Kurt:

What is the general demographic of readers/commenters on this site? Has a survey or study ever been done?
I ask because the majority opinion on this matter seems to be filled with xenophobic paranoia about the "other".

Having worked in a broad range of parks, one being a "crown jewel" of the system, I know that many many visitors are of a certain financial status that usually fosters entitlement, and fear that anything not like themselves will try to take their money, possessions, or lives away. (Ironically, just like we did to the Native Americans that inhabited this great land before Europeans began our Imperialist quest to "civilize".)

Put the fear and paranoia down and wake up, people. You know who commits the overwhelming majority of crimes in the parks I have worked in? White people, just like you.
This new law may make you feel safer because it legally justifies how you secretly feel about dark skinned people, but you aren't safer. You are just as likely to be robbed or attacked in a national park under this law as you were before it was passed.
So what does it accomplish?

Unreal, The law is written nearly verbatim to the federal immigration law which has been so widely ignored by so many. Truly, this sort of action is long over due. Had it been enacted after the last huge amnesty sell out, we wouldn't be at these cross roads again now. The gimme gimme people of this country have long been selling her out through greed, indifference and apathy. Sadly, you wont miss it until you don't have it any longer. Each and every day, a God given right is removed while being replaced with a false man made right which is useless from the day it is issued. You all want your free and easy at the expense of others. Well, the others are tired of it.
Arizona has now taken the high road which every state in the republic should follow in like. God Bless Them.

If you travel anywhere outside of the good ole USA you have to carry your passport. Many people are carrying their passports in the USA when they travel now. I will be happy to travel and support AZ in any way possible.
This isn't profiling it's following the law. It isn't about being safer, it's about reserving the resources to provide the things that make these people want to sneak in. Healthcare, housing, jobs, education. The list is long. Come into the country the legal way to benefit from all citizens hard work, whether born here or naturalized. People who worked hard to become an American citizen deserve to keep their pride about the work they did to become a citizen, don't just hand out benefits to whoever pushes over the line.

Good for Arizona.

Nope, with the new law maybe I can go there without thinking about needing a gun

Kurt Repanshek:
Beyond that, due to the anonymous nature of most commentors, we couldn't tell you if those expressing what you term "xenophobic paranoia" are regular readers, or passers by latching onto a controversial topic.

NPT articles are linked on news search engines - especially Google News. Couple that with the ability to post anonymously and/or without logging in, and it's kind of an invitation for a lot of random people to latch on to a story of interest that they're passionate about. While I might even fit the passionate description, I'd hope that my posting history on NPT wouldn't classify me as random.

I for one am concerned about being targeted in Arizona. I would think that the area around the Grand Canyon would be a bit different because of their economic reliance on tourism dollars. However - Tucson or Nogales may be different. If someone is visiting Tucson from Washington state (whose standard driver license isn't going to be on Arizona's list of acceptable IDs because they don't check for legal status) then I'd hope they wouldn't get stopped, detained, and then further processed. There is zero requirement that anyone must be suspected of committing another crime before they can be questioned and perhaps detained if they can't produce "acceptable" ID.

I have no problem with immigration enforcement. If this required an immigration check for EVERY person found guilty (or perhaps even arrested) of a crime in a court of law, I wouldn't have a problem. I do have a problem with an express authorization for law enforcement to stop and detain anyone on the street, as a passenger in a car during a traffic stop, or as a witness to a crime (although the law does seem to state it might not apply) for a vague suspicion that they're not in this country legally. There's just way too much discretion. If everyone is treated equally under the law (white, black, Hispanic, European, etc), then perhaps people would understand the ramifications of giving police this level of power to detain someone without any other cause. There is no standard in the law that describes what may or may not be grounds for suspicion. I also have a problem that it creates a state crime for what's currently a federal violation (for a legal resident alien not carrying documentation), mandates a higher level of punishment (an Arizona Class I misdemeanor), and forces minors to carry their documentation when federal statutes don't require it.

Ken, I don't understand why you have a problem. I assume you fly...if so, you have show ID and even get searched. If you travel to Canada you have to show passport to enter. If you go to a bank and cash a check you have to show proof that you are who you say you are. If you travel the TX to NY corridor traveling in a van there is a good probability you will get stopped and have a drug dogs check your van. Happened to us three times but we never got upset. The feds won't enforce the immigration laws because they are afraid of the flack they would get from Hispanics, opps I mean voters. If someone is here illegally why shouldn't they be arrested and prosecuted.

Additionally, the Arizona law virtually mirrors the federal law, excepting now the state has responsibility for enforcement.

You worry about guns in NP's but feel it is ok to let millions flagrantly break the law. If they want to enter the US let them do it legally.