Thread: ACLU issues warnings for travel to Arizona.

By BOB CHRISTIE (AP)

PHOENIX — The nation's top civil liberties group has issued travel warnings for Arizona, saying the new state law cracking down on illegal immigrants could lead to racial profiling and warrantless arrests.

American Civil Liberties Union affiliates in Arizona, New Mexico and 26 other states put out the alerts Wednesday, in advance of the heavily traveled Fourth of July weekend. The Arizona chapter says it's received reports that law enforcement officers are already targeting some people even though the law doesn't take effect until July 29.

The alerts are designed to teach people about their rights if police stop and question them.

The law requires police to question someone's immigration status during legal encounters if they suspect the person is an illegal immigrant.


I've always said they should change their name to the MCLU
mexican civil liberties union
Since that's whom they aare always siding with

I wish they would put out warnings against traveling to my state.....

ACLU issues travel warnings to Arizona


By BOB CHRISTIE
The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 30, 2010; 6:11 PM

PHOENIX -- The nation's top civil liberties group on Wednesday issued travel alerts for Arizona, saying the state's new law cracking down on illegal immigrants could lead to racial profiling and warrantless arrests.

American Civil Liberties Union affiliates in Arizona, New Mexico and 26 other states put out the warnings in advance of the Fourth of July weekend. The Arizona chapter has received reports that law enforcement officers are already targeting some people even though the law doesn't take effect until July 29, its executive director said.

The alerts are designed to teach people about their rights if police stop and question them.

The Arizona law requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person's immigration status if officers have a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally. It also makes it a state crime for legal immigrants to not carry their immigration documents and bans day laborers and people who seek their services from blocking traffic on streets.

Attorneys defending the law against constitutional challenges filed by the ACLU and others argue that the Legislature amended it to strengthen restrictions against using race as the basis for questioning by police. Five lawsuits are pending in federal court, and the U.S. Justice Department is believed to be preparing a legal challenge.


Despite the legislative action, the ACLU still believes that officers will inappropriately target minorities.

"We have a long history of racial profiling in this state, and this is basically going to really exacerbate that problem," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona.

The ACLU's warnings were accompanied by a "bust card" that citizens or non-citizens can print out or download to their mobile phone instructing them about their rights during encounters with police.

"There is a tremendous amount of misinformation out there about the law," Soler Meetze said. "It's a very complicated piece of legislation that gives police unprecedented powers to stop and question people about their identity and their citizenship. I think it is important for people to have this information easily accessible."

New Mexico's ACLU warned residents that their driver's license may not be accepted as proof that they are in the country legally. The state is one of four that still issues licenses to illegal immigrants.

Arizona's police training board is developing a video training program expected to be revealed Thursday for the state's 15,000 law officers. An outline of the training program said it will teach officers that race and ethnicity cannot be used as targets when enforcing the new illegal immigration law.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the law in late April, setting off a firestorm of protests from immigrant rights supporters and an equally vociferous response from supporters of the state's efforts to tackle its illegal immigration problem.

A statement released by Brewer's spokesman said the ACLU's actions proved how "hopelessly out of touch they are with the vast majority of Arizonans, as well as most Americans."

"The legislation includes very specific language that makes it abundantly clear that racial profiling is and will continue to be illegal in Arizona," wrote spokesman Paul Senseman. "Instead of spreading fear, hate, and disinformation about the legislation, it would be helpful for the ACLU to instead join Governor Brewer's demand that the federal government stop discussing and begin implementing an honest plan to secure our nation's border."

Besides ACLU affiliates in Arizona and New Mexico, chapters in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming issued the alerts
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... sec-nation

Does someone have a copy of the ACLU travel alert....I'm out of toilet paper and could use a copy.

Other than that, someone should be issuing a warning to the American public, in regards to this American hating , illegal invader loving, communist organization called the ACLU!

You didn't see them issuing a warning about how dangerous the parks are because the drug cartel have taken them over to get their products across the border.

Since when did a group that is supposed to defend people start sending out propaganda about somethings that hasn't even happened? When they took the state to court about the E-Verify they kept pushing and pushing and pushing. It kept getting tossed out of court. You can't sue someone for something that you suspect is "going" to happen.