or advertising purposes. We will not publish your response without your permission. A journalist from Cronkite News may contact you for further reporting.