No One is Illegal
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No To Criminalization of Immigrants and Workers!
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We are ALL Arizona! • Unite for Jobs for All •
Time to VETO Arizona SB 1070 • ¡Alto Arizona!
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Tell Arizona Governor to Veto Racial Profiling Bill • Boycott Arizona! Boycott Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball Team
• Statements by Worker and Legal Organizations
No To Criminalization of Immigrants and Workers!
The federal government is refusing to provide for the rights of immigrants and workers and instead acting to criminalize them. It is using the issue of immigration, and particularly documentation, to unleash broad attacks, collectively punishing whole communities. This itself is a crime.
The government attacks include developing programs for local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law and to work together under federal command to raid immigrant communities. The most recent example was a massive raid in Arizona, including Phoenix and Tucson. More than 800 federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and state and local agents raided and terrorized four communities. A massive use of force, including helicopters, heavily armed agents and police vehicles was unleashed. In the end 47 people were charged with “human smuggling.” ICE is using such charges to make it appear they are concerned about immigrants and to convince people to support their raids. In fact their actions are directed at terrorizing whole communities and ordinary people driving their families and friends to work or school. It is well-known that it does not take 800 police to arrest 47 people — that is what it takes conduct a large-scale abuse of rights and collectively punish people.
President Barack Obama promised to provide comprehensive immigration reform in his first year in office. He did not. He again promised to initiate immigration reform in a video broadcast to more than 150,000 protesters March 21 demanding Legalization Now! He so far has refused to do so.
His administration has also ensured a significant increase in criminalizing immigrants, including mass detentions and deportations. About 1,000 immigrants are now deported daily, many guilty of no crime. The federal government is also pushing to expand its enforcement programs with local and state agencies. It recently announced that 20 more local agencies have signed up for the “Secure Communities” program, despite the fact that this and similar programs have served to make communities far more insecure. Indeed they have unleashed yet more racist profiling and abuse by police.
Despite Obama’s words, immigration is being dealt with as a criminal issue, when in fact it is an issue of rights — immigrant rights, workers’ rights and human rights. What is needed is legislation that defends the rights of immigrants and all workers. This includes Legalization Now! for all. It includes changes in U.S. trade and foreign relations that force millions of people to leave their homes and migrate to the U.S. It requires an immediate end to raids and deportations, which Obama can readily do. So far, he has refused.
The grave dangers and anarchy unleashed by the federal government can be seen in recent legislation passed in Arizona. At publication April 23, SB 1070 still awaits signature from Governor Jan Brewer to become law.
The Arizona law makes it a crime not to have government issued identification proving citizenship or residency. Police are free to stop anyone that they have a “reasonable suspicion” may not have documents. And anyone found without documents, whether citizen or not, can be arrested, charged and fined $500. And while an Arizona license qualifies as proof of citizenship, for those from out of state, a license is not sufficient. As Phoenix Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski said, “Anyone who drives in the city of Phoenix and gets pulled over better have a passport or a visa."
The bill goes against innocent until proven guilty and even against the requirement of “probable cause.” It also requires the police to enforce the law and outlaws any efforts to oppose it, such as declaring sanctuary cities. It remains unclear if police will target churches or other groups that attempt to provide safety and secure living places to undocumented workers.
The federal programs and their state spin-offs, like the Arizona bill, are state-organized racist profiling and criminalization of workers and immigrants and their families. The Arizona law echoes the runaway slave laws, where anyone who looked African American could be taken and sent south as a slave. Local police and ordinary people were called on to capture slaves, fomenting strife and divisions. Now the law permits any Arizona resident to demand that police, or landlords for example, identify and arrest people who appear to be immigrants. And all is done based on federal government programs to engage local law enforcement in immigration enforcement and ICE raids. Then and now these laws serve to engage police forces and the public in acts to criminalize and punish whole sections of the population. These are fascist arrangements, where the federal government commands local forces to conduct raids and mass detention while also unleashing the terrorism of bills like that in Arizona.
The people have made clear their solutions and are firmly fighting for immigrant and workers’ rights now!
No One is Illegal! Legalization Now!
Our Security Lies in Our Fight for Rights!
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Stop the Criminalization of Immigrants, End Racial Profiling! Demand that Arizona Governor Brewer Veto SB 1070. Arizona could make history and protect human rights by VETOING one of the worst anti-immigrant and racially targeted laws our nation has seen in decades. SB 1070 was passed by the Arizona state legislature and awaits the signature of Governor Jan Brewer. Raise your voice now for justice & equality: We are all Arizona!
