Prison companies helped draft and pass controversial Arizona’s immigration law SB1070, a National Public Radio investigation shows.

The law is currently tied up in the courts after a judge blocked some of the most contentious provisions of the bill from taking effect. It would allow police to ask people to prove they are in the country legally during a lawful stop.

If the law is upheld, it could mean a windfall for the prison industry, according to a National Public Radio investigation.

“The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them,” according to the story.

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce told NPR that the bill was his idea, stating that it wasn’t about prisons but what’s best for the country.

“Enough is enough,” Pearce told NPR. “People need to focus on the cost of not enforcing our laws and securing our border. It is the Trojan horse destroying our country and a republic cannot survive as a lawless nation.”

NPR states that staff members spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records.

“What they show is a quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry,” according to the story.

Barbara Coe, who leads Huntington-Beach based California Coalition for Immigration Reform, said she continues to support the Arizona law.

“The private prison industry may have had input into AZ law but, I do not believe they were critical to its passage,” Coe said. “I agree with Sen. Pearce that it is not about prisons but what is best for our country.”

SB1070 prompted hundreds of activists to attend rallies for and against the bill.

In Orange County the bill sparked multiple protests, including some in Santa Ana and Costa Mesa.

A contingent of proponents traveled to Phoenix for a rally at the capital mall.

Soon after, a group of opponents also traveled to Phoenix to oppose the law.

Some local city leaders also took up the issue, making proclamations for or against SB1070.

Nationally, most people — about 60 percent — supported the bill, according to a Pew national poll.

Half of California voters supported Arizona’s new anti-illegal immigration enforcement law, according to a USC/Los Angeles Times poll released in June. In Arizona, a Rasmussen poll found that 70 percent of the state’s residents approved of it.

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