What Happens in Arizona Stops in Arizona
On
April 23, 2010, Arizona governor Jan Brewer
signed into law a discriminatory and un-American law that will require police
officers in Arizona
to ask people for their papers based only on some undefined "reasonable
suspicion" that they are in the country unlawfully. We believe this law,
which invites racial profiling in the worst way, is unconstitutional, and we
are challenging the law with a
coalition of other civil rights groups. (See ACLU And Civil Rights Groups File Legal
Challenge To Arizona Racial Profiling Law.)
Racial profiling is already
rampant in Arizona,
and if allowed to stand, this law will make it worse. We have seen the
effects of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's targeting of Latinos,
including American citizens and lawful permanent residents, in its mass
sweeps and enforcement operations. The ACLU already has a lawsuit against
that office, and the United States Justice Department has started a civil
rights investigation into its practices.
Language inserted in the
bill supposedly to prevent racial profiling is purely cosmetic. It won't
prevent the police from asking people for their papers based on race and the way
they look. This extreme law puts Arizona
completely out of step with American values of fairness and equality.
Local police enforcement
of immigration laws endangers public safety for everyone.
Immigrants’
trust in local law enforcement is destroyed when police act as immigration agents.
Without assurances that they will not be subject to an immigration
investigation, detention, and possible deportation, many immigrants will not
come forward with vital information about crimes. Everyone’s safety, including
U.S.
citizens, is put in jeopardy when immigrants don’t feel safe to come forward
with critical information when crimes are committed against them, their families,
or members of the larger community. Police depend on the cooperation and trust
of immigrants, documented and undocumented, to ensure public safety.
WHAT THE ACLU IS DOING
Complaint: Challenging the Law
Release: ACLU And Civil Rights Groups File
Legal Challenge To Arizona Racial Profiling Law
More: Plaintiffs Challenging SB 1070
Video: Q & A With Alessandra Soler
Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arizona
FAQ: Arizona's Racial Profiling Law
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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ACLU-AL in the News!
The following letter to the editor was written
by Executive Director Olivia Turner.
It was submitted to and published in several newspapers in Alabama.
Arizona’s new law is a watershed moment in modern American for its blatant
disregard of America’s
most fundamental values. While there’s been no shortage of discriminatory anti-immigrant
laws across the country in recent years, this one is in a league of its own.
Arizona’s new racial profiling law essentially requires
police to demand “papers” from anyone they suspect isn’t authorized to be
here. Do we want to give our police officers the authority to demand that
people present their papers simply because of the way they look? Is this the
type of country we want to become?
Arizona’s decision to use police state tactics has already
spawned similar efforts elsewhere. We must make sure these efforts fail. We
cannot let politicians rob us of what makes us Americans in the true sense of
the world.
Arizona says show us your papers. Arizona need to be shown the Constitution.
Thank you for your continued support of civil liberties
in Alabama!
Olivia Turner
Executive
Director, ACLU of Alabama
207 Montgomery Street, Suite 910, Montgomery, Alabama 36104
T: 334-262-0304 | F: 334-269-5666 |
info@aclualabama.org
www.aclualabama.org
|