Civil Rights Groups Sue to Stop Arizona
SB 1070 Law
The suit, filed by groups that include
the ACLU, MALDEF and the NAACP, argues
the law requires police to use racial
profiling and violates the U.S.
Constitution.
DENVER (By Nicholas Riccardi, Los
Angeles Times) May 17, 2010
―
A coalition of civil rights groups
on Monday filed a sweeping lawsuit
against Arizona's controversial law
that requires local police to
enforce federal immigration
regulations, hoping to stop the
state law before it goes into effect
in July.
The suit argues the law, known as SB
1070, will essentially require
police to racially profile and it
violates several constitutional
provisions, including the 1st and
4th Amendments.
The groups also contend it is an
illegal attempt for a state to
regulate immigration, a federal
matter.
The suit was filed by groups that
include the American Civil Liberties
Union, the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Educational Fund, the
National Assn. for the Advancement
of Colored People and the Asian
Pacific American Legal Center.
Among its plaintiffs are a
70-year-old U.S. citizen of Hispanic
and Asian heritage who says he has
recently been stopped twice by
Arizona police and asked for his
papers.
Another citizen who attends Arizona
State University who fears he will
need to carry his birth certificate
because his New Mexico driver's
license does not constitute proof of
citizenship under SB 1070.
"This is the most extreme and
dangerous of all the state and local
laws purporting to deal with
immigration issues," said Lucas
Guttentag, an ACLU attorney. "This
law is shameful, un-American. It
will undermine public safety and it
is unconstitutional."
There are at least three other
lawsuits seeking an injunction to
stop the law, filed by a religious
group and two Arizona police
officers.
But the civil rights groups'
complaint is the broadest to date.
The Obama administration is
contemplating a legal challenge.
The law makes it a state crime to
lack immigration papers and requires
police to enforce it if they suspect
someone they stop is an illegal
immigrant. Its backers say it is
modeled on federal law and is
constitutional.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has ordered
officers to train in how to enforce
the statute without engaging in
racial profiling.
The law was passed last month amidst
widespread anger in Arizona at
undocumented immigrants crossing
into the state from Mexico.
Since its passage, legislators in
several other states have proposed
similar laws.
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