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Contact:
Joseph Rendeiro
(202) 776-1566
jrendeiro@nclr.org
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States will begin hearing oral arguments in the landmark case, Arizona v. United States, to decide whether Arizona’s controversial anti-immigrant legislation, SB 1070, unlawfully encroaches on the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration policy. NCLR (National Council of La Raza) thinks that the Supreme Court should uphold the need for our country to have one immigration policy that is conducted without violating the civil rights of our fellow Americans or our country’s immigrants. The court should overturn SB 1070 and send a strong message to the proponents of similar racial profiling bills—passed in states such as Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama—that legalizing discrimination will not stand.
“There is only one acceptable outcome in this case—the Supreme Court should uphold the Constitution and affirm that immigration enforcement must be handled at the federal level,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR. “The answer to fixing our broken immigration system cannot be a patchwork of racial profiling laws. These laws have caused great harm to Latino families and other residents of these states. Unconstitutional bills like SB 1070 are false solutions that distract from the only real solution—comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level.”
NCLR has been a strong actor in the movement to push back against this extreme legislation, leading one of the boycotts that cost the state of Arizona millions of dollars in revenue, joining amicus briefs in support of the federal government’s lawsuits against these states, and working with community-based organizations to respond to the needs of local families. In collaboration with NCLR Affiliates, community advocates, and the civil rights, labor, religious, business, and law enforcement communities, NCLR’s efforts helped block numerous attempts in Arizona to push additional anti-immigrant legislation.
“Today’s hearing is the culmination of a two-year battle for many of us in Arizona to overturn this cruel and senseless law. As a lifelong resident of that state, I have seen firsthand the pain and suffering SB 1070 has caused—the harassment and abuse of innocent victims, the separation of families, and the devastation of businesses and communities. The Supreme Court must put a stop to this and reassert the authority of the federal government when it comes to immigration,” stated NCLR Board Chair Daniel R. Ortega, Jr.
While much attention has been focused on Arizona and the handful of states that followed a similar path, 31 states have rejected or declined to advance SB 1070 copycats, including seven states with Republican supermajority legislatures. Mounting evidence of the high cost and economic losses of these laws, combined with growing opposition from the civil rights, faith, business and law enforcement communities have contributed to the defeat of these legislative proposals.
For more information, please consult these NCLR materials:
• The Wrong Approach: State Anti-Immigrant Legislation in 2011
• One Year Later: A Look at SB 1070 and Copycat Legislation
• “National Copycat Landscape”
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