Controversial Arizona Immigration Law Goes Unenforced

Although Arizona's new immigration law, Senate Bill 1070, has sparked a great deal of controversy during the three months it has been in effect, its real-world applications have not matched the rhetoric raised by both its supporters and detractors.

According to the Arizona Republic, no arrests have been made under the new law, nor have any citations been issued. Additionally, no Arizona citizens have filed suit against the state for not enforcing immigration statutes to the fullest extent permissible under federal law, an action made possible under SB 1070.

The most likely root cause of this apparent lack of arrests and citations comes from the recent decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton to block some of the provisions of SB 1070 from coming into effect, reports the news source.

Mike Tellef, spokesman for the Peoria, Arizona Police Department, told the news source that the department would not enforce SB 1070 until the issue had been settled by the courts.

Similarly, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever reported that the court's blockage of part of the new law rendered all parts of the law "moot".

Regardless of what happens in Arizona, foreign nationals can still earn green card eligibility through the EB-5 visa program, which awards eligibility to those whose $1 million ($500,000 in certain regions) investments in American companies result in the creation or preservation of 10 jobs.