FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joseph Rendeiro
(202) 776-1566
jrendeiro@nclr.org
Washington, D.C.—NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is extremely disappointed by U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton’s decision yesterday to allow the ‘show me your papers’ provision of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law to go forward. This law requires police officers to check the immigration status of people they stop whom they suspect to be undocumented immigrants. Although Bolton declined to block the provision, she underscored the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the law may be challenged after it goes into effect.
However, in an important victory for the Latino community, Judge Bolton also blocked provisions of the Arizona law that criminalized routine interactions with undocumented immigrants, based on the recent decision of the 11th Circuit Court on similar laws passed in Alabama and Georgia.
“It is outrageous that in the 21st century, a law that blatantly encourages racial profiling and civil rights violations is allowed to stand—for now,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR. “But yesterday’s decision to strike down yet another provision in this law makes it obvious that SB 1070 is riddled with problems. As federal courts continue to dismantle this law piece by piece, we are confident that it is only a matter of time before the unjust and discriminatory ‘show me your papers’ provision meets its end.”
A coalition of civil rights organizations argued that the ‘show me your papers’ provision should be blocked based on evidence that it was passed with discriminatory intent and will result in illegal detentions.
“This decision serves as a reminder to our community about what is at stake this November,” added Murguía. “Latinos must send a message through the ballot box that our community will stand up for respect and stand against laws that promote intolerance.”
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