New Immigration Law Triggers Legal Challenges
PHOENIX
(By
East Valley Tribune)
April 28, 2010
― The state's sweeping new
immigration law hasn't even taken effect
yet, but it's triggered a flurry of
international reaction that's just
starting to play out in Arizona.
Lawyers are planning lawsuits.
Federal officials are considering a
challenge.
Politicians around the nation are
weighing in.
And civic leaders fear the controversy
will hurt the state's already shaky
economy.
It may take years for the dust to
settle. But as days of protests subside,
the next likely step involves lawsuits
from organizations that want a court to
block the law from being enforced.
"There's a whole host of organizations
that are working together to challenge
these laws," said Victor Viramontes of
the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.
His organization has a team of lawyers
in California who are drafting a suit to
be filed before the law takes effect,
which is 90 days after the Legislature
ends its session.
Other organizations planning lawsuits
include the American Civil Liberties
Union and the League of Latin American
Citizens. The groups told the Tribune
they're confident they'll block the law
that makes it a crime under state law to
be in the U.S. illegally. It allows
police to question people about their
immigration status if there are signs
they are here illegally - which raises
questions about racial profiling.
The National Day Laborer Organizing
Network has sued to block similar laws
and plans action in Arizona, spokesman
Chris Newman said.
"In every instance we have prevailed in
federal court and often at the expense
of the taxpayers who were forced to
defend the unconstitutional laws,"
Newman said.
Another possible roadblock was proposed
by former Phoenix City Council candidate
Jon Garrido, who wants to collect
signatures for a November referendum on
the law. He would need 76,682
signatures to qualify.
Even a federal block is being
contemplated. Attorney General Eric
Holder and Homeland Defense Secretary
Janet Napolitano raised concerns and
said a challenge is possible.
Holder said federal officials are
considering options including "the
possibility of a court challenge."
Several out-of-state politicians called
on a boycott of Arizona - which wouldn't
be the first time a racial controversy
put the state in the national spotlight.
Arizona lost conventions, concerts and
even a Super Bowl after Gov. Evan Mecham
rescinded the Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday in 1987.
The politics of the immigration law are
more complicated than the MLK holiday
but will trigger economic pain, Mesa
Mayor Scott Smith said.
"I believe that it will have an effect
on us, that meeting planners and CEOs
will decide that Arizona is just not
worth the hassle and they'll go
elsewhere, and that's a huge potential
problem," Smith said.
Cities will also have to find extra
money to jail those arrested, as the law
passes the expense to cities. Smith
blasted lawmakers for an unfunded
mandate with a cost that nobody can
identify yet because nobody knows how
many illegal immigrants will be
arrested.
Before the law takes effect, Gov. Jan
Brewer has said, law enforcement
officials will draft guidelines to
prevent racial profiling.
The law, known as SB 1070, has renewed
calls for Congress to revive
comprehensive immigration reform. The
law's proponents say it's necessary
because the federal government failed to
secure the border for years, while
opponents say the state doesn't have the
authority to enforce immigration law.
Smith said opponents from outside
Arizona don't understand how illegal
immigration has infuriated residents and
the lawmakers who drafted the bill. He
sees potential for the controversy to
revive national action.
"It has created a national debate.
Hopefully the national debate will rise
to the level that will force Congress to
act. I'm not really confident that will
happen. I think they'll talk about it
for a little while and then it will
phase into election year politics, where
nobody wants to touch it," Smith said.
"And that would be too bad."
