Thread: Lawsuits, support follow Arizona immigration law

Lawsuits, support follow Arizona immigration law

Updated 11m ago |
By Alia Beard Rau, The Arizona Republic

New attacks on Arizona's controversial immigration law allowing police to stop people they suspect are in the country illegally are coming from varied fronts.
Two lawsuits were filed Thursday attacking the measure. The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders filed suit in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, alleging the measure is illegal because it usurps federal immigration enforcement authority and because of concerns that the law contributes to racial profiling.

The group said on its website that it represents 20,000 churches in 34 states.

An attorney representing a Tucson police officer filed suit in U.S. District Court in Tucson to block the law.

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Latina pop star Shakira also has entered the fray, with announcements that she planned to discuss her concerns about the law with Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Police Chief Jack Harris and other officials. Gordon has said he will sue the city to block the law from taking effect.

Officials in the state say support for the measure has been strong. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer's office said it received 5,186 telephone calls in favor of the bill and 2,006 against. Ninety percent of the telephone calls to the office of Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, a sponsor of the bill, are in favor, said Mike Philipsen, a spokesman for Arizona's Senate Republicans.

Nationally, a new Gallup poll shows that among Americans aware of the law, more people (51%) support it than oppose it (39%). But 22% of Americans still don't know about the law, and 8% have no opinion. The telephone survey of 1,013 adults was conducted April 27-28 and has a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points.

On the front of organizations and individuals fighting the law, a second referendum drive in Arizona was announced. A group called One Arizona filed petitions with the state Wednesday to refer the new measure to the November ballot. Chairman Andrew Chavez said One Arizona consists of concerned Arizona groups and individuals and seeks to overturn the law.

The announcement of the drive came as Gary Peter Klahr, a disbarred lawyer in Arizona working on a separate repeal, said his group is pushing for a vote on what he called the "objectionable" parts of the law. Group members are working on precise ballot language, Klahr said.

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Each effort requires signatures from 76,682 registered voters within 90 days of the end of the legislative session, putting the due date toward the end of July.

The later the petitions come in, the slimmer the chance of qualifying for November because state and county officials need time to verify voter signatures, said Matthew Benson, a spokesman for Secretary of State Ken Bennett.

In Chicago, a group of about 50 people gathered outside Wrigley Field demonstrated against the law and called for a boycott of Arizona business, including the Diamondbacks, who are in town for a four-game series with the Chicago Cubs. Protestors held signs comparing Arizona to Nazi Germany and to the Ku Klux Klan.

In Colorado, Denver officials took a stand against the law.

Public school officials said they are banning work-related travel to Arizona so employees are not scrutinized under the measure.

Denver school employees are in the country legally, but school officials don't want them "subjected to that kind of scrutiny and search," Denver Public Schools spokeswoman Kristy Armstrong said.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, said he believes the Arizona law is unconstitutional and will be struck down by the courts.

Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., said he will ask Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to move the 2011 All-Star Game from Phoenix.

"This anti-immigrant law is unjust, wrongheaded, mean-spirited and unconstitutional," Serrano said in a statement.

Contributing: Mary Jo Pitzl, Connie Cone Sexton, Nick Piecoro and Scott Wong, Arizona Republic; the Associated Press; Politico; Melanie Eversley in McLean, Va.
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Missing from this particular article is this quote as per the Washington Times:

"Mexican-Americans are not going to take this lying down," singer Linda Ronstadt, a Tucson native, said at a state Capitol news conference on another lawsuit planned by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the National Immigration Law Center.

I personally am boycotting Linda Ronstadt, and am burning all of her LP albums I purchased upon release throughout the years. Take that Linda.