ACLU Attorneys React to Argument at Supreme Court on Arizona’s Anti-Immigrant Law

Arizona’s SB 1070 and Other Anti-Immigrant Laws Encourage Racial Profiling

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WASHINGTON – Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project who attended this morning’s arguments at the Supreme Court stressed the need to stop SB 1070-type laws because they encourage racial profiling, harm public safety and lead to civil rights abuses.

“The justices heard compelling arguments for why they should strike down a law that lays waste to some of our most cherished American values – freedom from unnecessary police intrusion and equality for all people, regardless of how they look or sound,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. “Misguided laws like this one that encourage racial profiling, compromise the safety of our communities and put everyone’s fundamental civil rights at great risk should not be allowed to remain on the books.”

Cecillia Wang, director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, said: “The Supreme Court heard strong arguments today for rejecting Arizona's radical attempt to turn local police into immigration agents. SB 1070 flies in the face of Congress's decision to put immigration enforcement in federal hands. These state anti-immigrant laws take aim at immigrants, but result in racial profiling and illegal police intrusions. Our nation must stand up against such flawed policies.”

En Español:
Andre Segura, abogado del Proyecto de los Derechos de los Inmigrantes de la Unión Americana de Libertades Civiles, dijo: "Hoy el Tribunal Supremo escuchó argumentos en contra de la SB 1070-una ley que busca castigar a los inmigrantes en la forma que le conviene al estado de Arizona. Esta ley anti-americana obliga a los oficiales a usar perfiles raciales para determinar si alguien es indocumentado. Estos procedimientos inevitablemente alienan a las comunidades servidas por los oficiales, y consecuentemente afectan la seguridad pública. Desafortunadamente, nuestra nación ya fue testigo de la crisis humanitaria y de derechos civiles resultantes de la puesta en vigor de ciertas disposiciones de la ley de Alabama. El Tribunal Supremo debe terminar con este experimento fallido."

The ACLU, along with its affiliates and coalition partners, has filed lawsuits against SB 1070 as well as all the other states that have passed copycat laws – Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah.

To read Frequently Asked Questions about the Arizona case, go to: www.aclu.org/files/assets/sb1070factsheet.pdf

To access the online pressroom on SB 1070, go to: www.aclu.org/pressroom/sb1070