While many are celebrating the Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare, others are attempting to navigate the implications of the decision on immigration. The SB 1070 portion, called "Papers, Please," has worried many, including New America Media writers Jessica González-Rojas and Miriam Yeung, who say the threat of deportation still looms large for undocumented women in America.
This policy will undoubtedly contribute to racial profiling and harassment in Arizona, leave immigrant women more vulnerable to crimes like intimate partner violence and less likely to seek needed services like prenatal care, and contribute to an overall environment of stigma and bias against immigrant woman and all women of color living in Arizona.
The impact on Native American communities is particularly disturbing: people who have lived in Arizona for thousands of years are now having their legal presence questioned because of this ill-conceived policy.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has already expressed her eagerness to implement "Papers, Please," despite the shocking reality that it requires law enforcement to quite literally use an immigrant woman's physical appearance and manner of speaking against her. If a woman's skin color is too dark, she speaks with an accent or her body or family look a certain way, she may become a target for police scrutiny.
Read Jessica González-Rojas and Miriam Yeung's entire piece at New America Media.
The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.