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Did Environmentalist Back Arizona's SB1070?

New York-based community groups have taken up a national campaign to fight Arizona's controversial anti-illegal immigration law by targeting a local foundation supporting environmental causes.

By Kelly Virella, Chris Giblin
Monday, Aug 2, 2010

Marc Fader/City Limits

New York-based community groups have taken up a national campaign to fight Arizona's controversial anti-illegal immigration law by targeting a local foundation that they say backs groups supporting the law. About 40 protesters gathered in front of a midtown office building on 3rd Avenue last week to draw attention to ties between the Weeden Foundation, a major supporter of global land and wildlife conservation efforts, and the organizations, which the protesters consider racist, anti-immigrant hate groups. Protesters based their allegations on Apply the Brakes a report by the Chicago-based Center for New Community that explores the relationship between certain anti-immigration groups and environmentalists.

In 2010, Weeden made a grant to Californians for Population Stabilization, a group that supports Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration law, SB1070—a law immigration activists said threatened, before a federal judge intervened last week, to subject people of color in Arizona to racial profiling.

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Protesters also accuse Weeden of financially supporting the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which helped craft SB1070. However, according to Weeden's website, Weeden hasn't given any grants to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in the past ten years.

In 2010, Weeden also made grants to Center for Immigration Studies and NumbersUSA, groups opposed to increasing U.S. immigration.

Protesters said Weeden justifies its opposition to immigration by blaming immigrants for America's rising consumption and pollution levels. “It’s sad that companies like BP can have a huge oil spill, ruin the environment and the focus is still on immigrants,â€