The head of the largest Catholic archdiocese in the United States has accused the state of Arizona of pursuing an anti-immigration policy that encourages "German Nazi and Russian Communist techniques."

Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles archdiocese made the comments as Arizona passed a bill which would require police to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are in the country illegally.

The Los Angeles archdiocese serves a large Hispanic immigrant population.

The new measure is the latest crackdown in Arizona which has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants and is the busiest border crossing point into the US.

The latest bill also allows citizens to sue government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws.