Coloradoans weigh in on Arizona's new immigration law
Kevin Torres 2 hrs ago

DENVER - One day after Arizona's Governor signed a strict immigration bill in to law, one side in Colorado wants to bring a similar law here and another side wants to overturn the Arizona law.

The new Arizona law targets illegal immigrants. It requires officers in Arizona to check the legal status of anyone who they suspect isn't a U.S. citizen.

If the person can't provide the proper material, he or she could be jailed for six months and face a $2,500 fine.

"This is what happens," says former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo. "States eventually get to the point where if things get bad enough, they'll take matters into their own hands."

Tancredo says the country's illegal immigrant problem has gotten so bad, something needed to be done. That's why he supports Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's decision.

"They've taken what we can call an extreme measure," Tancredo says.

"The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition absolutely believes our immigration system is broken," says Chandra Russo with CIRC.

Russo works for an immigrant rights group. Even though she agrees the system is flawed, she doesn't believe such drastic measures should be taken.

"Aside from the fact that it's likely unconstitutional, it is going to create so much havoc for so many good people," Russo says.

When it comes to officers questioning people about their immigration status, Russo says it's something you can't outwardly detect.

"Going in to someone's immigration status is going to require police officers to make snap judgments about appearance, language spoken, accent - all of which draw grave concern about racial profiling," Russo says.

Tom Tancredo believes the law will make a difference and spark reform on the federal level. Russo believes it will be overturned.

Tancredo says he'd like to see a mandate, requiring every employer in the state of Colorado to verify the social security numbers of the employees they hire.

The new law in Arizona goes in to effect between July and August.

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