In no small coincidence, on Thursday, April 15, the Department of Homeland Security carried out multiple massive raids in Arizona, terrorizing hundreds of workers, families, and children. More than 800 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were joined by U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement, causing fear and panic across several Arizona communities while the state legislature passed SB 1070, which permanently criminalizes the immigrant community.
If signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer, SB 1070 would:
• Criminalize all undocumented immigrants as "trespassers" in the state of Arizona. SB 1070 would subject all undocumented workers and their families to arrest and conviction for misdemeanors, and in some cases felony charges for the new crime of "trespass" (reminiscent of HR 4437, the 2005 “Sensenbrenner bill”).
• Legalize unchecked racial profiling by police of anyone they "suspect" is undocumented.
• Give police the authority to enforce federal immigration law and arrest people who cannot produce identification proving their legal residency in the U.S.
• Give police the power to investigate and entrap employers for hiring undocumented workers.
• Make seeking work illegal for day laborers and force all individuals, regardless of immigration status or citizenship, to carry identification papers or be subjected to detention and even deportation. Public agencies and service providers would have authority to demand identification documents from any person.
We are ALL Arizona!
The repercussions of such a law will be devastating for immigrants and all communities of color in Arizona. Moreover, SB 1070 will have dangerous consequences, setting a national precedent for states and federal law, permanently criminalizing immigrants.
The DHS raid and SB 1070 law in Arizona are a turning point in our fight for socially just immigration reforms. The "immigration blueprint" announced by Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham last month is a proposal that also allows such criminalization of immigrants. It promises to "fill gaps in apprehension capabilities" that will likely lead to the use of local police nationally to terrorize immigrant communities.
The VETO of SB 1070 will send a historic signal to Congress, the Obama Administration and the country that the further criminalization of immigrant workers, families and communities will not solve the problem.
Tell Gov. Brewer to VETO SB 1070 and raise your voice for socially just immigration reforms that uplift human rights and dignity.
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Unite for Jobs for All
We, the undersigned, denounce the Jim-Crow SB 1070 in Arizona. We urge the Governor of Arizona to veto it. The passage last week of this law against immigrants has made it more urgent than ever that workers unite against all attempts to divide them with racism. The new law returns Arizona to the days of segregation, making it a crime to even be in a car with an undocumented immigrant, obligating the police to arrest anyone they “suspect” of being undocumented, even victims of crime. It mandates racial profiling, making anyone with the “wrong” skin color liable to arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.
The SB 1070 bill is a test case for those who are trying to again split workers along racial lines. They want workers to blame immigrants for mass unemployment, not those who are really responsible — the huge corporations and their allies in government.
To defeat such racist plans, we must build our own strength behind demands that unite all working people. We will not fight against ourselves for the available jobs but will unite in one movement to win JOBS FOR ALL WHO LIVE HERE, immigrant and native-born, regardless of previous convictions — no one denied work. As a step to winning Jobs for All, we will on May Day be demanding a Massive Public Works Program. In reply to the attacks on immigrants, we will be demanding Legalization for ALL.
The answer to Arizona’s Jim Crow law must begin in massive May Day rallies all across the United States. We urge everyone to participate in May Day rallies in their communities, specifically including the Newark rally and march beginning at Military Park, 12:00 Noon May 1.
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It is time that members of the Latino Evangelical leadership call upon Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto SB 1070. This bill is one of the worst anti- immigrant bills recently passed by the Arizona State Legislature. It is a racially targeted bill aimed at anyone in Arizona who looks like an undocumented immigrant.
SB 1070 will criminalize every undocumented immigrant in Arizona as "trespassers" and will legalize racial profiling by police who have a "reasonable suspicion" that someone may be in the state without the proper documentation to provide their legal status.
In other words, the police will have the authority to stop anyone who is "Latino-looking" who they may suspect is an undocumented immigrant. If you are not carrying the proper documentation to prove your citizenship to the USA, or as a legal documented immigrant, you will be subject to being stopped by the police even if you have not violated any laws. The police will be able to stop you merely to perform an "immigration status check."
It is time the Latino Evangelical Church called upon the governor of Arizona to veto this bill, which will exacerbate racial profiling. It is the worst bill on racial profiling ever passed in the United States.
