B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s welcome vote to invalidate three of the four onerous provisions of the 2010 Arizona immigration law, B’nai B’rith International continues to call for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level.

The high court’s ruling underscores the need for Congress to pass immigration reform. The state-by-state approach initiated by Arizona and other states with similar laws is a poor alternative.

The court invalidated the provisions that made the failure to complete a federal alien registration document, as well as an attempt by an undocumented resident to apply for work, a state misdemeanor. Also stricken is language that enabled a state official to arrest, without a warrant, someone he suspects has committed an offense that makes him removable from the United States.

However, the provision that requires state officers to reasonably attempt to determine the immigration status of any person they detain on some other legitimate basis—if they suspect that person is undocumented—remains intact.

B’nai B’rith is concerned that this troubling section of the legislation encourages Arizona officials to regularly engage in profiling. We will continue to monitor the situation closely as the law takes effect.