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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julian Teixeira
(202) 776-1812
jteixeira@nclr.org
To date, more states are choosing to take a pass on copycat legislation
Washington, D.C.—On the one-year anniversary of the passage of Arizona SB 1070, the nation’s most draconian immigration law, NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is hosting a briefing to release a report which finds that Arizona’s image, as well as its legal and economic woes, in the wake of SB 1070 have led nearly a dozen states to reject or reconsider similar legislation. The report, One Year Later: A Look at SB 1070 and Copycat Legislation, provides a comprehensive overview of the status of copycat bills in state legislatures.
Joining Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR, will be Wade Henderson, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center; Chris Burbank, Salt Lake City Chief of Police; and John Livengood, President of the Indiana Restaurant Association. The speakers will provide diverse perspectives on the effects of copycat laws.
“The evidence shows that the costs of political gambits and false solutions embodied by SB 1070 are too high, especially in times of economic crisis,” said Murguía. “We hope this report helps responsible state legislators realize how detrimental these laws can be to their states, and that we are better off as taxpayers and a nation if we focus on the real issues, come up with actual solutions, and work to finally fix the problem at the federal level.”
“In the year since S.B. 1070 became law in Arizona, an outcry of opposition has come from all corners of this country, and rightly so,” Henderson said. “SB 1070 and its progeny offer false solutions that come attached with a host of negative consequences for states. They encourage racial profiling, add millions of dollars to the cost of law enforcement, demonize entire communities, make states vulnerable to expensive legal battles, and put an unconscionably high price on human dignity.”
Livengood said that “business leaders everywhere have been watching the consequences of this bill in Arizona and are saying, ‘We don’t want this in our state. It’s not good for my business and it’s not good for our economy.’ At a time of such economic turmoil, the last thing states need is to drive investment out.”
Referencing the recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the preliminary injunction of SB 1070, Hincapié points out that “the law is very clear: proposals like these are legal nonstarters. Immigration is a federal responsibility. Any state that passes legislation like this should know that it will likely face legal action.”
Earlier this year, despite the signing of a state compact declaring immigration the jurisdiction of the federal government, the Utah state legislature passed a package of bills that included a guest worker proposal in addition to an SB 1070 copycat. Chief Burbank was among those who spoke out against the bills: “I expressed concerns about these bills not only because they are going to make our jobs more difficult but also because of their potential to increase crime. It is difficult to provide effective community policing when misguided legislation erodes the vital community trust on which we rely.”
The report being released today looks at developments at the state level, starting with the initial expectation of SB 1070 proponents to swiftly take this approach nationwide and then investigating the factors that led many state legislatures to reconsider. Deterrents to passing copycat laws have included potential loss of tourism revenue and economic activity, legal and implementation costs, and overall viability. The report provides a preliminary assessment midway through the state legislative calendar year, and an updated version will be released once all legislative sessions have concluded for the year.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow us on Twitter | Facebook.
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