The time to voice our opposition to SB 1070 is now! We cannot afford to wait and see what the repercussions may be when this bill is signed. Even if you are not a citizen of Arizona, you must voice your opposition to this vile bill. It is a bill that will discriminate against any person who police may have "reasonable suspicion" to stop you.
If you are visiting or conducting business in Arizona, the police will have the right to stop you even if you have not committed any violation of any law simply to check your immigration status.
It is a bill that Hitler would have loved to sign and see implemented.
It is time to demand Arizona Governor Jan Brewer VETO this bill. We cannot allow the "criminalization of immigrants" to become the law of the land. The Schumer/Graham framework also promises to “fill gaps in apprehension capabilities” that will likely lead to the use of local police nationally to terrorize immigrant communities. The VETO of this bill will let the President understand we will not stand idly by as laws are passed that criminalize immigrants and give the police the right to stop anyone who fits a racial profile of an "undocumented immigrant." It is time our voices are heard and time the Latino Evangelical Church assumed the leadership for demanding justice and righteousness.
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¡Alto Arizona! is a response to Arizona Senate Bill 1070. We are calling on Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto SB 1070. We are providing updates, reports and information about the bill and responses from many different forces against it on our webpage, altoarizona.com.
Arizona is on the verge of enacting the most anti-immigrant legislation the country has seen in a generation. This is a bill that apparently mandates racial profiling. SB 1070 is quite literally intended to terrorize immigrant families.
We are hopeful Governor Brewer will consult with her legal counsel, issue a veto, and spare Arizona the expense of defending an unconstitutional, unwise, and odious bill in federal courts. But we will not rely solely on hope. We urge all opponents of this bill to TAKE ACTION and call, fax, and/or send an email to AZ Governor Brewer to let her know that we do not stand by a bill that threatens to terrorize, criminalize and profile non-white residents of Arizona.
• Please forward the information on to your friends, family, co-workers and networks to speak up against SB 1070.
• Use your online networks, like email, IM, Blogs, Facebook and Twitter to spread the word online.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspapers about your opinion of Immigration Reform and SB 1070.
Take action online and offline. Become an active participant in the movement!
15,011 calls and have been sent to Gov. Brewer’s office as of Thursday, April 22. She reports that 85 percent of people responding opposed SB1070.
Let's keep up the pressure! Please consider calling the Governor's office and ask her veto SB 1070: 602-542-4331 or toll free, 1-800-253-0883
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Tell Arizona Governor to Veto Racial Profiling Bill
The Arizona State Legislature just passed a law that would authorize officers to pull over, question, and detain anyone they have a “reasonable suspicion” to believe is in this country without proper documentation. The law would essentially legalize racial profiling, creating a police state for immigrants. This bill is before the Governor for her signature by April 24. Please join us in telling Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to take a stand against discrimination and veto this bill. Sign the petition at: http://presente.org/ref/72124/campaigns/arizona.
Here is the statement we will send to Governor Brewer:
Dear Governor Brewer,
SB 1070 is a deeply misguided piece of legislation and I urge you to take a stand for civil rights and public safety by vetoing the bill. If signed into law, SB 1070 would essentially make Arizona a police state for immigrants and non-immigrants alike. Anyone who forgets to carry identification or papers proving their immigration status could be picked up by police. People who appear Latino or speak English with an accent will be at constant risk of being stopped and interrogated by police.
The bill will also make it harder for Arizona’s law enforcement officers to do their jobs. They will spend less time chasing violent criminals, and new immigrants will be less likely to report crimes or serve as witnesses for fear of being targeted themselves.
As someone who lives outside of Arizona’s borders, but who cares deeply about how we as the United States handle issues of immigration, I urge you to do the right thing for your state and the rest of the U.S.: veto SB 1070.
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Boycott Arizona!
Boycott Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball Team
America, there is no doubt about it. The Arizona Diamondbacks are one of the top contributors to the Republican machine in Arizona that have unanimously voted for the draconian SB1070. This bill will encourage the open racial profiling of “brown people” in a state that has already been racially profiling immigrants for years beginning in the early 2000s when Sheriff Dever and his wife allowed and oftentimes encouraged Arizonan ranchers to “hunt down” border crossers in Cochise County. Sheriff Arpaio the most dastardly and venomous law enforcer that state has perhaps ever employed has done nothing short than terrorize the Latino community across Maricopa County, with the support of former governor, Janet Napolitano, who worked alongside him during her tenure. She was, according to the testimony of Sheriff Dever, contemplating calling in the National Guard early last year, months into her new position.1 She has, under the leadership of President Obama, expanded the 287G Program that has been used as another instrument of terror on our community.
