Women's eNews Inc.,
05/06/2010 –
Arizona's new law on checking immigration papers rings special alarms for women whose new names after marriage or divorce might not match electronic records. Others in mixed-status relationships fear their families could get torn apart.
Arizona's new law on citizenship documentation is expected to take a heavy toll on immigrant women, particularly those with children and those in mixed-status marriages.
"This law will drive immigrant women deeper into the shadows by subjecting immigrants in Arizona to racial profiling and other civil liberties violations," said Connie Andersen, a leader of the Valley Interfaith Project, a nonpartisan organization of congregations, schools and other nonprofit organizations in Arizona's Maricopa County. "Simple acts like walking to a store as well as life-changing decisions like taking refuge in a domestic violence shelter will be more complicated because immigrant women are required to have their papers on them at all times in case they are stopped by police."
M. Elizabeth Barajas-Roman, director of policy at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Rights, a New York-based nonprofit organization, echoed that concern.
"Verification laws take a disproportionate toll on women, who make up more than half of all immigrants according to census data," she said. "Studies have shown that as many as 32 million voting-age citizens and immigrant women in the U.S. lack available proof of citizenship documents because electronic record-keeping systems often fail to keep track of changes in women's names."
