On April 23, 2010, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the controversial Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, 2010 (S.B. 1070) into law. A week later she signed amendments contained in House Bill 2162 into law.
The controversial law was to take effect at midnight July 29, 2010. Although 65% of Arizona residents supported the legislation, many people were strongly opposed including President Obama. The critics said that the new law amounted to racial profiling and the hassling of American citizens and immigrants who were in the United States legally.
On July 6, 2010, the United Sates commenced an action arguing that S.B. 1070 was unconstitutional. The main argument was that immigration is a federal matter and that the state law is preempted by federal law.