politickerny.com
By Hunter Walker
8:53am

Several New York City Council members want to wade into the battle over Arizona’s controversial illegal immigration law, SB1070. Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilmen Ydanis Rodriguez and Daniel Dromm plan to introduce a bill today urging the Supreme Court to uphold a federal injunction against the law. SB1070, which was originally signed into law by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010, mandates immigrants in Arizona to carry their federal registration documents at all times and requires police officers to detain those they suspect are here without authorization and verify their immigration status “when practicable.” Three months after SB1070 was passed, the Department of Justice successfully sued in federal court to stop enforcement of the law before it took effect. Arizona appealed the injunction, and on December 12, the Supreme Court announced it would hear the case.

“New York is a town founded by immigrants, built by immigrants and today nearly 40% of our population are immigrants,” Councilman Rodriguez said in a statement announcing the bill. ”So when we in the Council see other parts of the country stripping immigrants of their rights, there is no question that we have to act. As the Supreme Court gets ready to decide on the Justice Deparment’s challenge to SB1070, we want them to know that New York City stands with the immigrants of Arizona in saying that this law has got to go.”


Councilman Dromm said the solution to the illegal immigration in this country is “comprehensive” reform rather than “the passage of draconian laws like SB1070. ”


“I am proud to join my colleagues in the City Council in supporting the lawsuit against Arizona’s blatantly unconstitutional anti-immigrant law popularly known as SB.1070,” Councilman Dromm said. “By filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, New York City will add its voice to the chorus of municipalities across the country that recognize that such local usurpation of federal immigration authority is bad policy. Pitting local law enforcement against the immigrant communities they are sworn to protect endangers all of us.”


In May 2010, the Los Angeles City Council took drastic action against SB1070 by voting to ban most official city travel to Arizona and future contracts with companies based in the state. Protests against sb1070 have been held around the country and Al Sharpton has called for a boycott of the entire state.

http://www.politickerny.com/2012/01/...migration-law/