SB1070, voted into law on Monday, April 19th, 2010, has yet to be signed into effect by Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, but everyone around the country is clear that she will. The law will not only allow for law enforcement officers to randomly stop “brown people,” it will also give them the authority to fine undocumented immigrants $500, and if a citizen witnesses any officer fail to stop, harass, probe, or approach anyone that does look “undocumented,” that person could sue the police officer for failing to carry out his or her duty per the law. And, according to others, there will be an Arizona identification card, which, if you look like an immigrant, you better be able to produce one. And if unable to do so, you will be in jeopardy of being imprisoned until you can prove you are a U.S. citizen. So, outsiders beware!
Under SB 1070, all local police officers would be required to investigate the immigration status of anyone with whom they make “legitimate contact” and have a “reasonable suspicion” that they may be present in the country unlawfully. Under such a policy, victims of crimes and witnesses are much less likely to report crimes because of a legitimate fear that they will be deported. Other areas of concern with SB 1070 include language that may compel law enforcement agencies to ignore more pressing criminal matters in favor of doing a much larger amount of immigration enforcement. Local police are facing potential budget cuts and need discretion as to how to best focus their efforts in protecting the public. Finally, it is worth noting that SB 1070 creates a crime of trespass for all undocumented immigrants. A second trespass offense is then elevated to a felony.
Since the vote April 19, 9 students from around the state have been arrested at the state capitol in protest. Organizers from around the state have mobilized in solidarity of the immigrant community in Arizona. Immigrant rights organizers from around the country are also mobilizing and some are coming to Arizona in the coming days to monitor the targeted discrimination and further repression of the immigrant community there once the bill is signed.
In a press conference on April 20th, 2010, U.S. Congressman Raul Grijalva, of southern Arizona, called for a national boycott against the state: “Do not vacation or retire there.” Many of us rarely vacation, and will probably retire where we reside, but we do go to major league baseball games, or know friends or family that do.
Therefore, we call on the Latino and immigrant communities to support a targeted boycott on corporations that have funded the campaign to further repress our community; that is a boycott that will target known contributors to the Republicans that passed this law. A targeted boycott should be launched immediately to show the economic power of our community, and we can participate right in our own communities. Boycott the Arizona Diamondbacks NOW! Our power is economic, Labor and Consumption.
We can support the boycott when the Diamondbacks come to play in our cities across the country, namely where there is a heavy concentration of Latinos and immigrants, namely Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and New York. For those of you who attend Dodger games, the audience is always roughly 80 percent folks of color, and we’re sure it is the same elsewhere, so this would have huge ramifications for sales of tickets and merchandise if supported by our communities.
We have compiled the donations from this family to the Republican machine in Arizona, outlined next.
In 2010, the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s 3rd highest Contributor was the Arizona Diamondbacks, who gave $121,600; furthermore, they also contributed $129,500, which ranked as the 18 highest contribution to the Republican Party Committee; and, they gave the 20 highest contribution to Senator McCain — $9,400.3 In USA Today, Ken Kendrick, managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, said he does not expect anything for his donations to Arizona Senator John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, stating “I hope to get a good leader for our country.” Well, he has to be held accountable for giving to a machine that has targeted immigrants in Arizona. Now the immigrant community in Arizona and beyond must act to target them in a national boycott against their team.
Senator McCain openly supported the bill April 20, obviously because he is slipping in the polls to JD Hayworth, a reactionary Republican that has supported this anti-immigrant legislation since its inception. They are now neck and neck in the fight for the Arizona senate seat.
Arizona Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick (AKA Earl G. Kendrick, Jr.) and his family members, EG Kendrick, Sr., and Randy Kendrick have made significant and considerable contributions to further the Earl G Kendrick, Jr. (Ken Kendrick), Diamondbacks Managing General Partner contributed $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2009 and $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2010; Mrs. Randy P. Kendrick contributed $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2009 and $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2010.
The Kendrick family owned business, Datatel Inc, which is affiliated with the Political Action Committee (PAC), AZ Free Enterprise Club (Formerly Freedom Club PAC), Committee #200602784, has also been a source of political contributions to the Republic agenda, such as a $25,000 contribution to Senator and Republican Whip, John L. Kyl6...
