In April 2006, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund challenged the Arizona anti-immigrant law Proposition 100 in federal court because it violates the Constitution and unjustly denies a select group of people a fair legal process.
The law forbids judges from considering bail for criminal defendants who are suspected of having "entered or remained in the United States illegally" and applies to most state felony charges in Arizona, including relatively minor crimes such as shoplifting and possessing a phony ID. As a result of Proposition 100, countless individuals are jailed who pose no risk of flight or danger to others.
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