In response to a new Arizona law that encourages racial profiling, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and other ACLU state offices across the country issued alerts yesterday informing travelers of their rights when stopped by Arizona law enforcement officials.
The new law, which the ACLU and other civil rights groups are challenging in court, requires law enforcement agents to demand “papers” from people they stop who they suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S. If individuals are unable to prove to officers that they are permitted to be in the U.S., they may be subject to arrest without any probable cause that they have committed a crime. “Our main objective is to protect Virginians who travel to Arizona from harassment by law enforcement and to ensure that they know their rights,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis.