We will keep a watch on these businesses when the list of funders to push SB1070 is released: They include Wake Up Arizona! Pro-Business Organizations $802,634, Western Growers Association Farm Organizations or Cooperatives $35,000, AdCorp Inc. Restaurants & Drinking Establishments $10,000, Arizona Cattlemen’s Association Livestock $10,000, and Pepsi-Cola of Tucson Non-Alcoholic Beverages $10,000; TOTAL $867,6347
Let’s Keep a Close Eye on Who Funded the SB1070 Legislative Attack!
For more information contact: Chase Field, 401 E. Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004 • dbacks.com • 602-462-6500
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Statements by Worker and Legal Organizations
National Day Laborers Organizing Network
Opposes ICE Operations and SB 1070
On the heels of the passage of SB1070 in the Arizona House of Representatives, a bill which apparently mandates racial profiling, ICE director John Morton today announced a massive ICE operation in Arizona. The following is a reaction of Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network:
"We hope John Morton will re-assert federal control of immigration policy, restore the rule of law, and take appropriate action to defend people's civil rights while he is in Arizona. We are very eager to hear his comments on the new Arizona bill because he has the ability to stop the bill's implementation with the stroke of a pen.
"While we applaud honest law enforcement work to rid our neighborhoods of smugglers, drug dealers, and other dangerous elements, we are concerned about the timing of an ICE operation that seems to be as much designed for media consumption as anything else. SB 1070 is quite literally intended to terrorize immigrant families. We are worried ICE Director Morton's intense media campaign to publicize this action will only contribute to a climate of fear that is already sending shockwaves across the state and country.
"It is worth noting that the policies the Arizona legislature hopes to codify could be stopped immediately by John Morton, Janet Napolitano, and President Obama. Indeed, Secretary Napolitano has the power to end the dangerous experiment she started in her home state by terminating the flawed 287g and Secure Communities programs. The Secretary knows full well that the rights of Arizonans are in peril, and she has the moral obligation and legal responsibility to take swift action to immediately make things right."
National Immigration Law Center: Proposed Arizona Law Would Declare Open Season on People of Color
The National Immigration Law Center today urged Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto what would become the harshest anti-immigrant state law in the United States. Below is a statement from Linton Joaquin, general counsel of NILC:
“Were this new bill to be enacted, Arizonans of all backgrounds would suffer a major blow to their civil rights. Arizona Senate Bill 1070 would require local authorities to racially profile the men, women, and children in their jurisdictions. All people of color would be at risk for being detained. This means that a mother taking her children to school, members of a family walking to church, or a man making a quick trip to the convenience store could be arrested for not carrying their birth certificates.
“The proposed law would also send a clear message to all immigrant communities that the police are not to be trusted. Police simply cannot do their jobs when the communities they have vowed to protect are too afraid to talk to them about crimes they have experienced or witnessed. Police would be required to check the immigration status of those suspected to be undocumented, which means that keeping the peace may take a back seat to investigating those suspected of ‘driving while brown.’ This is horrible public policy that jeopardizes the public safety of us all.
“For all these reasons, NILC urges Governor Brewer to veto this unconstitutional bill.”
Police Chiefs Warn Pending Immigration Bill in Arizona Threatens Public Safety
Playing Politics with Immigration Enforcement Limits Ability to Fight Violent Crime and Sets Dangerous National Precedent
On Wednesday, April 21, leading law enforcement professionals from across the country, including a former chief of the Mesa, Arizona Police Department, held a telephonic press conference to explain how SB 1070, approved by the Arizona House of Representatives, would undermine public safety. The unprecedented Arizona bill would force police to ask the immigration status of anyone they suspected to be undocumented and allow citizens to sue law enforcement agencies if they felt agents were not sufficiently enforcing immigration laws.
Over the past year, a chorus of law enforcement professionals have spoken out about the burden local immigration enforcement places on police and the need for reform of the broken immigration system. As other states are already rumored to be considering similar legislation, police chiefs on the call weighed in on how bills like the one in Arizona strain limited resources and destroy the public trust needed to track down violent criminals.
Participants included George Gascón, Chief of Police, San Francisco, California, former chief of the Mesa, Arizona Police Department; Harry Dolan, Chief of Police, Raleigh, North Carolina; Richard Myers, Chief of Police, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Arturo Venegas, Jr., Executive Director, Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative and former Sacramento Police Chief.
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