The Hill
AFL-CIO wants DHS to stop working with Arizona state cops
By Jordan Fabian - 05/14/10 10:01 AM ET

Labor group joins civil rights organization in callling on Napolitano to end programs because of immigration law.

One of the nation's most influential labor groups and a civil rights organization on Friday urged Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to end programs with Arizona law enforcement agencies over the state's controversial immigration law.

The AFL-CIO and the Leadership Conference penned a letter to Napolitano, saying that while the administration has said it is opposed to the law, they need to be doing more to protest it.

The Arizona law requires that state and local law enforcement officials ask for identification from people they suspect are in the country illegally, if they are stopped for other reasons.

"Unless DHS terminates aU 287(g) program agreements in Arizona, the federal government will be complicit in the racial profiling that lies at the heart of the Arizona law," the letter says.

The letter is one of the most high-profile attempts to reprimand Arizona because of the measure. Critics say the law will likely lead to racial profiling of Latinos, but supporters counter the law is necessary because the federal government has not secured the borders, leading to a crime wave related to cross-border activity.

It also represents a split between constituencies that the Obama administration usually considers allies; big labor and civil rights groups.

President Barack Obama has called the law "misguided" but activists and members of Congress on the left have urged far more robust action. Several House Democrats have called on Obama to lead an effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation this year that would secure the border and provide a path to citizenship for people in the country illegally.

The White House has not responded to a request for comment.

Several Democratic members of Congress have urged Major League Baseball to move next year's All-Star Game from Phoenix. The city of Los Angeles has also announced a boycott of the state.

The letter was co-signed by Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, and Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference.

Source:
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