Arizona's 'Papers, Please' Law Turns Ten this Year

The year 2010 was like no other in Arizona history. Within a span of 18 days, the state enacted two laws that changed the course of American politics.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1070, a draconian immigration bill, into law on April 23 of that year. The law was known as the “papers, please” law because it allowed law enforcement to request to see the papers of anyone suspected of being in the United States illegally. Some two weeks later, on May 11, Brewer signed into law HB 2281, which banned the teaching of Ethnic Studies in Arizona schools.

The two controversial laws caused shockwaves, both nationally and internationally. Many believed the laws to be discriminatory, specifically targeting people of Mexican and/or Latino descent. Others argued that SB 1070 was bad for business, and that it negatively affected the strong economic ties between the United States and Mexico. Others, namely anti-immigration activists and right-wing advocates, celebrated the laws.

During this time, Arizona was a national hotbed for the anti-immigrant Tea Party movement, later to become known as the “alt-right.” Arizona served as a de facto testing ground for Tea Party-inspired legislation, as a number of other states soon introduced laws similar to SB 1070 and HB 2281. Conversely, many states took the opposite approach and rejected these types of laws.

Despite efforts to repeal the laws, they remain in effect in Arizona, and their impact persists. This year marks the 10th anniversary of their passing. The question remains: What is the legacy of these two laws? What is their impact in Arizona, the United States and North America?

Before answering those questions, let’s consider the context of the political climate at the time. Nothing occurs in a vacuum, and a perfect storm had been brewing for years before finally erupting in 2010. 

The preceding year, in 2009, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, left her position to join President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as the new secretary of homeland security. According to the Arizona Constitution, the sitting secretary of state is the next in the line of succession for the governorship. Overnight, Republican Jan Brewer became Arizona’s new governor.

The year 2010 was also an election year, and Brewer was still a relatively unknown commodity in the political landscape. Eager to prove her bona fides to the far right-wing base, which idolized right-wing ideologues like Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Brewer sought to make a name for herself among this electorate.

The State Legislature was working along similar lines. Republican State Sen. Russell Pearce, an Arpaio ally, had tried for years to advance his hard-line anti-immigrant agenda. Finally, in 2010, the State Legislature passed his pet bill, SB 1070.

In the Arizona State House, Republican Rep. John Huppenthal had closely worked for years with Tom Horne, the Republican public school superintendent, to author a bill outlawing the teaching of Ethnic Studies in Arizona schools. The two men were singularly focused on the successful and well-established Ethnic Studies program in the Tucson Unified School District. They believed the program to be “anti-American” and an “embracement of failure.” Together they made it their mission to outlaw that program and all other programs like it statewide. In 2010, they finally succeeded with the passing of HB 2281.

Once the bills passed, the State Legislature sent them to Gov. Brewer’s desk. During campaign season, and only months before the Republican primaries, Brewer finally had a chance to curry favor with the far right-wing electorate. She promptly signed the bills into law, cementing them into history.

Ten years later, Arizona’s political landscape is less intense. Images of dramatic protests and confrontations no longer dominate the news’ front pages. Despite this, Arizona politics have dramatically changed. The Latino community has organized itself in an unprecedented manner, and, due in large part to Latinos, most of the political players associated with these bills are no longer in positions of power.

Sheriff Arpaio, once the face of the Tea Party, was voted out of office in 2016, with a decisive loss by 10 percentage points. The following year, an Arizona federal court convicted Arpaio of criminal contempt for ignoring a judicial order to stop the racial profiling practiced by his deputies. In 2011, State Sen. Pearce was recalled by voters and removed from office. In 2014, Horne, then the attorney general, was voted out of office following numerous allegations of corruption. Finally, in 2014, Huppenthal did not win reelection after he called public assistance recipients “lazy pigs” and advocated for a ban on Spanish-language media.

On the 10th anniversary of SB 1070 and HB 2281, we are revisiting the legacy of both laws. We are publishing a series of interviews with various public figures, as we examine the laws and their impact.

Join us for this unique series, only available on the North American Project!