Don't judge unread law

Breck England (Readers' Forum, May 21) would do well to actually read the Arizona immigration reform statute before writing so passionately against it. Under the law, a person can only be questioned about his or her immigration status after having been detained for an infraction of some existing law, such as a traffic violation. And the person thus detained can only be asked questions regarding immigration status if the officer has probable cause to question the person's status.

An example of probable cause would be the lack of a driver's license or, perhaps, 15 adults crowded into a van. Suggesting that the Arizona immigration statute is tantamount to "the Gestapo and KGB constantly stopping non-lily-white Caucasians and demanding papers" is a conclusion drawn by one who is ignorant of the provisions of the law.

David Snow

Farmington