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Court Sides with U.S. on Arizona Immigration Law
April 12, 2011
by AQ OnlineThe Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled to uphold an injunction against controversial Arizona state law SB 1070. In July 2010—only a day before the law was to go into effect—the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit in federal court to block six of the legislation’s toughest statutes. Monday’s ruling agreed with the DOJ’s position that immigration policy falls under federal jurisdiction and not that of individual states.
SB1070 in its original form required state law enforcement to check an individual’s immigration status while enforcing non-immigration-related laws, provided there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person may be undocumented. While the DOJ contested six of the law’s provisions, the rest went into effect on July 29, 2010, and included penalties for municipalities with more lenient approaches to undocumented immigration, as well as sanctions on employers who hire undocumented workers.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who filed a countersuit against the DOJ in February, 2011, will likely take her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, because SB 1070 only affects Arizona, there is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will agree to hear the case, in which case the Circuit Court’s ruling would stand.
Tags: Arizona, Court of Appeals, Jan Brewer, SB 1070, Supreme Court, U.S. Department of Justice
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Hispanic Candidate Challenges Legislator Behind SB1070
September 1, 2010
by AQ OnlineThe race for the seat of Arizona state senate Republican Russell Pearce, a key sponsor of the controversial immigration law SB1070, is heating up. His newest opponent, Andrea Garcia, is a Latino woman running on the Libertarian Party ticket who is basing her campaign to unseat Pearce on his support of the controversial law. “My goal is to get Pearce out of the legislature. I believe the approval of state law SB1070 shows the damage his ideas can cause our communities,” says Garcia.
Support for and opposition to SB1070 has become a major issue in this year’s state-wide elections in Arizona and has proven a polarizing topic pitting mostly Republican supporters of the law against all opponents, especially Democrats. However, by many indications, support for the law has helped candidates around the state including Governor Jan Brewer, who won the Republican primary with nearly 82 percent of votes cast. She now faces Democratic challenger Terry Goddard over whom she holds a significant lead.
Garcia faces a formidable incumbent opponent with substantial financial backing and appears to understand that victory is a long shot. She says, however, “I hope that when [voters] realize that SB1070 has really done nothing to prevent undocumented immigration and that, on the contrary, it is hurting our communities, these people will change their minds.”
State-led immigration enforcement has also been an important campaign topic in state elections in Minnesota, California, Florida, and elsewhere.
Tags: Andrea Garcia, Arizona, Elections, hispanics in U.S., Jan Brewer, SB1070, Senator Pearce
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Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas
August 11, 2010
by AS-COA OnlineFrom the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.
Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.
Uribe out, Santos in, Chávez Back
Speaking before his country, outgoing-Colombian President Álvaro Uribe bid farewell after eight years in office, apologizing for his administration’s mistakes and urging Colombians to defend their freedoms and support incoming President Juan Manuel Santos. Upon assuming office on August 7, Santos began efforts to restore ties with Venezuela, sent into a tail spin after the Uribe administration accused Caracas of harboring FARC rebel camps within its territory. Meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez three days into his presidency, Santos and his counterpart agreed to restore bilateral ties, improve military patrols along the border, and initiate a joint security commission to help monitor terrorist groups.
Tags: Arizona, Castro, Colombian Exports, Gay Marriage
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Latin America Focuses on an Arizona Courtroom’s Decision on SB 1070
July 22, 2010
by Jason MarczakThe courtroom of U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton will be at the center of the U.S. immigration debate at 4:30 pm (eastern) today. That’s when Edwin Kneedler, the U.S. deputy solicitor general and the lead lawyer for the Justice Department, will square off against John Bouma, a private lawyer representing Governor Brewer and the state of Arizona.
Both legal teams are coming to the Sandra Day O'Connor Courthouse in Phoenix with their battle lines already drawn. But what is at stake is much, much more than just another legal case.
