Public Enemy wrote the song “By the Time I Get to Arizona” in 1992 as a protest against the state’s unwillingness to observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The song seems relevant all over again now that Arizona legislators have passed a law legalizing racial profiling. The law requires immigrants to carry immigration papers with them, and compels police to detain anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant. If an Arizona police officer thinks you look like an illegal immigrant, that officer can require you to present documentation of your status, and detain you if you cannot produce the papers.

More information:
Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration
Civil Rights Groups Ask: Is Arizona’s SB1070 Even Legal?
Racist roots of Arizona law
Arizona Law Is Not “Merely Cruel,” It Is “Immoral”