Fijatevos.com - Look Deeper

The controversial new Arizona immigration law has drawn media attention ever since it was passed. Throughout the United States comment has been brisk and sometimes acrimonious. Now even foreign countries like Costa Rica are weighing in.

In an "amicus curiae" brief submitted to the U.S. District Court of Arizona July 21, Costa Rica has expressed concern for the civil rights of Ticos living in Arizona under the law that went into effect late last week. (The amicus curiae means literally "a friend of the court" and is essentially testimony not solicited by either party in a court case.)

The U.S. Attorney General's office is studying a possible legal challenge to the immigration law, which critics say will lead inevitably to racial profiling. It provides permission for police to inquire into a person's legal immigration status if he is stopped for a legitimate reason. Opponents fear that the language is so vague as to give police a carte blanche.

Immigrant rights groups fear that any pretext may serve to detain a person if he looks "Latin" or even "foreign," racial profiling targeting certain segments of the population. Whether this is true has yet to be tested.

Proponents of the law say state authorities are simply enforcing immigration regulations on the books but which the U.S. government has enforced poorly. It is aimed specifically at stemming the flood of illegal Mexican nationals that pour northwards into state like Arizona that share a border with Mexico.

In her coverage of this story, even-handed Tico Times reporter Chrissie Long pointed out that Costa Rica's new immigration law limits tourist stays, requires hotels and lodgings to keep a record of their foreign guests, requires foreigners to carry a passport or a copy of it and present it to authorities upon request. If the passport is not shown, the foreigner can be detained for 24 hours.

The country adds its voice to that of Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Ecuador, El Salvador and Nicaragua in decrying the law. A Foreign Ministry press release explained its position as, "Faithful to its tradition of promoting and defending human rights, Costa Rica has raised its voice against discrimination against immigrants in the United States."