UFW vows to fight Supreme Court decision
to uphold "show me your papers" provision
of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law
Keene, CA – The United Farm Workers is disappointed in the court’s
decision today to uphold a part of the Arizona's immigration law SB 1070
that allows police to ask for immigration papers whenever it is
conducting a traffic stop or an investigation on any other violation.
The Supreme Court eliminated other key parts of SB1070, but the "show me
your papers" provision of SB 1070, was allowed to go into effect. The provision
mandates that police officers demand “papers” of anyone they suspect of
being in the country without authorization. This law cold-heartedly
legalizes discrimination based on the color of your skin or the way you
speak.
"With this decision, Arizona can now implement and enforce its own
immigration law. Members of the Latino community in Arizona will be
subject to discrimination and harassment by local and state law
enforcement," UFW President Arturo Rodriguez said.
"Anyone who looks “reasonably suspicious” can be detained and arrested
at the discretion of local and state police. This law violates our
constitutional rights and is a setback to equal justice," he said.
The UFW along with our sister organization the UFW Foundation and other
labor, civil rights and immigrant rights groups will not stand for this.
This is a temporary setback and we will continue to fight against
provisions and state laws similar to Arizona’s SB 1070.
The UFW Foundation is a Board of Immigration Appeals recognized
organization that offers immigration legal services to low-income
families in California and Arizona. Together through our civic
engagement programs we will host educational meetings in all of our
areas (California, Arizona, Washington and Oregon) to ensure members
receive honest and accurate information. We will register voters and
help families apply for citizenship. Most importantly, we will continue
to push congress for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
The UFW Foundation will be holding public town hall meetings the first
and second week of July to provide information on SB 1070 and the recent
announcement of President Obama to provide temporary immigration status
to certain young people. The town hall meetings will be held in
Bakersfield, Arvin, Stockton, Delano, Fresno, Oxnard, Salinas and
Greenfield.
The farm worker movement encourages everyone eligible to register to
vote and take a stand. We need legislators in office who will champion
and support just and humane immigration policies and defeat politicians
who create laws like SB 1070. It’s time for everyone to do their part
to protect our immigrant families, our friends and neighbors, and our
communities. We will be ready to vote in November!
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