Arizona: UN experts warn against “a disturbing legal pattern hostile to ethnic minorities and immigrants” (May 2010)

By | 10 May, 2010

arizona_resizeA group of UN human rights experts expressed serious concern over a series of laws recently enacted by the state of Arizona, United States of America, that may have significant discriminatory effects on ethnic minorities and groups, especially those of Mexican, Latin American, or indigenous origin. One of the laws requires police, after a lawful detention, to interrogate individuals about their immigration status upon “reasonable suspicion” that they are in the country illegally and may lead to interrogation of person primarily on the basis of their perceived ethnic characteristics; another law is aimed at suppressing or even eliminating public school programs that feature the histories and cultures of ethnic minorities. See Press Release.