by Juan Lee
As you may recall Arizona passed a law that allowed the police to ask for immigration or naturalization papers when they have reasonable cause to suspect the person they were questioning was in this country illegally. The law forbid police from stopping anyone based upon racial profiling. In other words, it is the same law as the federal law. And police were also empowered to enforce the federal law, but controversy and confusion arose when some sanctuary cities told them not too enforce the law, thus the state chose to affirm the law. The fed law has been around since the 40’s and the Arizona law mirrors the fed law.
The National Basketball Players Association said in a statement yesterday that the Arizona immigration law is “disappointing and disturbing” and called for its repeal or modification. The players’ union also praised the Suns.
“We applaud the actions of Phoenix Suns players and management and join them in taking a stand against the misguided efforts of Arizona lawmakers,” said the statement by NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter.
Last week, the Major League Baseball Players Association also criticized the Arizona law and said the union “will consider additional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of our members.”