According to The National Immigration Law Center, the so-called "show me your papers" law grants authority to police officers to check the immigration status of people that live in Arizona. This was the second measure approved by a federal court. The first one was in Alabama in 2011.
Immigration was one of the key issues when President Obama addressed the State of the Union in 2012. In a research conducted one month later, they found that 51% of Americans demanded actions on immigration law enforcement.
Some U.S. citizens felt their security was threatened by the presence of so many illegal immigrants in their cities. When the "show me your papers" provision, legal citizens felt that the government authorities were taking some actions to protect Americans.