FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julian Teixeira
(202) 365-2273
jteixeira@nclr.org
STATEMENT FROM JANET MURGUÍA, NCLR PRESIDENT AND CEO, REGARDING ARIZONA GOV. JAN BREWER’S DECISION TO APPEAL TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT OVER THE NINTH CIRCUIT COURT RULING ON SB 1070
Washington, D.C.—Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s appeal to the Supreme Court over SB 1070 is an attempt to codify racial profiling in her state and marks the continuation of a political gambit that has proven disastrous for Arizona.
Laws such as SB 1070 are costly, unconstitutional, and ineffective, and lead us away from real solutions to our broken immigration system.
Governor Brewer’s decision to sign SB1070 last year brought her state nothing but a tale of woe. The law sparked opposition from mayors, law enforcement officials, business leaders, civil rights, faith, and community organizations within the state. Nationally, it brought swift condemnation from the civil rights community for legitimizing racial profiling, tarnishing the state’s image, and making Arizona a punch line on late-night talk shows.
And what has Arizona gained from pursuing this extremist approach to purportedly deal with immigration? Not a solution, but boycotts, significant losses in tourism dollars and economic activity at a time the state could least afford it, legal fees from multiple lawsuits, and court rulings that affirmed the unconstitutionality of the law. On tourism alone, Arizona has already lost $490 million and has a projected loss of $262 million from a decline in future convention bookings.
Our immigration system is in tatters—but the response to federal inaction cannot be irresponsible state action. Other states are taking notice: SB 1070’s costs are not adding up for many legislators facing budget trouble in their states, and growing and diverse sets of business, religious, civil rights, labor, and social justice leaders are coming together to reject such unconstitutional and costly schemes.
We will be better off as a nation if we instead focus on the real issues and create viable solutions that fix the problem of immigration at the federal level. As such, we urge Gov. Brewer to be part of the solution, and to call upon her own congressional delegation to act quickly and comprehensively on immigration. That course would be more fitting of the Grand Canyon State than unleashing racial profiling and discrimination against entire segments of its community.
Gov. Brewer, however, marches resolutely on, ignoring that Arizonans are paying dearly for the mounting costs of her political gambit and not getting any closer to the actual solution that they deserve.
###