Set to take effect next Thursday (July 29), the misnamed Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act will give law enforcement the power to question the immigration status of anyone suspected of being in the state without authorization and mandate that immigrants carry their papers on them.
Bolton seems to be the right person for the job. Nominated by then President Bill Clinton and praised by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), she is highly regarded for her ability to handle complex legal questions.
Representing Arizona, Bouma will likely argue to the judge that SB 1070 does not conflict with federal law and that states have the right to enforce federal law. The Justice Department will argue that the law is pre-empted by federal statutes and that the government has “preeminent authority to regulate immigration matters.” Translation: the Arizona law cannot go into effect.
Tags: Arizona, Immigration
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Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas
May 6, 2010
by AS-COA OnlineFrom the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.
Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.
Mexico, Germany Host Climate Talks
Germany and Mexico jointly hosted this week informal climate talks aimed at deciding what steps should be taken in the lead-up to the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Cancun, Mexico, in December. The Petersberg Climate Dialogue held near Bonn, Germany, brought together representatives from 45 countries to discuss topics such as the carbon market, reducing emissions from deforestation, and technology. While the talks—initiated by Mexican President Felipe Calderón and German Chancellor Angela Merkel—did not produce any climate change agreements, they “built up trust” and helped to “bring movement to the climate talks,” Mexico’s Environment Minister Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada told Bloomberg. View a video of President Calderón speaking at the Petersberg Dialogue.
LatAm Governments Join Chorus against Arizona Law
The Latin Americanist blog takes a look at rising criticism from governments across the Americas against the Arizona immigration law. Mexico voiced its opposition to the law, and Colombia, Brazil, the OAS, and UNASUR have rejected the law as well. During this week’s summit in Argentina, UNASUR leaders issued a declaration rejecting the law for its “criminalizing of immigrants.”
Tags: Argentina, Arizona, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Immigration Law, Media, Mexico, UNASUR, Venezuela
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International Community Decries New Immigration Legislation
April 27, 2010
by AQ OnlineMexican President Felipe Calderón today announced that his government will work to defend the rights of dual nationals adversely affected by the passage last week of the controversial Arizona state law SB1070. His concern was echoed by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the governments of Guatemala and El Salvador, among others.
Calderón described the new law, which directs police to determine the immigration status of people suspected of being unlawfully present in the United States, as “inhumane, unacceptable, discriminatory and unjust.” Critics have raised concerns that SB1070 will likely lead to racial profiling and will inadvertently target Arizona’s legal Latino immigrant community.
OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza says that the law creates the basis for racial discrimination and that the regulation of immigration should not come at the “cost of not respecting human rights, the rights of the people and by creating stereotypes that do not correspond to reality.” The dialogue over the Arizona law took place at an OAS conference on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities held in San Salvador.
Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom added that the law was in total contradiction to the policies of President Obama and his efforts to “humanize” immigration laws in the United States. The chancellor of El Salvador, Hugo Martínez, took the opportunity to reiterate his government’s “concern and discontent” over the signing of SB1070.
President Calderón’s statements support the notion of an organized legal defense of migrant rights by Mexican expatriates abroad and calls on the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores and its consulates abroad to assist in those efforts.
Tags: Arizona, Calderon, immigrants, Latinos, Mexico, OAS, SB 1070, Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
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Arizona Immigration Law Threatens all Immigrants…and the State Economy
April 26, 2010
by Jason MarczakThe clock is now ticking for enactment of SB 1070—
When it goes into effect—90 days after the legislative session ends, or likely mid-late summer—SB 1070 mandates law enforcement to “determine the immigration status” of a person “where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States.” It also makes it illegal to transport somebody who may be unauthorized to be in the U.S. and it builds on previous Arizona law in punishing employers who may unknowingly have undocumented workers.
The effects of the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act are anything but what the law’s title says it will do. In fact, the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police opposed the bill saying it could erode trust with immigrants and would distract police from dealing with more serious problems.
The result:
Tags: Arizona, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, immigrants, Latinos, SB 1070, Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
