Wednesday, July 28, 2010

CIRC Applauds Arizona Law Injunction

Group says that while the partial injunction is a victory for the residents of Arizona, calls for a halt to similar local measures in Colorado.
COLORADO - Today in Arizona, Judge Susan Bolton decided to approve a partial injunction of the AZ 1070 racial profiling law. The parts that were invalidated by the ruling included: requirements that an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, the creation of a crime for the failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers, the creation of a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work, and finally, authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States.

The following is a statement of Julien Ross, Executive Director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition:

"Today, Judge Susan Bolton sent a strong message that immigration is a federal responsibility and that shortsighted local immigration measures which threaten the civil liberties of every American will not be tolerated. We hope that this ruling stops the seeming momentum of patchwork laws and agreements that create fear and insecurity in immigrant and refugee communities, promote racial profiling, and do nothing to fix the broken and outdated immigration system.

"Currently, jurisdictions in Colorado are considering other piecemeal policies such as Secure Communities and E-Verify. While seeming to be harmless databases, these programs are in fact so broad in their mandate that they perpetuate the same climate of fear and misunderstanding as the Arizona law. With today's injunction, we need to consider the wisdom of other policies that mandate local and state enforcement of federal immigration law.

"Judge Bolton's ruling further demonstrates the urgent need for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform at the Federal level. The alternative is the status quo and the chaos of local laws bogged down in court challenges. The time is now for Democrats and Republicans in Congress to put politics and elections aside and get to work on real reform.

"Tonight we will be holding a vigil to stand united with the people of Arizona at 6:30 pm (El Centro Humanitario, 2260 California St.), and we call on everyone to come stand with us to show that we do not want to create the kind of climate in Colorado that led Arizona into this dead end.

AZ Republic Article link

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton's ruling