No one will comply...
Independence Day, 2012
Central Phoenix, Arizona
-----from the ACLU of Arizona------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2012
July 17, 2012
CONTACT:
Alessandra Soler, ACLU of Arizona, (602) 773-6006 (office) or (602) 301-3705 (cell)
Adela de la Torre, NILC: 213-674-2832; delatorre@nilc.org
Steven Gosset, ACLU: 212-549-2666; media@aclu.org
Laura Rodriguez, MALDEF: 310-956-2425; lrodriguez@rabengroup.com
PHOENIX —
A coalition of civil rights organizations today asked a federal
district court to block implementation of the “show me your papers”
provision of SB 1070, Arizona’s racial profiling law, until the court
has had time to consider additional legal claims that the law is
unconstitutional.
The civil rights organizations’ lawsuit includes evidence and claims
that are not present in the federal government’s separate challenge to
SB 1070, on which the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision last month.
In its decision, the Supreme Court struck down three other provisions of
SB 1070. The Court noted potential constitutional problems with section
2(B), the “show me your papers” provision, but did not strike it down
based on the evidence and claims that the federal government brought in
its case. The Court noted, however, that other challenges could be
brought against the section.
In their motion today, the civil rights groups contend that section
2(B) unlawfully discriminates against Latinos and individuals of Mexican
origin. The groups present evidence that legislators who supported the
law routinely used false “facts” and discriminatory language and that
they intended section 2(B) to impose statewide the racial profiling
tactics used by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County. The groups also
introduced new evidence demonstrating that, if it is allowed to go into
effect, section 2(B) will violate the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth
Amendment and the well established principle, which the Supreme Court
reaffirmed in last month’s decision, that federal immigration law
preempts state immigration enforcement laws. Finally, the groups ask the
district court to block a separate provision of SB 1070 that creates a
state crime for “harboring” undocumented individuals, which the Supreme
Court’s recent decision makes clear is unconstitutional.
“Assertions from politicians and law enforcement officials in Arizona
that nothing will change once section 2(b) goes into effect are simply
false,” said Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of
Arizona. “‘This provision requires that local agencies shift priorities
to aggressively seek federal immigration violators, sending a clear
message to Latinos that they are not welcome in Arizona. “
The request was made on behalf of plaintiffs in Valle del Sol v. Whiting, et al. (formerly known as Friendly House v. Whiting, et al.), a class action lawsuit challenging SB 1070, which was filed in May 2010.
“Our Constitution protects us from state laws that intend to
discriminate based on on the color of a person’s skin or her or his
nationality,” said Karen Tumlin, managing attorney with the National
Immigration Law Center. “The district court should block this hateful
provision that threatens countless Arizonans’ basic right to live free
from fear of harassment or prolonged detention.”
Police chiefs across the country have long concluded that section 2B
could not be implemented in a race-neutral manner. Immigration experts
agree that there is no way to determine immigration status based on
external or physical characteristics and that police will end up using
race and ethnicity to decide who could be in the country without
authorization.
“In a state that’s more than 30 percent Latino, requiring police to
act as immigration agents is an invitation to racial profiling on a
massive scale” said Omar Jadwat, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU
Immigrants’ Rights Project. “Police chiefs and communities know these
laws don’t work, and we hope that the courts will continue to block them
from going forward.”
“The ‘papers provision’ is unconstitutional and the people of Arizona
should not be subject to this law for even a single day,” said Victor
Viramontes, MALDEF National Senior Counsel. “This law would result in
Latinos being illegally arrested and detained across Arizona.”
The coalition includes NILC, ACLU, MALDEF, the National Day Laborer
Organizing Network, the ACLU of Arizona, the Asian Pacific American
Legal Center and the Asian American Justice Center, both members of the
Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, as well as the NAACP. The
law firms of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Altshuler Berzon LLP, and
Roush, McCracken, Guerrero, Miller & Ortega are also acting as
co-counsel in the case.
